All Questions
876
questions
180
votes
2
answers
99k
views
What can I assume if a publicly published project has no license?
There is some code on GitHub that I would like to use. The repository has no public declaration of license that I can find. But this particular project has over 200 forks and is a pretty active ...
26
votes
2
answers
5k
views
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 ...
17
votes
3
answers
3k
views
Is the output of an open source program licensed the same?
According to my knowledge, open source software is free to use and distribute, and if the program is modified it should be distributed under the same license - but what if someone is using only the ...
128
votes
5
answers
19k
views
How can a "crayon" license be a problem?
Bruce Perens (co-founder of OSI) has coined the term "crayon license":
I've been calling these "crayon licenses", taking a line from an old Monty Python sketch about a dog license ...
70
votes
4
answers
21k
views
Can I license my project with an open-source license but disallow commercial use?
I'd like to make my project open-source. Is there a free/open-source license that lets me do that, but disallows anyone receiving my project to use it for commercial purposes or monetary gain?
In a ...
19
votes
2
answers
2k
views
What are the arguments for considering dynamic links to constitute derivative works?
The status of programs which are dynamically linked with Copyleft licensed binaries (such as a .dll) is contentious. I have created two questions for each side of the debate. The other can be found ...
29
votes
4
answers
3k
views
What are the arguments for considering dynamic links not to constitute derivative works?
The status of programs which are dynamically linked with Copyleft licensed binaries (such as a .dll) is contentious. I have created two questions for each side of the debate. The other can be found ...
90
votes
2
answers
20k
views
Why is CC BY-SA discouraged for code?
Everybody knows that you shouldn't use a CC BY-SA license on your code. Even the Creative Commons folk recommend against it. What I don't know or understand is why. I can't seem to find any ...
131
votes
6
answers
17k
views
How can free and open source projects be monetized?
Many open source projects I see involve having dedicated servers, as well as the expensive infrastructure that powers it. Many employ developers to work on the software full or part time.
What are ...
29
votes
4
answers
6k
views
Are licenses irrevocable by default?
I've noticed that some FOSS licenses explicitly mention that they are irrevocable (as long as their conditions are met) and others are silent on this point. Does this matter? Are the licenses that don'...
16
votes
2
answers
7k
views
What are software dependencies, and what are the implications of FLOSS dependencies for other projects?
How could I best explain software dependencies to a non-software, non-tech person?
What are software dependencies, such as package dependencies or linking dependencies? And why does it matter to ...
95
votes
6
answers
15k
views
How can a project be relicensed?
I've found out that the license I picked for my project does not quite do what I wanted it do (bad research).
Now I want to change the license. Is it as simple as changing the LICENSE.txt in the root?...
24
votes
2
answers
1k
views
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?...
62
votes
3
answers
9k
views
Should I include license text in a single file or all source files?
Many licenses, such as Apache 2.0, have both a long and a short form. Typically, the long form is included in the repository as a single LICENSE file, and the short form is used in the actual source ...
20
votes
1
answer
738
views
What are the licensing terms of the text of the GPL?
The text of the GPLv3 starts with the following disclaimer:
Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies of this
license document, but changing it is not allowed.
What does this ...
51
votes
5
answers
9k
views
Can there be a copyright on negative code?
This is a hypothetical question, but I am curious. Feel free to ignore it, when it seems too theoretical for you.
Some people may know the situation that you implement a feature and in the end you ...
76
votes
4
answers
17k
views
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. ...
48
votes
4
answers
27k
views
Is it legal to use GPL code in a proprietary, closed-source program by putting it in a separate, standalone program?
As we all know, the GNU General Public License (GPL) is a "copyleft" source license: which means it is designed not merely to make the code to which it is initially applied free and preserve its ...
22
votes
1
answer
5k
views
Are all docker images free (i.e. GPL)?
Looking at the GPLv2 FAQ. I'd like to incorporate GPL-covered software in my proprietary system. Can I do this?.
Since, any typical Linux distribution base image contains a variety of GPL-licensed ...
20
votes
2
answers
5k
views
Combining code written under different licenses (Eiffel Forum License, MIT and Apache), what are my options?
So I'm new to all this licensing jazz, and I've just started work on a project I'd like to one day publish as open source.
I've found a couple of projects so far that have code to accomplish stuff ...
7
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Do I need to respect licences of dependencies of dependencies?
I'm using in my code dependencies managed by npm. For example I'm using uglify-js which is using BSD license (which doesn't require code disclosure). But this plugin uses as dependency (so to my ...
41
votes
6
answers
1k
views
How do I attract new programmers?
I am working on a project, currently by myself. It's a side project, I'm not expecting to make money on it. It's posted on GitHub, and I'm going to be building a project page for it.
Once it's built, ...
39
votes
2
answers
20k
views
MIT license and "All rights reserved."?
I recently saw something like this:
Copyright (c) Some Corporation
All rights reserved.
MIT License
...
And then the MIT license follows. Now, from what I know the MIT license is one of the most ...
22
votes
1
answer
2k
views
What is the difference between a CLA and a CTA?
I've seen that some projects require a Contributor License Agreement (CLA) and some require a Copyright Transfer Agreement (CTA).
Some examples of places using a CLA:
Django
Google
jQuery
Some ...
34
votes
2
answers
8k
views
Do you violate the GPL if you provide source code that cannot be compiled?
In a recent question on programmers.SE†, it was asked whether a project is open source if it provides some source code but doesn't make it clear how to actually compile it. Consensus is that it'...
31
votes
3
answers
3k
views
Do I really need to include a licence file for common licences like GPL or MIT?
