All Questions
Tagged with copyright open-source-software
94
questions
1
vote
2
answers
129
views
Why is a license necessary to design a microarchitecture for the arm family of instruction set architectures?
In order to design a microarchitecture that uses the ARM instruction set architecture (ISA), one has to buy an "architectural license".[1]
However, I don't understand by what mechanism ARM ...
- 111
0
votes
0
answers
26
views
Is the use of fictional names from a video game in the source code subject to the copyright of the original work? [duplicate]
If I were to reproduce a large amount of names (of characters, abilities, locations, items, etc.) from a video game, then use these names in the source code of a new software being developed, would ...
- 31
0
votes
0
answers
35
views
Can titles of published papers be used for commercial purposes?
Let's say I want to sell t-shirts, and I want to include the title of famous scientific papers. I am also considering adding some other visuals to the shirt; in some cases let's say I would consider ...
- 101
-3
votes
4
answers
161
views
Can I sneak around my copyleft obligations with adhesion contracts?
Some licenses, like the GPL, mandate that I license derivative works under the same license and not a more restrictive license. I believe this is called "copyleft".
But say I want to have ...
- 3,511
2
votes
2
answers
153
views
Can a software license be conditional on the actions of others?
I recently had an idea for a "threshold conditional" software license that works like this:
Any person/entity can purchase a license and gain the unconditional right to use the software any ...
- 143
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 ...
1
vote
1
answer
162
views
What if someone published program on invalid license and then fixed it?
I saw repository on GitHub where someone had LICENSE file as below:
Copyright year name
Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
you may not use this file except in ...
- 115
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
31
votes
5
answers
9k
views
Can you host a version of Wikipedia on your own domain and charge for it?
I am reading through these notes, trying to piece together a picture of what the rules/laws are regarding Wikipedia content:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Mirrors_and_forks
https://en....
- 769
0
votes
1
answer
208
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
384
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
1
vote
0
answers
64
views
AGPL-3.0 license
If make a service for a open source software with this license that interact but isn't part of the software itself, only connected to it,
i would need to provide a open source distribution of the ...
- 53
5
votes
1
answer
1k
views
What is a binary form in software BSD license (and other licenses that didn't define it)?
BSD license says (emphasis mine):
Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met...
It sounds "...
- 203
2
votes
1
answer
291
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
2
answers
187
views
Can minors publish open source software?
If a minor releases software under a FOSS license, is the license binding? Could the minor sue a violator?
- 17.1k
2
votes
1
answer
93
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 ...
- 27.2k
0
votes
1
answer
140
views
Can a developer use someone else's product name as an Open Source project name?
Suppose that an open source developer wants to use the product name ninjago owed by Lego for the name of an Open Source project. Is it allowed to base the project name on Lego brand? Also can the ...
- 123
16
votes
1
answer
3k
views
How long does a GPL licencee have to respond to a source code request before it becomes a GPL violation?
I have requested source code for a product that contains software licensed under GPL 2. The product includes a written offer to provide source code if you send a written request by email. The offer is ...
- 161
0
votes
2
answers
194
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
216
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
175
views
Why does the open source license BSD-Clause 2/3 not have something like "to deal in the Software without restriction?
Every article that I've read about BSD-Clause 2 and 3 pretty much said that the licensed software is free of restrictions/any purpose as long as you follow what the licenses say, but the actual ...
- 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
vote
1
answer
116
views
Making public/open-source datasets from royalty-free image sources
I am working on a small face-related dataset that will be publicly available for open research. I have looked into many copyright-free image sources like https://pikwizard.com/ and https://www.pexels....
- 111
4
votes
3
answers
253
views
If I post my own code to Stack Overflow, can I then use that code in a project that uses a license other than CC-BY-SA?
Suppose that I have a block of code that represents my own original work (i.e. I am the copyright holder), and that I would like to post this code on Stack Overflow--either to answer someone else's ...
- 233
1
vote
1
answer
228
views
Collecting chess games for an open source database
There are a few questions on copyright and chess already, but I'm going to be a bit more specific.
There currently are big, commercial databases of chess games, such as Chessbase's Mega Database. ...
- 13
11
votes
2
answers
4k
views
Obtaining source code from an uncooperative company when you're an author
According to an answer on Methods for obtaining source code from an uncooperative company:
You're probably out of luck. The company distributing this firmware has an obligation to provide you the ...
