" I guess it depends on how you define the term "folksong". How do you define it? "
Little Hawk ,I suppose that's a million dollar question. I wouldn't be able to define what a folksong is ,but think I usually recognize one if I hear one . Euan MacColl ,Johnny Cash , mudcat's own Jim Maclean , Pete St John ,Ralph McTell , they're all people who have written what I'd call folksongs - songs of the people ,for the people.
Dylan's songs are more arty ,but Blowin' in the Wind came close.
A folksong should in my opinion be open to development what has been called on this site "the folking process" .
But copywriting laws have stopped that unfortunately .You're correct about Dylan's right to use and improve folk songs, but what do you think would happen if somebody took one of Dylan's songs and attempted to improve on it?