Questions tagged [copyright]
Use this tag on questions about the copyrighting process and principles. Questions solely pertaining to general copyright are off topic.
341
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Short Weak Copyleft Software License
Is there a short weak (or strong) copyleft license?
I like the GPL v3. The way that all its different sections interlock is quite poetic. However, this beauty comes at the cost of it being near ...
Crab
3
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1
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51
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How do I properly put third-party dependencies under MIT on my copyright notice for a published MacOS app on the App Store?
If IconCast is the name of a close-sourced app I'm publishing that makes money, and AppIconSetGen, an open source library under the MIT license made by someone else that I made some changes to (which ...
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0
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Is PostScript language copyrightable (Adobe license) [migrated]
Perhaps a repetitive question, but since a lot of things work on the PostScript language (even PDF is technically derived from PostScript), I think it is worth taking a look at this thread.
In the ...
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63
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How can I comply with the terms of the HPND license if I am using a library that contains that license in a commercial application project in python? [closed]
I have a PIL library that is for images in Python. I am developing a desktop program that is for commercial purposes. However, I am not selling, I only offer voluntary donations to users. The PIL ...
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2
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1
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145
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Open code, closed repo?
Has anyone tried to separately license their repository (e.g. Git) from the code that it holds? How did it go? (Sorry about the open-ended nature of the question.)
Corollary to this question: what is ...
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2
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0
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67
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How did software copyright work in the US before 1978? [closed]
Prior to the Copyright Act of 1976 (which, confusingly, only went into effect in 1978) the copyright rules were different. One of the things that was introduced was that after the beginning of 1978, ...
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2
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1
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Can I reuse Pokemon images from Bulbapedia for making a boot screen theme in Ubuntu?
I am planning to make a Plymouth theme with some pokemon images (like this) from Bulbapedia.
I want to release the theme under GPL3.
Bulbapedia's Fair Use policy seems confusing to me. Under this ...
5
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2
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148
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AGPLv3 - Does indirect use over intermediary servers constitute "distribution"?
Let's say I'm building an app consisting of a frontend, backend and database.
The database software is AGPLv3.0 licensed and running on the database server.
The backend is proprietary, running on the ...
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2
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1
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102
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Proper way to include Copyright information relating to a single Class file
I'm working on a commercial Java product that is distributed as a .war file.
I want to add the source code of a class I found in a book to our code base. The book gives no license information for the ...
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3
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1
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101
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Notices.txt or Copyright file header when porting code
The following Java project contains an Apache 2.0 license https://github.com/apache/pdfbox-jbig2/blob/master/LICENSE.txt as well as a copyright header on every file in the project https://github.com/...
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151
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How can I add a license for one file from a github repository?
I would like to use a text file from a GitHub repository that is under MIT License.
My repository is private and I'm distributing my software. My question is how can I use this file and put the right ...
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2
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1
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80
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GNU license for "Open Metronome" - what license applies to beats generated with it?
If i am using the GNU-licensed software "Open Metronome" (https://sourceforge.net/projects/openmetronome/) to create the basic rhythm of my own music, I am wondering if I can freely ...
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2
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0
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47
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Change copyright author after forking GPL v2 code? [duplicate]
Say I fork the source code here, modify the code, and finally distribute the source code and the derived work.
Can I change the copyright notice at the top from
# Copyright 1999-2022 Gentoo Authors
# ...
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8
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3
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Is there a license that prevents someone from copying the entirety of the source code and claiming it as their own or using it with ill intent?
I'm planning to make an open-source game engine/editor called the NWR Project https://github.com/NotWhiteRice/the-NWR-Project I don't care if people copy the visuals, menus, etc., but I don't want ...
2
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1
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100
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What's the difference between GPL licence and CECILL-2.1?
These two licenses are for open-source code. Does the CECILL-2.1 give rights to sell the open source code without author notification, as it says in Article 5?
5.3 RIGHT OF DISTRIBUTION
In particular,...
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What rights do Artistic 2.0 licence gives to the Author?