- 988
1
vote
2
answers
133
views
Am I free to make use of code snippets found in a bachelor's thesis under an open-source license?
I found an interesting bachelor's thesis recently, with some ideas in it that I have not seen applied in any sort of library that I've come across before. Thus, I would like to create my own library ...
- 123
0
votes
1
answer
84
views
Legality of dual use software that could help with games
Say I have tremors, and I edit my GPL mouse driver to use image analysis to identify icons on the screen that I am trying to click on, and click on them for me, similar to a snap to grid functionality....
- 827
1
vote
1
answer
288
views
Are open source software licenses really irevocable under US law?
Many open source software licenses, such as the Apache 2.0, the GPL ver 3, the EUPL ver 1.2, the OSL ver 3.0, and other copyleft licenses such as the CC-BY-SA 2.0 license purport to provide a license ...
- 114k
0
votes
3
answers
412
views
If one is the owner of an MIT licence, can that person relicense the software?
Suppose that someone (S) has supervised a group of students for a school project to produce software. This software is licensed under the MIT License and the copyright notice caries the name of the ...
- 27
0
votes
2
answers
108
views
Can a copyright holder legally remove another holder from license copyright, then expand it to all contributors?
The original author of a MIT-licensed project "merged" a large set of changes I authored, which included an addition of my name to the copyright line of the license. Later on, the original ...
- 109
-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 ...
2
votes
1
answer
343
views
What is the difference between typeface derivative works and a "document created using the font"
I like the Humor Sans font and have been using it to create infographics. These are png/jpg files and do not contain information about the font typeface, nor do they contain any of the source code of ...
- 232
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
142
views
How to patent a technology as public domain? [duplicate]
If an inventor comes up with a technology that could benefit humankind and instead of keeping it for themselves they decide they want to make it freely available to all, what would the legal process ...
- 117
-1
votes
1
answer
103
views
Could I convert an HTML template under MIT to a WordPress theme and sell it?
I found an HTML blog template under the MIT license, and I would like to convert it to a WordPress theme and sell it (for example, on ThemeForest). If I understand correctly, the MIT license will ...
- 3
-2
votes
1
answer
76
views
Fallback license for the case public domain is unavailable [closed]
Suppose a software developer wants to release a software project into the public domain. However the developer knows that this sometimes causes more troubles than it solves due to the problem that ...
- 105
0
votes
1
answer
57
views
Copyrights of an application with similar name to another application
i has writing a php framework that its features is most important features that are exists in codeigniter and laravel and very very another features that is not exists in another frameworks. it's a ...
0
votes
1
answer
101
views
Can textbook questions be quoted in the source code of an open source project?
The specific case I am referring to is here: https://github.com/dharmatech/Symbolism#examples. I am considering following suit and quote textbook questions which act as test cases in my own open ...
- 103
0
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Can I put a copyright notice on modified open source files?
I have a software project which is essentially a heavily modified piece of open source software. I'm wanting to add copyright notices to the file headers to protect my work, as it is possible for ...
1
vote
1
answer
1k
views
GitHub - Can I legally commit proprietary source code in a private repository?
I maintain an open-source application project, which I committed in a public GitHub repository. The source code I wrote is open-source (under MIT license) and owned by me, however it depends on a ...
10
votes
5
answers
3k
views
Are Word-Frequency lists copyrightable?
If someone generates word frequency lists somehow. For example by analysing a web corpus or data from keyboards. Is this form of list of words and their frequencies copyrightable? For example if ...
- 101
1
vote
2
answers
83
views
Ownership of sites and smart contracts
If I am an owner of a site, I can place restrictions on its usage even if the site software is licensed under an open source license such as GPL or AGPL, right? Which law allows me to place such ...
- 257
0
votes
2
answers
235
views
I believe [program] violates GPL, do I need to sue the author before using its source code?
Let's say there's a program ("ABC") which is licensed under GPL. There's a similar program ("CAD") on the market, which I believe is a modified ABC. It is therefore in violation of ...
- 2,953
1
vote
1
answer
50
views
Can I embed "public available" scientific data in my app?
I have written some (smallish) scientific apps which I would like to make public (open source). They use scientific data sets from NIST such as this.
It would make sense to add a (slightly cleaned up) ...
- 111
0
votes
1
answer
682
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 ...
