81 votes
Accepted

Someone open-sourced an un-open-source project

Person A has no right to distribute that software, and is committing a copyright violation. Since they hold no rights in the software, they cannot grant a license to others. Any license they purport ...
amon's user avatar
  • 38.9k
30 votes
Accepted

Since some software is open source, can you add a feature you created and use it for your own personal use?

Yes VSCode Mureinik already pointed out that VSCode is licensed under the MIT license, which is a permissive license. To quote from it (emphasis mine): Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, ...
nonthevisor's user avatar
29 votes
Accepted

Is re-encoding an audio or video file permitted under CC-BY-ND?

CC BY-ND 4.0 says in section 2(a)(4): Media and formats; technical modifications allowed. The Licensor authorizes You to exercise the Licensed Rights in all media and formats whether now known or ...
apsillers's user avatar
  • 35.9k
24 votes
Accepted

How to use MIT license in a project?

The MIT license is so simple, you should be able to find the answer to your questions by just reading it. It has only one requirement: The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be ...
Zimm i48's user avatar
  • 5,577
21 votes
Accepted

Quoting GPL licensed text in presentation slides

The Berne Convention on copyright specifies the Right to Quote as an exception to copyright. Article 10 (1) It shall be permissible to make quotations from a work which has already been lawfully made ...
curiousdannii's user avatar
19 votes
Accepted

Is the output of an open source program licensed the same?

In general, the license of the software used to create a file doesn't have any influence on the possible licenses you can distribute that file under. For example, if you use Microsoft Word to write ...
Bart van Ingen Schenau's user avatar
19 votes

Since some software is open source, can you add a feature you created and use it for your own personal use?

The freedom to modify a piece of software is an essential open-source freedom covered by any open-source license, specifically the MIT License which VSCode is licensed under. In other words - you most ...
Mureinik's user avatar
  • 5,092
17 votes

Why don't open source licenses give a more specific definition of "derivative works" to reduce ambiguity?

Because open source licenses are copyright licenses, and copyright license do not get to define their scope as they choose; or more precisely there is a "maximum size boundary" to which the ...
Philip Kendall's user avatar
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 ...
apsillers's user avatar
  • 35.9k
13 votes

Recourse for forks ignoring open source license on original code in App Store?

It certainly sucks when people take your work and use it in ways against your permission, like copying your copyleft work without also sharing their changes. Fortunately you don't have to go straight ...
congusbongus's user avatar
  • 8,889
13 votes
Accepted

Can derivatives of CC BY-SA works be licensed under CC BY-NC-SA?

No, it’s not allowed. It says on the license summary page: No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the ...
unor's user avatar
  • 5,620
13 votes
Accepted

Is ripping off an open source library okay?

Generally, a fork done without consultation of the original project (and without the intent to merge change back upstream eventually) is called a "hostile fork". Performing a hostile fork is -- as its ...
apsillers's user avatar
  • 35.9k
13 votes

Someone open-sourced an un-open-source project

The Project_A is a decompiled version of another project (Project_B). But the original Project_B is not open source, AND Project_B never granted Person_A permission to open source the project. You ...
Basile Starynkevitch's user avatar
12 votes
Accepted

If I use a public API endpoint that has its source code licensed under AGPL in my app, do I need to disclose my source?

Making calls to a public API If there's a public API server that has it's source code licensed with AGPL, and if I make an app that uses these public endpoints in some part of it, ... is this ...
Brandin's user avatar
  • 2,520
12 votes
Accepted

Can I fork and modify gpl3 licensed code and release it with Apache v2 license?

If I fork a library that uses the GPL3 license and heavily modify it, can I then release the new library with an ApacheV2 license No, you may not. Your library is still, by your own admission, a ...
MadHatter's user avatar
  • 48.3k
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 ...
Zizouz212's user avatar
  • 6,449
11 votes

Is the output of an open source program licensed the same?

