Questions tagged [copyright]
Use this tag on questions about the copyrighting process and principles. Questions solely pertaining to general copyright are off topic.
255
questions
0
votes
1answer
42 views
Where to disclaim multiple third-party copyrights in project?
I am building a software that in its theoretical form would use logos from several different financial companies to enhance user experience and identification. I intend to use their websites' favicons ...
1
vote
1answer
43 views
What does “with modifications” mean in BSD licenses?
All BSD licenses start with the following paragraph:
Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:
...
1
vote
1answer
35 views
How to opensource code while protecting the product that runs on it
I have a project that I would like to retain copyright over conceptually while releasing the prototype code. It's a novelty digital clock. I posted some videos of the prototype online and some people ...
3
votes
1answer
55 views
Legal Aspects of Illustrations in Open Source Software (MIT License) - Adding Copyright Notice?
It's about an app that was created in a student project (in Germany) and will be soon released in the Google Play Store and also published on GitHub as OSS under the MIT license. The app features ...
3
votes
2answers
474 views
In the BSD license, what does “redistribution” mean?
I'm trying to understand all the responsibilities of this license.
Does redistribution mean:
publicly placing a windows .exe using the BSD licensed library for users to download on a website(free and ...
9
votes
2answers
1k views
Excluding open-source contributions from work-for-hire
I'm doing contract work. I'm being asked to sign a standard (AFAICT) agreement that assigns all intellectual property I create to the employer. The context of this work is typical Python and Go ...
2
votes
1answer
58 views
Definition of a modified code
It may seem to be a bit silly question, but I couldn't find a strict definition that would address my specific situation (I appreciate I'm not the first to experience it though).
There's a library ...
2
votes
1answer
45 views
Can we modify LGPLv3 license based ERP and change the license to private?
My client wants to use an opensource ERP named Odoo. However modifications like name, UI and languages support would be required. Also the license need to be private onwards
If it is permissible under ...
4
votes
1answer
56 views
Custom Linux distro Copyright and license notices
I am developing a commercial product that ships with a custom embedded Linux distro (similar to Yocto), and am in the process of collecting the copyright and license notices to comply with the GPL ...
0
votes
1answer
44 views
Can a CLA be agreed to implicitly, like a license?
For license on software, users who download the software must abide by the license, usually in something like a LICENSE file. I don't need to ask them to fax me a signed document or anything.
For CLAs,...
1
vote
1answer
52 views
What if a project forks a number of projects, but doesn't include the license or copyright that was used — then another project forks the fork?
So it can be fairly established that this is infringement of copyright, but I'm unsure how to handle this. I've considered making a PR to the project that forked the other projects and adding the ...
0
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0answers
15 views
Licenses similar to CC BY-NC-SA and CC BY-NC-ND, but for software [duplicate]
The creative commons licenses state explicitly that they should not be used for software.
What alternatives exists for CC BY-NC-SA and CC BY-NC-ND suitable for software that is published on the ...
0
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0answers
24 views
Software license for non-commerical reproducible research [duplicate]
I am a researcher at a university with a guest status. I am not employed though and the work I do is my own. The software I develop belongs to me. For reproducible research I want to publish some of ...
2
votes
1answer
64 views
Is it possible to license that header file to LGPL but implementation to proprietary license
Suppose someone is writing a proprietary software that uses a shared or dynamic library that is licensed under the GNU LGPL license. If he wants to change the LGPL library code, he make some functions ...
5
votes
1answer
53 views
Copyright Transfer by License?
I am conflicted about the licensing for one of my projects. My goals for the license are very similar to the GPL, with one notable exception. I want to remain the sole copyright owner - to keep ...
2
votes
1answer
51 views
Reusing the original idea of a project without mentioning it
I found a project that is very clever and I would like to build my own but using some of their ideas. That's basically what I did but now the code is similar, because we follow the same idea, but I ...
4
votes
1answer
382 views
Can ActiveState forbid me to use python?
... there came one question up in my mind?
Can ActiveState forbid me to use python versions downloaded from this page https://www.python.org/downloads/?
