49
votes
Accepted
If my repository uses a MIT license, can I submit a DMCA takedown for someone who copied it?
I've heard that MIT takes away most copyright
This is absolutely not correct; the MIT License (and all other open source licenses) rely on copyright law to be effective.
and permits free use
The ...
- 20.7k
42
votes
Accepted
Is it legal to have the "// (c) 2019 John Smith" header in all files when there are hundreds of contributors?
As far as I am aware, all FLOSS licenses that deal with copyright notices only require the preservation of notices that exist. Each author had the opportunity to add their own name to header when they ...
- 36.4k
29
votes
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 don't want people copying all of my source code and claiming it as their own work
Any open source license will do this; even the most "bare bones" licenses (MIT, 2 clause BSD etc) require ...
- 20.7k
28
votes
Accepted
Who will be the copyright owner of a new file in a forked repository on github?
Your question suggests that you regard copyrights as property rights. This is a completely understandable misconception - big content creators push this agenda quite hard - but it is a misconception. ...
- 51.1k
25
votes
Accepted
What should I do with the copyright details in a codebase when modifying it when it wasn't forked?
I think this may be one of those cases where people get confused about copyright because they're caught up in the mechanics of github.
You have downloaded a copy of a piece of code licensed under MIT, ...
- 51.1k
25
votes
Accepted
How do I release code written for a company to the public?
Mere permission to publish is no use if you want to make this software open-source (and I'm assuming you do, because otherwise this question's off-topic!).
The important thing is to get a clear ...
- 51.1k
23
votes
Accepted
How to deal with licences after forking a project?
No, you are not allowed to change the copyright notice. Indeed, the license text states pretty clearly:
The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all
copies or ...
- 5,687
21
votes
Are there any software licenses that allow for everything but changing the license or dual-licensing?
Firstly, you need a copyleft license, so that you can ensure derivatives would be subject to the same license conditions.
Secondly, the license must prevent imposition of additional restrictions that ...
- 2,731
20
votes
Is there a good license for a libertarian programmer who's against intellectual property?
Anyone may use the software for any purpose they choose ...
However, no one may place any type of restrictions on my software
Your basic problem is that these are self-contradictory aims. In the ...
- 51.1k
18
votes
Accepted
How much of a given work of software can be claimed under fair use?
Fair use is not a right that you have, but it is a way to defend yourself against a claim of copyright infringement. In the end, it is a judge who decides if your use of the copyrighted work falls ...
- 32.2k
14
votes
Theseus' Paradox applied to code copyright
In the United States, a determination of copyright infringement is based on two broad considerations:
the author's access to the original work
the new work's similarity to the original work
If you ...
- 36.4k
14
votes
Accepted
Why use licenses? Why not release open source code to public domain?
The answer is actually pretty complicated.
Public Domain isn't a thing everywhere
This may be surprising, but in many jurisdictions, the concept of the public domain doesn't exist. Even for ...
- 6,499
14
votes
Accepted
Can a company circumvent the freedom of distribution on GPL software for its employees or service providers?
The GPL FAQ is fairly clear:
Is making and using multiple copies within one organization or company “distribution”?
No, in that case the organization is just making the copies for itself. As a ...
- 36.4k
13
votes
Accepted
Can I resubmit someone else's pull request if he does not sign CLA?
This depends in part on what the CLA requires, but it may be possible.
Do you have the ability to reuse the submission at all?
In general, it's understood that contributions to an open source ...
- 36.4k
13
votes
Accepted
How to deal with copyright infringement on GitHub
One clarifying point: there is usually a legal obligation to keep original copyright notices with original license headers and texts. There is not usually a legal obligation to "link back" -- this ...
- 36.4k
13
votes
Accepted
Copyright notice in the file header (Apache v2 license)
SmartBear Software only has a copyright claim on files that were copied from the Swagger repository. --And even there, I see some problems. More on that later.--
The copyright on any files that are ...
- 32.2k
13
votes
Copyright notices and multiple developers
What is the creative work that the developers contributed to? Is every file an independent creative work for the purpose of copyright? Or does a software constituted from multiple files present a ...
- 39.3k
13
votes
Accepted
Are there legal reasons blocking the use of Apache 2 License in France
French courts definitely don't have a problem with licences in foreign languages. Two French courts (a lower court and the court of appeal) have upheld the GPL, which is not written in French. (Yes, ...
- 51.1k
13
votes
Does every adaptation of a CC BY-SA work violate its terms?
The usual disclaimer: I'm not a lawyer and this is not personalized legal advice.
Am I reading too much into the license, or am I somehow misunderstanding copyright law and how it works with Creative ...
- 355
13
votes
Accepted
Can I fork libstdc++ without disclaiming copyright for the modifications I make?
This is not a legal concern, but one of project policy. What this FAQ item says is essentially: if you submit contributions to the GNU project, they will not use them unless you first assign copyright ...
- 36.4k
13
votes
Accepted
Who owns copyright if I place code in a repository but do not update the copyright notice?
To answer the question in the title of your post:
Who owns copyright if I place code in a repository but do not update the copyright notice?
You own the copyright in any code you wrote. This is ...
- 20.7k
12
votes
Accepted
How to apply MIT license in the GitHub repo for fully free project?
That's not true that a public domain dedication won't protect you, for instance the Unlicense is a public domain dedication but still includes a limitation of warranty. In GitHub's choosealicense.com ...
- 5,687
12
votes
Accepted
Rules for appropriate editing of copyright notices in cloned, Apache-2.0-licenced, opensource repositories
Yes this is correct but you do not need to duplicate the same Apache notice twice. Instead you could use this simpler and more useful form IMHO:
Copyright 2017 My Example Company
Copyright ...
- 14.7k
12
votes
Accepted
Can a GitHub Organization assert copyright?
I would not expect that Rubberduck VBA, as an unincorporated organization that lacks legal personhood, is an entity that can own a copyright (though this may vary by jurisdiction). Furthermore, unless ...
- 36.4k
12
votes
Accepted
Use SVG code licensed under CC
Fair disclosure: I'm not a lawyer.
Short version:
I'd do both.
Longer version:
The way I understand the CC license(s), the point is to make it very clear where the images you're using come from. Most ...
- 5,162
12
votes
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 don't want people copying all of my source code and claiming it as their own work
Pretty much any license will require attribution, even MIT and most BSD variants. The exception is public domain ...
- 221
11
votes
Accepted
What license do I apply to my software if parts of its code is derived from MIT licensed open source software?
The MIT license doesn't "bind" you to use the MIT license for your application, but it's a simple way to comply with the license if you haven't got pressing reasons to use another license. Yes, all ...
- 3,931
11
votes
Accepted
Theseus' Paradox applied to code copyright
The license used, is actually completely irrelevant. The question lies purely in copyright.
What you need to figure out, is whether your changes will constitute a derivative work. Derivative work ...
- 6,499
11
votes
Accepted
Projects which require copyright assignment from contributors?
Many projects do this, typically with the help of a CLA (Contributor License Agreement).
Possible reasons for doing this (there might be more):
The project owner can change the license without ...
- 5,680
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible