Questions tagged [copyright]
For questions about the copyrighting process and principles. Questions solely pertaining to general copyright are off topic.
78 questions
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So the GPL doesn't restrict the creator of the software in any way?
In another thread I started (Red Hat buys Ansible), I am trying to figure out the economic value of a company transaction with respect to GPL'ed software. A few of the answers suggest that the owners ...
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2
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Theseus' Paradox applied to code copyright
Assuming a copyright license (I'll reference Apache 2.0, but that's an example only) that allows derivations, at what point are those derivations so extensive that the Apache license no longer applies?...
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4
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How does GitHub's "forking right" cope with an "All rights reserved" project?
The GitHub FAQ states (emphasis mine):
You're under no obligation to choose a license. It's your right not to
include one with your code or project, but please be aware of the
implications. ...
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32
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2
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Copyright and Contributing to an Open Source Project
I'm a little confused by copyright notices on open source projects.
Let's say that a particular project is covered by a very permissive license, such as MIT or BSD. A copyright notice appears from ...
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2
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Must contributor agreements be physically signed?
I've been developing an API internally with a few friends, and hope to expand it and make it open to the broader public. I've highlighted a lot of background in this question, but to recap, it's a ...
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4
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Should I include a copyright line in every file?
This is similar to my other question, but specifically about Copyright rather than Licensing.
Typically, each source file contains a line of the form
Copyright 2010-2015, Me
Is this strictly ...
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9
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1
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Can I use my username in copyright?
I am releasing a program under the GNU GPL v3.0. I need to include a copyright notice.
Is it ok to use my username in the copyright notice as I don't want to use my real name?
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Which author/copyright holder "type" is allowed in the MIT license? Pseudonym, Company name, ...?
In many licenses you have to (or can?) state who is the author of the project, which is the one who "owns" the intellectual property (= the copyright holder). In the MIT license it e.g. is said like ...
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7
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1
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Do you retain copyright in a project even if all your code has been rewritten?
If somebody has participated in an open source project, and has previously contributed several lines of source code but all those lines have now been completely rewritten and/or deleted so that all ...
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21
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2
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How should I assert copyright when I'm forking an MIT project?
I have an open source software project licensed under MIT.
The MIT License (MIT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Håvard Fossli
Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any ....
I found ...
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10
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2
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What license do I apply to my software if parts of its code is derived from MIT licensed open source software?
This is the first time I'm handling licenses and could use some guidance in this matter.
I have developed a piece of Java software where parts of the code is derived from different classes licensed ...
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3
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1
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As the owner of a GPLv3 project, what type of restrictions will be placed on me if I accept contributions?
For example, will accepting someone's copyrighted contribution prohibit me from changing the license, accepting donations towards the project, or anything else?
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31
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3
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What happens if stolen software is published as Open Source?
This is not a real world issue, at least for me. It is more about a thought experiment from a talk that I once had with a friend:
Let's say that Acme develops closed source software for their own ...
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14
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1
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Projects which require copyright assignment from contributors?
I read the following in ØMQ - The Guide (in Chapter 6, in the section Licensing and Ownership):
All patches are owned by their authors. There SHALL NOT be any copyright assignment process.
Here we ...
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9
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2
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How can I use an MIT license for code but protect the copyright of photos in my repository?
My project is a fork of a project that comes with the MIT license and nobody wants to change the license that applies to the software. However, some of the content that is also stored on GitHub is not ...
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Can I use/distribute LGPL command line software in mine that isn't LGPL?
I've developed a little software that use FFmpeg in command line mode.
To further clarify: My software launch several times ffmpeg.exe that is stored inside the same folder as my .exe.
User never ...
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7
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Help with getting permission to open source a small piece of software
If you are an employee, work you do in the course of your job (as opposed to in your spare time) is
a "work for hire" and the copyright is by default owned by the company you work for.
How do you go ...
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6
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1
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How do I detect an AGPL violation?
For client side code, even if it is obfuscated or is just a binary, I can imagine there might be ways of doing this, but if I have some server-side AGPL licensed code, how am I supposed to know that ...
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39
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3
answers
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What's the difference between Copyright and Licensing?
Preamble
There are two other questions, specifically related to Licensing and Copyright.
In reviewing the answers and comments, I get the feeling that people generally consider the two to be the ...
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22
votes
5
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Does being open sourced mean others can use my logo?
Suppose
I have created an open source application
I have also created a snazzy logo to go with the application (for example, the Eclipse logo)
I released my application's source code under a ...
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16
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2
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2k
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Why does the FSF make this recommendation about ranges of copyright years?
In the document “How to use GNU licenses for your own software”, the FSF says:
For software with several releases over multiple years, it's okay to use a range (“2008-2010”) instead of listing ...
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12
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1
answer
729
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Does the AGPL help to protect against closed source if the application is run on a remote server and proxied by a separate service?
