All Questions
36
questions
2
votes
1
answer
139
views
Commerical usage of sentence-transformers/multi-qa-mpnet-base-cos-v1 [closed]
We are trying to use a HuggingFace Embedding model - multi-qa-mpnet-base-cos-v1 for an internal Large Language Model powered application. While reading the documentation it says (not verbatim):
For ...
0
votes
1
answer
59
views
Is the non-applicability of copyright to software interfaces considered settled law?
In computer software, it's common for a system to expose an Application Programming Interface (API) for other software to interact with it. For example, a smart lightbulb might expose a SetBrightness(...
- 101
0
votes
0
answers
14
views
Grant access to previous public research results including IPR for the purpose of future commercial exploitation
We are building a project of technology transfer.
In the project, one partner is a university XXX; the main contact person who will work with us is a professor. Previously, the professor and his team ...
- 103
0
votes
0
answers
17
views
Does BSD 3-clause extend to educational material
Problem
I am looking to teach a web development course and to help teach JavaScript I wanted to use a package licensed under BSD 3-clause. I am unsure if using the library to teach with violates the ...
- 101
0
votes
1
answer
211
views
Can the GPL3 and MIT license be applied to closed-source software?
I recently found software containing only binaries (no access to source code) being distributed and dual-licensed under the GPL3 (https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.en.html) and MIT (https://...
6
votes
1
answer
385
views
In the US, under what circumstances can I re-write code I previously wrote but do not own?
I write code for company X in the USA using popular technology Y. In the course of my job I end up developing a number of useful libraries/widgets/utilities for use within the Y ecosystem that have ...
- 161
12
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Am I at risk by storing or using software that violates copyright?
Imagine the following scenario:
A software company copies code from some open source project and includes it in their own software without giving credit to the original authors, violating the open ...
- 221
2
votes
1
answer
297
views
Is each version of a software considered a "derivative work"?
Originally asked in Software Engineering but a user raised it is more a legal question than an engineering one.
Let's suppose there is a software at version a1 in code repository A on an online code ...
- 203
2
votes
1
answer
94
views
Is a website using behind the scenes software X a "copy" or "substantial portion" of software X?
The MIT license says:
The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all
copies or substantial portions of the Software.
Bob finds a nice piece of MIT-licensed software ...
- 27.8k
0
votes
2
answers
195
views
Is my programming knowledge contaminated?
We know that ideas are not copyrightable (except for patent related issues), but expressions are (idea–expression dichotomy). However, after reading about clean room design, I got somewhat confused. ...
- 105
2
votes
1
answer
218
views
If commercial use is not mentioned in a software license like BSD, is it implied to freely do so?
BSD talks mostly about redistribution and doesn't even mention commercial use or something like "for any purpose". Therefore they don't need to explicitly state "commercial use is ...
- 31
0
votes
1
answer
63
views
Can I impose the requirement of a paid license if and only if my software is offered as a service?
I'm getting ready to open source a project that facilitates the deployment, maintenance, and orchestration of data platforms on just about any architecture (locally, on any cloud of your choosing, on ...
- 101
1
vote
1
answer
113
views
Can I develop open source software to parse a copyrighted document for private use?
I obtained a foreign language dictionary in PDF format, whose copyright information states the following:
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part
of ...
- 111
-1
votes
2
answers
217
views
What are the rights of the software owners if their software is used to make money?
Let's assume that I have an iPhone and
I tell how to use it (e.g. how an app is downloaded, how a photo is taken),
I mention about its functions, features (e.g. how a contact is created, how Wi-Fi is ...
1
vote
1
answer
410
views
Can the maintainers of a LGPL project use contributed code after the original contributor withdrew it and was kicked out from the community?
Suppose that out there in the web there is a project, let's call it <PROJECT NAME>, licensed under LGPL v 2.1 or, at the end user's discretion, above.
An external contributor (not officially ...
- 1,616
0
votes
1
answer
683
views
Is writing articles by fixing Google Translate Copyright Infringement?
I am currently looking for documentation for software in a non-English language, but there is only documentation on the software in English.
In order to help other non-English speakers, I decided to ...
0
votes
0
answers
71
views
Copyright issue of the interface of Windows Notepad
I'm developing Windows application. It is crypto-functioning notepad.
And its design(UI interface) is almost(approx 90%?) same with Microsoft Windows Notepad.
Differences are only some buttons and ...
- 111
0
votes
1
answer
69
views
Can I get benefits of others' contributions to my GPL licensed software to use these contributions in my proprietary software?