The GPL3, for example, says:
Conveying Verbatim Copies.
You may convey verbatim copies of the Program's source code as you receive it, in any medium, provided that you conspicuously and ...
27
votes
3
answers
7k
views
Do I have to offer the source of an AGPL (v3.0) licensed Web app even if I didn’t modify it?
The point of using the GNU Affero General Public License (Version 3) is that it allows "users who interact with the licensed software over a network to receive the source for that program" (FSF).
...
15
votes
2
answers
458
views
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 ...
11
votes
1
answer
2k
views
As owner of GPL library, can I break the licensing terms?
As far as I understand, choosing GPL licence for library does not permits use of it in proprietary programs as opposed to LGPL.
So releasing my library (or code classes), I'm forcing people to use ...
107
votes
5
answers
62k
views
Can I use GPL libraries in a closed source project if only the output is distributed?
If I create a closed source application which uses some GPL licensed libraries but don't actually distribute the software, only its output, can I keep the software closed sourced?
Specifically, I am ...
46
votes
4
answers
9k
views
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 ...
39
votes
7
answers
16k
views
Can I take BSD licensed code and distribute it under GPL?
Or in more general terms: Can I take code which is licensed under a permissive open source license (like the BSD license) and distribute it under a copyleft free software license (like the GPL)?
...
36
votes
3
answers
24k
views
If I'm using a GPL 3 library in my project, can I license my project under MIT license?
If I'm using a library that is licensed under GPL v3 in my project, can I license my project under the MIT license? I tried to read the GPL v3 text but I cannot understand it without your assistance.
29
votes
3
answers
5k
views
When folks send me pull-requests on GitHub, what are their copyright/licensing terms by default?
Say I'm maintaining a GPLv3 project on GitHub with a LICENSE file, code headers and all. Now, a few folks made some code enhancements and sent me a pull-request. Does that automatically mean that they ...
26
votes
4
answers
2k
views
What are the implications of the Google vs. Oracle case on the state of public APIs?
There is a case between Google and Oracle over the use of Java and it's standard library on the Google Android operating system. From this article:
To recap: Oracle accused Google of copying some of ...
19
votes
1
answer
4k
views
What is the difference between GPL + Classpath exception vs LGPL
Java and a few java libraries provide a "classpath" exception. To me, this seems similar to the LGPL's linking exceptions. What is the difference between the GPL with a classpath exception and the ...
18
votes
4
answers
762
views
Does a host application's license apply to plug-ins written for it?
This was prompted by another question which reminded of a past experience.
Consider the following:
An open-source project supports a plug-in architecture
The project is released under a copyleft ...
64
votes
3
answers
6k
views
How can I determine if two open source licenses are compatible with each other?
Given two open source projects, each with different licenses, are there metrics or resources I can use to determine if it is legitimate to copy code from one of the projects to the other?
40
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Can I "Override" a licensing policy?
On many sites, especially Stack Overflow, I can't help but notice such amazing code snippets. However, they come with a "catch" designed by the author.
With user contributions being licensed with the ...
32
votes
2
answers
4k
views
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 ...
31
votes
2
answers
22k
views
Where to put license for MIT licensed code on website
I'm a freelance web developer building a site for a client. I found some code I'd like to use on CodePen which uses the MIT License. As far as I understand the license, I can use the code freely on my ...
30
votes
4
answers
17k
views
What's the difference between permissive and copyleft licenses?
I've heard both terms thrown around, but I'm a bit unclear as to how the licenses differ.
How is copyleft different to a permissive license? Is copyleft just the standard for open source licenses?
22
votes
7
answers
536
views
How do open-source concepts apply to hardware?
Most of us know open-source and open-source concepts from software. Code is easily distributable. We have various licences that help us legalize and regulate how people use our code, and we have ...
21
votes
1
answer
7k
views
Why shouldn't Creative Commons licenses be used for software? [duplicate]
Suppose I was finishing up an open source software. I needed to license it under an open source license.
My question:
Why would I not want to license my software under a Creative Commons license?
...
17
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Is there any way to assert that a source code correspond to a compiled code?
When using a program that was compiled from open source code by a 3rd party and not by yourself directly, how is it possible to check that the binary program is well built against an exact source code ...
17
votes
2
answers
4k
views
Can I license Python project under 3-clause BSD while it has GPL-based dependencies
I'm working on an open source Python project and we have plans to use GPLv2-licensed library python3-xlib, but we will not distribute it with our library. So user can install it by pip install our-lib ...
15
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Does "the GPL doesn't cover the output of a program" also apply if the output is source code?
As it is well known (see for example this question or this one), the GPL licenses do not cover the output of a GPL-licensed program.
So, I could for example generate some pictures with a GPL-licensed ...
9
votes
1
answer
5k
views
Apache 2.0 license - NOTICE, CHANGELOG
I have a question about the NOTICE and CHANGELOG files in Apache 2.0 license.
Here is the situation: I based my work on an Apache 2.0 licensed project. I did some minor changes (compared to the ...
8
votes
1
answer
622
views
Possibility of non-commercial ‘open-source’ and attribution based licence
I am currently planning to launch an alpha version of the software as a representative of an unregistered company. We (currently I'm the only person on the team) do not have any patents and are not ...
6
votes
4
answers
441
views
Is linking a correct proxy for derivative work determination in (copyleft) FOSS licenses?
I tend to use these simple tests to determine if the copyleft terms of a third-party project apply to the calling/reusing code:
if the calling code is linking (statically or dynamically) with GPL-...