Note that there is this related question of which this question is by no means a duplicate. It refers to a related but separate scenario.
Long question title, I'll just go with an example. Suppose I ...
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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 ...
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8
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3
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Is there a good license for a libertarian programmer who's against intellectual property?
I know, I know, you're probably thinking CC0 or WTFPL or something along those lines. But the thing is, the way I see it, people have a right to redistribute anything, even if the author doesn't want ...
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1
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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 ...
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1
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What's the usual procedure when using MIT or BSD-2-Clause licensed source code with something like `<script src="…`, `require(…` or `import …`?
This is not a legal question. It might touch the legal aspects around Open Source licenses but I need general help understanding how they work and what the usual procedure is.
Part 1 of my question: ...
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6
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1
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563
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Does the GNU Affero GPL help to protect against closed source if the application is run on a remote server?
Note that there is this related question of which this question is by no means a duplicate. It refers to a related but separate scenario.
I'*m about to release an application and yet need to choose a ...
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4
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2
answers
319
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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 ...
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3
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1
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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
answer
854
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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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2
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Can someone explain the basic requirements of Open Source Qt LGPL to a beginner?
I’m a automotive electronic and electrical engineer with little to no software experience.
I need to hire a developer to develop Windows GUI application that is used to configure and program a ...
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1
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views
Is there an existing license that is copy-left by default, but allows use in proprietary software through case-by-case negotiation?
I'm looking for a license which is designed such that anyone can use my code so long as the license they release it under is copy-left. However, I'd also like to be able to license my code out for ...
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26
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1
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How to deal with licences after forking a project?
I forked a project with an MIT license on GitHub:
The MIT License (MIT)
Copyright (c) 2012 Some Name
Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
of this software ...
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16
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1
answer
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How do I properly specify the year(s) of copyright?
Most source files start with a copyright header like this (from GNU ld):
/* Main program of GNU linker.
Copyright 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001,
2002, 2003, ...
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How to deal with copyright infringement on GitHub
I have a public repository on GitHub. Some of the code was copy-and-pasted into another repository without keeping Licence headers and without any other back-linking to the original repository.
How ...
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13
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2
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427
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Is copyright automatic?
If I publish something on my website is a form of copyright automatically placed on that text?
For example I know if you specifically say "This is published under [insert some cc license here]" then ...
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12
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Copyright notice must be regularly updated while the project is active?
I started an open source project in 2013, with the LGPL license. I've been regularly working on it for the last four years. Each file includes the standard copyright notice that include the copyright ...
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10
votes
2
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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 ...
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9
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1
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Who owns the copyright to code which the author was paid to write?
For example, the repository owner owns the app, publishes the partial source code, and creates few tasks supported by some bounty to write some new components (such as new functions, classes, etc.).
...
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9
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924
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Can I remove some copyright holders from headers and replace them by a generic "and contributors"?
The project I'm involved in currently has headers of the following form:
The X Development Team
Organization A - Organization B - Organization C - Copyright 1999-2018
This file is distributed under ...
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2
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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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What should I do with the copyright details in a codebase when modifying it when it wasn't forked?
So essentially, I once downloaded some script off github, forgot about it, then thought "Why not modify it!" and thus now decided to push it to my github account...
Question is though, do i ...
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Copyright assignments in Germany
When contributing to some of their projects, the FSF requires you to assign the copyright to your work to the FSF. As I'm German, I'm interested in whether this is compatible with German law.
German ...
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5
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Acknowledging employer in an open source project
My employer has given me to permission to open source a component of a project that I have been working on, allowing me to retain ownership and control, with the condition that they be acknowledged in ...
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2
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245
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Can I adapt a CC-BY-SA licensed webpage to host rights-reserved copyrighted content?
I think the inverse of What do I need to share if I include CC-BY-SA artwork in my software?.
Some webpages, such as Code for America are licensed under CC-BY-SA. If I want to adapt the code for this ...
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4
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Can a team be the copyright holder (MIT)?
I'm developing in a team of OSS developers and currently my name is specified in all LICENSE files or copyright headers. But, as it's a teamwork instead of writing "Copyright (c) 2017 MY Name" I would ...
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How to use software published under MIT without copyright notice?
MIT License says:
The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
However, a few repositories do not have any ...
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607
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Is the text in my open source project under the GPL?
I have an open source project that used to be under the GPL licence (now it has no licence).
In this repository I had many short stories. My intention was for the code to be open source but the ...
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3
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MIT license ambiguity about copyright?
I asked this question in softwareengineering.stackexchange.com but it was pointed out to me that it is better suited to be posted here. I deleted the original thread in the other subforum.
So the ...
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Am I infringing copyright if I use an improperly licensed project?
While answering this question, it was pointed out to me in the comments that software that is improperly licensed (in that case, by violating another license) causes its own license to be cancelled ...
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