Questions tagged [copyright]
Use this tag on questions about the copyrighting process and principles. Questions solely pertaining to general copyright are off topic.
330
questions
4
votes
1
answer
747
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How to handle the copyright notice of a BSD 3-clause licence when modifying it
If I take some BSD 3-claused code and modify it, do I then have the right to place my own copyright under the original author's copyright notice?
I.e.
BSD 3-Clause License
Copyright (c) 2018, ...
- 208
0
votes
1
answer
257
views
How accept contributions from people who don't know what a Pull Request is?
Someone sent me [ a translation to a new language ] of the open source software I'm developing. He attached the translation messages file to a private message in the discussion forum I've setup for ...
- 139
2
votes
1
answer
112
views
Using a person's name for an open source project
I'm looking for a name to give my open-source and non-profit project that will best represent its purpose. Presently, the ideal name for the project would be the name of a certain individual (Ken ...
- 123
3
votes
1
answer
421
views
Commercial print (shirt) of GitHub repository
GitHub offers a list of 33 licenses:
Academic Free License v3.0 afl-3.0
Apache license 2.0 apache-2.0
Artistic license 2.0 artistic-2.0
Boost Software License 1.0 bs1-1.0
BSD 2-clause "Simplified" ...
- 135
-1
votes
1
answer
102
views
Can I commercially use a fixed source code distributed under GPL?
There is this source code on GitHub (a PHP class, around 200 lines of code) distributed under GPL license which has some bugs and is not useful to me unless those bugs are fixed. If I fix those bugs, ...
- 99
0
votes
2
answers
55
views
Change text of original author
I am thinking about using this library: https://github.com/rxi/classic/blob/master/classic.lua
and I have a question regarding the first few lines:
--
-- classic
--
-- Copyright (c) 2014, rxi
--
-- ...
- 103
7
votes
1
answer
350
views
Modifying file without copyright under Apache 2.0
I'd like to use a modified version of a certain file from an open source project that is licensed under the Apache 2.0.
The file itself doesn't contain copyright notice neither the project does.
Now, ...
- 173
3
votes
1
answer
216
views
What license is the text of "Unlicense" licensed under?
If I want to license my software under the term of Unlicense, I'm supposed to include its text in a file and place the file in the repository alongside my project. When I distribute the project, I'm ...
- 133
1
vote
1
answer
703
views
How do you copyright/license software based on MIT-licensed open source code?
I am a former developer that codes in my spare time for fun and to maintain some level knowledge in the subject. So I found an interesting proof of concept online. I saw the potential to modify it and ...
- 11
6
votes
1
answer
121
views
Quoting your own content (in your own work, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0) to avoid licensing it
Bob writes an article and licenses it under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Certain laws can permit Bob to include someone else’s content in his article, even if this content isn’t compatibly licensed. For example, ...
- 5,410
1
vote
1
answer
77
views
Should I put PATENTS file to build folder
There is an editor Draft.js. It's licensed under the BSD-style License. Every file in the source code has a copyright notice. Here is a piece of that notice:
* This source code is licensed under the ...
- 111
3
votes
1
answer
105
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 ...
- 181
7
votes
3
answers
641
views
Does reading code and re-implementing the logic, and releasing under your name count as a licensing violation of MIT?
I'm not clear on what counts as a "copy" in the case of code.
If I read your code, that was MIT licensed, implement a similar logic on my own and use no code fragments from the original author, does ...
- 71
2
votes
3
answers
170
views
Avoiding copycats when open sourcing website
I run a free website that lets users pull data out of a database that I maintain. Sometimes users make suggestions as to improvements to existing reports or new reports they would like to see. While ...
- 131
1
vote
3
answers
153
views
Are you allowed to use open source content as your own?
Can you simply just take open-souce content and use it as your own?
I have seen this a lot of times.
For example, this tutorial http://slashtutorial.com/rust/ was taken from https://github.com/...
- 121
7
votes
1
answer
395
views
DMCA Takedown Notice received for distributing software licensed under Apache 2.0
A browser plugin was removed from one of the app stores last year as it had stopped working, and the author was no longer maintaining it in favor of their standalone desktop apps. I preferred using ...
- 173
9
votes
1
answer
697
views
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 ...
- 5,477
0
votes
1
answer
47
views
How to release small part of my code as an opensource plugin to allow free reuse (including by myself at my work)
I am working with Unity3D on a commercial project, and have found that some vital part of working with social accounts is not implemented, namely - authorized API calls. I am almost done implementing ...
- 109
5
votes
3
answers
417
views
Is it possible to transfer an MIT license?
Let's say that I have an MIT license on some open source software I created. I understand that with an MIT license, I need to state the license information in certain points of a code. I was wondering ...
- 59
5
votes
1
answer
3k
views
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: ...
- 163
0
votes
1
answer
833
views
Is a custom license enforcable? [duplicate]
I have written my own license recently which can be found here. If I applied my licence to my work (in the same way I'd apply the MIT license on a GitHub repo for example) would my license be valid ...
- 193
2
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Removing copyright from the footer of a website theme
I have a WordPress theme developed by GoDaddy (license: GPL-2.0).
The footer of all pages has this copyright:
Primer WordPress theme by GoDaddy.
I want to remove it, is it allowed?
I have made ...
- 129
3
votes
1
answer
184
views
Using CC BY-SA images in commercial print
I have created a custom set of playing cards and I want to use Wikimedia Commons pictures released as CC BY-SA 3.0 DE as illustration on the cards. Every card uses one picture. The pictures are not ...
- 31
2
votes
0
answers
57
views
Getting rid of copyrighted work with incremental rewrite [duplicate]
I wrote an open source software (BSD-licensed) for my company, developed during business days and hours. The copyright belongs to my company.