I am not sure that this license grants the Author the right of referencing its name in future modifications of Open-Source code. Does this license grant the Licensee the right to sell the modified ...
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2
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1
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57
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Does it mean that Author of the source code is equal to the Holder?
I'm analyzing the "Cea Cnrs Inria Logiciel Libre License, version 2.1 (CECILL-2.1)" software licence and don't clearly understand something. This licence has the following definitions:
...
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3
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0
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114
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Should I get rid of "All rights reserved"?
Almost all my open source files has "All rights reserved" written along the usual "copyright © 2XXX My name" in the first line. I recently heard that, besides being obsolete, this ...
3
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1
answer
120
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Importing GPLv3'd code: Which copyright notice to add to my own code?
Let's say I import some header files (or Python modules) which are under GPLv3 into a source file that I would like to publish as Open Source (OS), and also signify that I have copyright on that ...
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3
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1
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62
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Using CC BY-SA 4.0 data file for calculations on rest server used by closed source game
I'm making word game which is based on semantic similarity between words.
For that i need word vectors file. One of such file is available here, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0:
https://github.com/...
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4
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1
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131
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If I do an ML project copying code heavily from Tensorflow's tutorials, am I still allowed to share it on Github (or other repositories)?
(I asked this on Reddit and didn't get a good reaction. I wasn't sure if this was the right forum, but I wanted to ask somewhere related.)
I'm fairly new to machine learning (and programming in ...
2
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0
answers
65
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Could a CLA be avoided by simply specifying in the license a particular owner who may grant closed source use? [duplicate]
One of the main purposes of a CLA (contributor license agreement), as I understand it, is to allow some owner of the software to have full rights to relicense the code if desired. This is rather ...
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2
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1
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279
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How to handle Apache 2 license for backend use
We are using an open sourced (Apache 2.0 License) OCR framework/library for a website. User uploads an image to our web portal, we send that image to the backend, which hands over that image to the ...
3
votes
1
answer
144
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BSD-3/MIT etc. - How "often" do I need to include the license text?
For instance, the BSD-3 Clause license states:
Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation and/...
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2
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0
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91
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What is the proper way to add attribution to a gpl3 licensed diff/patch file?
This is as much a technical issue as a license issue, but I would appreciate correction if any of my assumptions about how the licenses work are incorrect.
Assume that I want to use a patch file from ...
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3
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1
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216
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Copyright a web page created from a MIT license theme?
I am confused as to how to describe a web page from a theme licensed under the MIT license that I want to modify and use for my own private commercial purposes. I do want to have the copyright on what ...
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8
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2
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880
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How do open source licences affect the incorporation of copyright / trademark logos names in a project?
When a private corporation decides to publish software under a permissive open source licence (for example, the MIT licence) there might still be a desire for that company's name and logo to be ...
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204
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I use the npm package, do I have to specify the license for each package?
If I use a specific library and this library uses other packages..
In the event that I have a license and copyright notice, is it obligatory for this library or for all sub-packages?
Do I have to ...
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5
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Are there any software licenses that allow for everything but changing the license or dual-licensing?
I would like to allow users of my code to make derivatives, but disallow derivatives from imposing any restrictions on the usage of my code. Is there an existing license that would fit this ...
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2
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2
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268
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What to put in header copyright notice after total conversion of library that didn't have license headers?
I want to convert a C# library (not written by myself) licensed under Apache License v2 to C++.
The original C# library has a LICENSE file with the Apache license information, however the individual ...
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4
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1
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376
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LICENSE text in build folder
When I build my site using create-react-app build, it creates a main.779c7054.js.LICENSE.txt which contains the license texts of the dependencies. In this case I am using Next.js and lets say I am ...
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454
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Using SVG icons with CC-BY-4.0 license
The license states - "In the Font Awesome Free download, the CC BY 4.0 license applies to all icons packaged as .svg and .js files types.
...
Attribution is required by MIT, SIL OFL, and CC BY ...
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8
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2
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705
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Use SVG code licensed under CC
I want to use SVG icons which are licensed under CC BY 4.0 on my website. The CC BY 4.0 asks to give attribution. So, the question is do I give the attribution in the SVG code as "Icons provided ...
