Should I keep the old project's name in the copyright details after a fork?

Question

So, given what i asked here, I was wondering if i should leave the old project's name after a fork, in the copyright detail in the code...

Essentially, I did it like so:

#Copyright 2015 by ....
#Copyright 2021 by ....(where my name is)
#Licensed under the terms of the MIT License, see LICENSE file.

at the top of the file. Now should i add the project's name too since i changed it when i forked it/modified it?

Maybe something like this:

#OldProjectName, Copyright 2015 by .....
#NewProjectName, Copyright 2021 by .....(my name here)
#Licensed under the terms of the MIT License, see LICENSE file.

Would this do or is there a better way to handle this?

Answer 1

@NordineLotfi You can use either of those ways but the easiest way is by just replacing the Project Name - Don't use the same name for your own project! -

# Project Name (the name you give to the project)
# Copyright 2021 by (here your name)
# Copyright 2015-2021 by list the previous copyright owners, 
           if there are more than one you might have 
           to list more or them in a separate line
# Licensed under the terms of the MIT License, 
  see LICENSE file (the copyright notice from the previous developer(s).

To be fait to the previous developers I would also set up a page or file where you simply list all developers who contributed to make your application possible including the licenses of the used libraries. This makes it also much easier for future devs who like to use YOUR code in their applications.

In Open Source Licenses like GNU GPL and MIT we should have nothing to hide at all.

Answer 2

For the copyright lines, it doesn't matter what project the relevant code was originally added to. There is also no legal requirement to mention or reference to the original project name.

As a matter of goodwill, it is common to mention what project you forked from. This could be done in a README file for example. If you consider it relevant, you could also mention when the fork was created, so people can see which copyright lines are inherited from the original project.