Now for some reason my company is no longer interested in ...
- 31
3
votes
1
answer
986
views
How to legally use Jekyll themes by others?
I realize this may be an extremely basic question, but I'm confused about the legal issues that come with starting a blog and using a theme. I want to use the Clean Blog theme (by BlackrockDigital). ...
- 41
1
vote
1
answer
74
views
Can I use small part of graphic in my GitHub project? [closed]
I am trying to make my small open-source web project for training purpose and put it on GitHub.
I wanted to use frame from the existing game, but I don't know if I will have any issues from it.
...
1
vote
1
answer
543
views
What to do if I can't find the copyright when using an open source library
I'm using an open source library to develop an application. The library is under the Apache 2.0 license.
The license says you need to put a copy of the license and of the copyright into the software ...
- 433
3
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Can I change the copyright license, with this text in the CLA?
If I include this in the Contributor License Agreement (CLA) for an open source project I'm doing:
(the following is from Apache's individual CLA)
Grant of Copyright License. Subject to the terms ...
- 139
5
votes
1
answer
336
views
Splitting a project into copyright and copyleft
Say I've been working on this java project for over a year, and it's necessary for this project to reference a GNU GPL licensed software library somewhere in there, then the whole thing suddenly poof ...
- 185
6
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Why copyright notices in source files?
Why does everybody writes the copyright notice on the top of a source file? Isn't LICENSE file in the root of the package enough?
- 549
5
votes
1
answer
166
views
Can I assign a 2nd copyright to my employer
We are using some of my pre-existing, personally copyrighted open source software libraries at my employer. Recently they have asked me to "fix" the copyright so that it is theirs.
I have no ...
- 153
9
votes
1
answer
413
views
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 ...
- 193
-1
votes
2
answers
243
views
Why boilerplates are created from scratch, not forked?
I've checked couple dozens popular boilerplates (react, react-native, nodejs) and neither of them are forks from other boilerplates.
Am i missing something? why are people writing them from scratch ...
- 379
1
vote
1
answer
81
views
Donations for an open source project that is based on other strategy game
I have a question about donations to an open source project that is based on an old strategy game from 90 years (they have own developers and own big publishers and even sells in Steam now).
So we ...
- 29
7
votes
1
answer
316
views
Is code generated from an interface definition file a derivative work?
Is stub code generated from an IDL file or a protobuf definition file a derivative work?
This has come up recently in a developer discussion between several partner companies.
Background:
We use a ...
- 171
-3
votes
1
answer
307
views
I want to make an Android app like Calm/ Meditation Music/ Study Music. May I use their sound? [closed]
Can I use their sound in my app?
Is there any way I can use their sound and not violate copyright?
- 5
5
votes
2
answers
593
views
Handling copyright infringement in your own open source project
What do you do if you discover that some part of your own open source project infringes copyright?
Consider the following hypothetical situation. An open source project's maintainer finds code in his ...
3
votes
1
answer
346
views
Copyright on files copied from other Open Source project to my Open Source
I'm working on Open Source Java library. I don't want to waste time writing classes that Spring framework already has. I want to copy single files from Spring Framework and refactor it to cut ...
- 161
13
votes
1
answer
4k
views
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 ...
- 233
1
vote
1
answer
51
views
May I Use Graphics From Proprietary Games in FOSS?
May I use images made from NES game screenshots (Mario, Pac-Man) in an Open Source Project?
E.g. these are for "Error happened" events:
Notes:
Pac-Man seems to be not from a game screenshot, but ...
- 137
14
votes
1
answer
1k
views
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 ...
- 339
8
votes
1
answer
4k
views
Why do licenses such as the MIT License specify a single year?
From opensource.org, the first line of the license reads,
Copyright <YEAR> <COPYRIGHT HOLDER>
If the development goes across January 1, or a repository consists of sources written in ...
12
votes
2
answers
1k
views
"SQLite is illegal in Germany" - really?
This blog post claims in passing that
SQLite is illegal, at least in Germany, but potentially worldwide
This is tacked onto another mostly-unrelated claim that GitHub's terms of service are ...
- 4,865
1
vote
0
answers
752
views
What happens if I do not add a license to my open source project on Github? [duplicate]
I just received a notification about the following issue from a project I contributed in the past: Can it be a open source project? (Since the source code is already open, I think the title should be ...
- 243
3
votes
1
answer
475
views
OpenSSL license questions
I want to make use of the OpenSSL library in a project, but I do not understand its license well, Then I would like to know:
Does the OpenSSL license have copyleft?
Should I give some attribution and ...
- 31
13
votes
1
answer
401
views
Can I resubmit someone else's pull request if he does not sign CLA?
Someone helped with progress upstream at an open source project I really rely on. He basically did what I was not capable of and now I am waiting for his pull request to be merged and included in ...
- 243
3
votes
1
answer
366
views
can I use this GitHub library that is using a patented data compression?
I was looking the repository https://github.com/ladislav-zezula/StormLib and it's using the MIT license, so far so good.
However, looking at the following file https://github.com/ladislav-zezula/...
- 141
3
votes
2
answers
133
views
Re-assigning copyright on GPL licensed software - does the assigner still have a copy?
I have built upon software that is released under GPLv2 (with the 'at your option, a later version' addition), and am now conveying that software to my client under GPLv3. Of course, I provide the ...
- 2,120
2
votes
1
answer
595
views
Understanding a Perl module license
Can someone clarify these claims:
This module is free software you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as Perl itself. Copyright (C) year Some Author. All Rights Reserved
It ...
- 123
7
votes
1
answer
448
views
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 ...
- 181