I have my own code of a software, purely coded by me. I am intending to open source it, GPLv3 or Apache 2.0. Then I will add them to Github to let others get benefits of source code and contribute ...
- 11
2
votes
2
answers
176
views
Is a contribution clause necessary in dual-licensed MIT-or-Apache code?
I’ve noticed a lot of dual-licensed MIT-or-Apache Rust projects have added this clause concerning contributions:
### Contribution
Unless you explicitly state otherwise, any contribution ...
- 121
31
votes
3
answers
9k
views
Can an open source licence be revoked if it violates employer's IP?
Suppose a developer's contract says that all intellectual property (IP) rights to her code belong to her UK employer. While employed, she develops a library and open-sources it under the Apache 2.0 ...
- 505
3
votes
1
answer
199
views
Are computer generated error messages subject to copyright?
In firefox, it throws up a generated error in response to the website that im creating (which is my work). can i then copy and paste part of that error into my program as part of a solution im writing?...
-1
votes
2
answers
128
views
Selling License Exceptions using CLA
I am working on an open-source software project in academia. It is currently licensed under a modified BSD-style license that allows only unmodified, non-commercial usage. We are currently considering ...
- 101
0
votes
1
answer
251
views
Are there any AGPL-style licences that require source code modifications to be public?
So my understanding of the AGPL, is that it requires modifications to be distributed to the users of the network service, but I'm looking for a licence that would require any modifications (non-...
- 11
4
votes
1
answer
239
views
Can I use my own Open Source code in commercial software I'm writing?
If I release some code that I wrote myself with an Open Source license (a WordPress plugin with the GPL2 license, https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.html), can I then use my own code in commercial ...
- 143
0
votes
0
answers
156
views
Modifying Open Source System Files to Cheat
I am asking this question primarily as a follow up to this question: Is creating and selling "cheats" or "hacks" for games illegal?
The consensus in that question seems that it is ...
- 3,568
0
votes
1
answer
50
views
Copyright on code from public source
Let's imagine consultancy A develops a code for client B that use some free available code from a website so it's a derivative work from the free code (MIT license). Can consultancy A re-use the same ...
- 133
1
vote
2
answers
165
views
When a contractor develops a program based on clients specifications, who owns the rights?
I was hired to create a computer program. The client gave me directions on what it should do and how the UI should look like (complete with pictures). No formal contract was ever made, and I realize ...
- 57
2
votes
1
answer
270
views
Why is there a year generated in copyright license code?
I just generated a new MIT licensed repository on Github. Part of the license looks like this:
Copyright (c) 2017 superfly-css
What is the purpose of having a year in the copyright line? Is it ...
- 327
0
votes
1
answer
64
views
Can I use any library I want in a public domain program?
If I install a library on my system (let's say it's called libfoo and it is under the BSD license), then include the header in my program (in the public domain) and link the program to libfoo, is that ...
- 153
3
votes
1
answer
123
views
Software licence where no licence is found
Is it correct that I can't take the source code from an educational book and write/use in my website or use it for my own teaching purposes?
Or can such code be considered "generic code" without ...
0
votes
1
answer
215
views
How does contributing to a FLOSS project work from a legal perspective?
Some points I know:
Contributors own copyright over their contributions, which means the author (= the owner of the repo and original author) cannot re-license the code (= change the license of the ...
- 101
7
votes
2
answers
411
views
Does using Java or Mono open me up to the possibility of being sued by Oracle or Microsoft?
Given the recent lawsuit between Google and Oracle due to Oracle's claims of the unfair usage of the Java API's in Android.
I have a large amount of Java and C# code for certain back end processes on ...
MrCyber
7
votes
1
answer
2k
views
What is the Copyright Status of code posted on JSFiddle?
Programmers share code on the site JSFiddle http://jsfiddle.net, the website section called Licence states:
All code posted to the site belongs to the poster and no license is enforced.
jsFiddle are ...
- 115
4
votes
0
answers
63
views
Copyright law and distribution terms for public versions or derivatives
The present question is a special case of Can one take BSD licensed code and distribute it under GPL?.
Looking recently at OpenBSD's LibreSSL, I've noticed that SSLeay that it traces its roots to (...
- 5,078
15
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Is WINE illegal?
Is WINE (WINE Is Not an Emulator) illegal?
Given that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has held in Oracle v. Google that APIs are copyrightable, is WINE (which reproduces the Windows ...
111
10
votes
2
answers
486
views
At what point and how should I change the license/Copyright notice when I create a derivative?
If I take a piece of software that is licensed as MIT (quoted at the end), and use it as a scaffold to create for my own thing, do I need to keep including the old license perpetually? This would seem ...
- 201