Especially for Windows and Linux?
I ask, ...
1
vote
1answer
35 views
Licensing for a physical product developed from MIT code
I have a developed a Book using outputs from parts of code from a MIT licence repository.
Where would I show or put the copyright licence? On the product? Or create a website?
Or because it is not ...
5
votes
1answer
1k views
Can I fork libstdc++ without disclaiming copyright for the modifications I make?
NOTICE: Not A duplicate of Am I allowed to add additional copyright on modified code that originally the FSF released under GPLv3:
The previous question answered if I'm allowed to copyright ...
1
vote
1answer
42 views
GPL libraries on my software
I am attempting to write a Hobbyist OS and found that the CuteOS project is very useful for reference and libraries. The only issue is: it's under the GPLv2, and from my understanding if you use a ...
2
votes
1answer
117 views
Am I allowed to add additional copyright on modified code that originally the FSF released under GPLv3
I've ported type_traits from GCC to AVR-GCC with some major modifications to the code structure, style, and used some boost implementations along with some of my own implementations and would like to ...
9
votes
2answers
2k views
Who will be the copyright owner of a new file in a forked repository on github?
Let's say there is a MIT Licensed repository on github, then by definition all the files that belongs to the repository is owned by the copyright holder of the repository.
But if I fork the project ...
2
votes
1answer
80 views
Can I privately use copyrighted materials as test data for public projects?
Some time ago I started to develop a 'Sudoku Solver' using Python. Of course, there are many Sudoku solvers already available as open source projects, but I did not want to use any of those, because I ...
1
vote
2answers
123 views
Licence for youtube captions
Youtube allows creation of auto-generated captions. What are they licensed as? Is it cc0 or can one use them outside the video or to provide a transcript to users after ADA compliance editing.
2
votes
0answers
17 views
What does a web API entails if it's licensed under MIT? Do I have to credit the API if I use it in my app?
I have trouble understanding if a web api must be credited if it's under the MIT license. I'm technically only calling the API so I'm not modify the API code. It seems to my understanding that it is ...
0
votes
1answer
53 views
Is this normal? Intermediate client is not willing to provide license terms and not willing that I appear as the author
An intermediate client (say software agency) requested me to develop a plugin for a popular system. She is selling this to the final client.
Full story is here in this other question: Can I publish a ...
0
votes
0answers
29 views
Rebuilding m works to produce original content
Let us say one person read information from a cc-by-sa book or from a trusted website that does not allow commercial use and then writes a book on his own using that information for commercial purpose....
1
vote
1answer
40 views
Validity of agreement to Copyright/CLA via Pull Request merging with agreement text
I have contributed heavily to a open-source github repository and they are licensed under the CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 license (Which isn't really an open-source license). Each of my contributions was merged ...
0
votes
1answer
32 views
License description for repository that uses a template under MIT license
Assume that I use a template repository on GitHub (e.g., https://github.com/actions/typescript-action), make a tool, and publish it on GitHub under MIT license.
However, obviously I need to show the ...
4
votes
0answers
80 views
Copyright considerations for using IEC standard in open-source code
I'd like to create an open-source database of electronic components and their standard, manufacturer-independent attributes. So, for example, a user could query the manufacturer part number for a ...
0
votes
1answer
45 views
Is this MSDN code free for commercial use?
I found this article on the msdn magazine and would like to use the code included in there in a commercial program. Is this allowed?
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/archive/msdn-magazine/2017/october/...
3
votes
1answer
67 views
How to sub-license a modified MIT licensed project as a copyright?
I searched for this question over the internet but with no success.
I got a MIT licensed python library and did my modifications to fit my necessities. I want this new version to be a copyright with ...
0
votes
2answers
154 views
Is Microsoft in compliance with MIT license for .Net Core?
I noticed that Microsoft claims to apply an MIT license to their .NET core code, which appears to contain a variance:
Copyright (c) .NET Foundation and Contributors
Whereas the opensource.org MIT ...
2
votes
1answer
89 views
Is the QWERTY keyboard layout proprietary?