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3
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740
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Using Font Awesome icons on my site
" In the Font Awesome Free download, the CC BY 4.0 license applies to all icons packaged as .svg and .js files types.". How can such simple and general purpose icons hold copyright? Also the ...
user28793
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101
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License GPLv3 scenario for a plugin A for Blender 3D and software B that communicates with plugin A. What is the license for software B?
I would like to create a plugin, let's call it 'A' for Blender 3D and a software let's call it 'B' that communicates with plugin A through the network.
I know that Blender 3D has GPL license for the ...
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3
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1
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372
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Name/pseudonym change in copyright notice in license
I have several open source projects and was about to upload another one (to github) when I started wondering about the licensee in the license text. Some of my existing projects use either my real ...
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2
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1
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625
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How to put Copyright notice If I use several other code bases (MIT)
If I use piece of code from some other repo which is under MIT licence I can directly use/show their Copyright info in my repo. That part is OK.
But what happenes if I get several pieces of code from ...
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3
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1
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79
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What notice should Bob give when he takes a web app under Apache2, changes UI and the database, then hosts it?
Question asked here, but without much attention; posting here.
Please write a bit of detail steps on how to follow Apache2 requirements for a new beginner, (whose native language is not English,) ...
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4
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1
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222
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What is an Open Source license that prevents using the name of the software, and requires user-facing attribution if adopted?
I'm writing an App, and considering making it open source. However, I'd like to retain a certain level of creative control of the project-- is there a way I can make it so that, if it's forked, it can'...
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1
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567
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Reuse of source code having BSD License in Android App
I have successfully developed an Android App in Android Studio but the final thing which is disturbing me is that, my app contains code from a GitHub repository that has BSD license as given below:
...
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0
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60
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What is the license of Firefox browser console debug panel?
It needs to be included in the documentation, and in a fit of paranoia I started thinking about its copyright status
Usually Commons documentation is useful but https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/...
2
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1
answer
74
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Can GPLv3 contributions to a separate project be used without attribution?
I recently forked a relatively new GPLv3 project on GitHub, as it had seemingly been abandoned not long after its creator had published it, and I wanted to make some improvements, as it was in a ...
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1
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82
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How to retrieve copyright from contributors [duplicate]
I have recently taken some time to study different licenses and I was wondering: If I have a open source project and other people contribute, how do I receive the copyright? Or is it possible to not ...
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4
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2
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815
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Adding features that are similar to a proprietary program
I have an open source discord bot which I've built myself and I liked a feature of another proprietary discord bot.
So can I implement almost similar feature to my bot?
Will that violate copyright ...
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0
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100
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Is an offset pointer implementation trivial enough not to be covered by copyright?
This article discuss the question of whether a "hello world" program is protected by copyright.
It comes to the conclusions that it is not (under US copyright law) because most of it is ...
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0
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99
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When does an implemention cease being trivial and become covered by copyright?
This article discuss the question of whether a "hello world" program is protected by copyright.
It comes to the conclusions that it is not (under US copyright law) because most of it is ...
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71
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Can I develop a video game or mod related to 3rd party artwork?
I'm developing a video game with many easter eggs and references to science, technologies, philosophy, and some movies, tv series, animated series, video games, franchises of fictional universes, ...
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1
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100
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Citing project with license but without copyright notice
The authors of a project whose code I wish to use and is licensed under GPL-3.0-or-later have failed to provide a copyright notice. I know what their GitHub organization is. How should I cite their ...
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413
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SPDX And Copyright notices. Do I need to do anything about dependencies?
I'm currently working on a new MIT licensed project (with Creative Commons License for documentation).
The project uses a combination of Java and Kotlin and is built with Gradle.
All files have ben ...
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2
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627
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Is it allowed to copy code under the Unity Reference-Only License?
While developing the game, I need a method that changes the rendering type of the material, but the corresponding method is in the internal class StandardShaderGUI, which I don't have access to. I ...
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