Your "knowledge" in the first paragraph is not correct. Only some Open Source licenses require that modifications of the software must be also licensed under the same license. These licenses are often ...
user8117's user avatar
  • 111
10 votes

Derived work of BSD licensed software, how do I indicate this?

If you adapt a file, you have to satisfy the licensing requirements for that file, whatever your changes and whatever the licensing requirements. If the module only specifies Copyright ... and BSD, I'...
Stephen Kitt's user avatar
  • 4,183
10 votes

Merging parts of another, parallel, fork [MIT]

You are thinking very much about Git, and not at all about the existing MIT license. You can just copy Jack's code. You do have explicit permission – the MIT license under which you received Jack's ...
amon's user avatar
  • 38.9k
9 votes

Preventing people from forking and profiting over minor changes

"Ad supported" is a business model which simply doesn't work for Open Source because anyone can just disable the ads and redistribute the work. If you want to monetize open source software, you need ...
Philipp's user avatar
  • 11.8k
9 votes
Accepted

Can I take a few classes out of a library and use it in my project or should I always use the entire library?

Open source allows you to create derivative works. That means you can create a derivative work which reduces the functionality to those parts you consider essential. But remember that you need to ...
Philipp's user avatar
  • 11.8k
9 votes

GPL-Licensed LaTeX template - implications for resulting work?

A slightly peripheral addition: https://bitbucket.org/amiede/classicthesis/issues/123/gpl-suitable The author's opinion is that if you use the LaTeX template to create another document (e.g. PDF) and ...
leezer3's user avatar
  • 433
9 votes
Accepted

Can I sell my own CMS based on another CMS (e.g. WordPress) and encrypt the source code?

Can I recode wordpress or another CMS and then sell it as my own? recode for specific purposes. I'm going to remove needless code, add my own and customize CMS for myself As long as the license ...
Philippe Ombredanne's user avatar
9 votes
Accepted

Can I fork and sell a modified Apache 2.0 licensed project?

First, a caveat. If this is critical, you should consult a lawyer and explain exactly what you're doing - this answer isn't legal advice. What you're describing is allowed under the Apache license. ...
TroublesomeQuarry's user avatar
9 votes
Accepted

DMCA Takedown Notice received for distributing software licensed under Apache 2.0

On the face of it, this certainly seems like an erroneous or abusive DMCA takedown. The copyright holder had already given you rights to modify and distribute the browser extension by their Apache 2.0 ...
apsillers's user avatar
  • 35.9k
9 votes
Accepted

Is there a license for legally sharing photos of copyrighted content?

There cannot be such a license. A license grants rights that you hold to other people. You do not hold any rights to other people's artwork. Fair use in the U.S. is not quite a right that you have, ...
amon's user avatar
  • 38.9k
9 votes
Accepted

Is License Zero compatible with other open source licenses like GNU, MIT or BSD licenses for example?

You have asked a fairly broad question so I'll discuss a few snippets, and come back to the License Zero at the end. Restricting users of free software. I can't help but want to make sure that my ...
amon's user avatar
  • 38.9k
9 votes
Accepted

Can I Commit LGPL3 Derivative Work To An Apache 2 Licensed Project?

Since your code is derived from the LGPLv3 code you are bound by that license – it is a copyleft license like the GPLv3, just with a linking exception. You do not have the right to license this code ...
amon's user avatar
  • 38.9k
8 votes
Accepted

Confusion about derived works from an MIT License

The MIT license is a permissive license, which allows you to do anything you like with the licensed code, including using it in a proprietary code-base. Derivative code isn't automatically MIT-...
Stephen Kitt's user avatar
  • 4,183
8 votes
Accepted

Does OSL 3.0 require user access to source if I sell access to it as SAAS?

Yes; OSL 3.0 is a copyleft license that also applies if you provide network access to the output of your software, as in SaaS. From the source: External Deployment Defined OSL 3.0 requires ...
congusbongus's user avatar
  • 8,889

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