Is the keyboard layout QWERTY proprietary? Can one use it in their own keyboard apps without buying a license? If no, are there any non-proprietary keyboard layouts?
6
votes
2answers
1k views
Can a company circumvent the freedom of distribution on GPL software for its employees or service providers?
This post contains various related questions, but I think it's needed to solve my doubts properly.
As far as I know if I can access a free software I have the freedom to run, study, modify and ...
1
vote
0answers
27 views
Shapefiles in R maps package (GPL-2)
I hope this is the right forum for this question, I came her form stackoverflow. I would like to include some world maps in my academic publication. As the title suggests, I am working with the maps ...
3
votes
1answer
58 views
How much changes to open source code is needed to remove the //Copyright (c) 2017 notice, or can it never be removed
As the question state. When using open source code and there is a // Copyright (c) 2017 xxxxx in the file.
I know I must keep the notice but if I change the code a bit or much do I always keep it or ...
6
votes
2answers
2k views
Is it OK to use unlicensed GitHub code in a thesis, by having explicit permission to do so?
I am writing my Master Thesis. I used code from GitHub for my application and did modifications and extended its functionality to adjust my requirements. I am also citing the code in my own code and ...
6
votes
3answers
1k views
Does every adaptation of a CC BY-SA work violate its terms?
I read somewhere (I cannot recall where) that licensing a work under a Creative Commons license (or any license, really) is like adding a second license on top of the "license" that ...
2
votes
1answer
105 views
How should copyright notices be included when distributing source of modified Apache 2.0 code commercially?
A company wants to distribute a product which includes a browser extension. A browser extension is implemented in JavaScript, so it's distributed in source code form.
Parts of extension are written by ...
2
votes
1answer
37 views
Confused by html2canvas library's license
I was planning to use html2canvas
The license is really confusing to me, as it's never stated which parts are for Microsoft, which are not and if the whole code is licensed under MIT, as it also ...
5
votes
1answer
58 views
Does learning boilerplate code from a project with a restrictive license make my own work derivative?
I have an application I want to put my own license on. In order to get my application started, I wrestled with boilerplate code issues I was not able to find answers for online. When I tried launching ...
2
votes
1answer
28 views
Is it possible to use D3 word cloud on your (for profit) website for free?
I am trying to create a website using React, and I need to implement a word cloud.
Is the D3 word cloud free? I have read the LICENSE file, and it says it is protected by copyright. I am not sure I ...
2
votes
0answers
22 views
If source code is only labelled “copyright” - what kinds of use, if any, are allowed? [duplicate]
The specific example I have in mind is the code posted along with a descriptive article at:
Lines with Arrows, Charles Petzold, April 18, 2007, New York, N.Y.
In the article it simply says:
© 2007, ...
4
votes
1answer
47 views
How does copyright interact with licenses?
This came to my mind recently as I was thinking of releasing some code I wrote under a license.
The Xcode IDE automatically inserts the following at the top of new files:
//
// [filename]
// [...
4
votes
1answer
139 views
How can I use programming documentation without infringing copyright?
I have a really hard time understanding how can I use copyrighted programming documentation, tutorials, articles, blogs, etc. presented as text or video, without infringing copyright?
I will explain ...
3
votes
2answers
76 views
Is copyright of a contribution to a BSD 2-clause project automatically assigned to the project's copyright owner?
The 2-clause BSD licence includes the clause:
Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
What implications does this ...
4
votes
1answer
73 views
license: is a correctness proof of a piece of code a derivative of the code
Suppose you take a piece of GPL code and write an English document sketching a proof of correctness of the code. Would your document be considered a derivative of the code. Can it only be distributed ...
2
votes
1answer
73 views
Time limit to supply source code under GPL
About a week ago I found some commercial software that is closed source using two GPL v2 licensed packages in the binaries. I emailed the company back and forth and they finally agreed that they would ...
5
votes
2answers
282 views
Copyright holder in R packages
I am developing an R package and distribute it under the GPL-2 license by submitting it to CRAN. According to CRAN's Writing R extensions, i am the author and maintainer of the source code.
The R ...
