Questions tagged [copyright]
Software copyright is the extension of copyright law to machine-readable software
179 questions
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How to protect my program? [duplicate]
I want to release a program, my first program, but I don't know how to protect it. By protecting it I mean protect it against piracy and getting copied by others. Is there anything I can do to protect ...
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239
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Are there accepted alternatives to having boilerplate (e.g. copyright, OSS, xport ctrl, classification) in the sourcecode itself?
An increasing amount of effort is being put in keeping company code "boilerplate" header up-to-date according to classifications and templates from an external application, leading to "source code ...
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1
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106
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Is modification allowed if license does not mention it? [closed]
I recently came across this license agreement on software:
Personal Use License
The content owner grants the buyer a non-exclusive, perpetual, personal use
license to view, download, display,...
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3
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1
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6k
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how to properly copyright my code on github?
I just completed a research project in computer science for a college professor and I wanted to upload it to github so that people can use it and possibly benefit from it for free. What do I have to ...
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2
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161
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Contributions of a problematic team member to an open source project [closed]
I'm currently coordinating the development of a software for a certain scientific computational task. The developers are all working on the project on a voluntary basis. Our goal is to publish the ...
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1
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161
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Legality of website forking? [closed]
In general, what is the legality of website forking?
I am based in the United Kingdom and intending to host my website on U.S. or Canadian servers.
I am looking at creating a website about ...
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1
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81
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What kind of license/copyright is this? Can I use this in a GPLv3 licensed project? [closed]
I intent to release my code under the GPLv3 license. No problem to do this, until I came upon a 3rd party file. Their owners have the following statement in it (and no other statement regarding ...
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1
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410
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How to avoid accidental Copyright Infringement? [closed]
If I were to write a security application and sell it or "opensource" it, how would I avoid writing the same code coincidentally if I cannot review source code of other programs out there? (and ...
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1
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263
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How to preserve authorship of a forked repository on GitHub?
Say, a repository licensed under BSD-2 license has been forked on GitHub. A major refactoring is happening and new features are going to be added. No interactions with the original repository is ...
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1
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2k
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Modifying an Apache 2 licensed file and add MIT license to it [closed]
TLDR;
I'd like to add a (modification) copyright and a MIT License to an Apache 2 licensed file, which I modified.
Description
I modified a file that was licensed Apache 2. According to what I ...
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6
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3
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Should we compile and ship libraries with debug information whenever possible?
There is considerable cost (and pain) for developers to debug external libraries due to the fact that many libraries are distributed in two editions: one with debug information, other without. The ...
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134
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Is BSD-3 compatible with dual licensing?
I am planning to write some financial modeling software targeting enterprises. It will be based on an existing open-source project that already has a BSD-3 license. I do not own the copyright to the ...
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1
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1
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249
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Copying and pasting is bad. What about reimplementing? [duplicate]
So, we have a problem. I googled to find if it was a solved problem, and found a link describing an algorithm which is just about what we need. They also included a sample implementation. Just, not a ...
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1
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3k
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Why isn't the C standard free? [duplicate]
I'm gradually learning C, and, after my best attempt at piracy, have resigned myself to the fact that I will have to either shell out $60 to ANSI or settle for pirating the penultimate draft hosted on ...
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2k
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How to handle modification on MIT Licenced project
I'm about to fork an MIT licenced project, I'm planning to use it as a starter. I was wondering how I have to handle the licence.
What I understand
When I will mimifie my javascript application, I'll ...
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241
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If I develop a media player for mobile or desktop do I have to pay for a license if my player is able to read MP3 files?
I know MP3 is not open source format but proprietary and I found this website http://mp3licensing.com/help/developers.html that states that you need a license for basically everything that uses MP3.
...
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664
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Exclude files from open source license?
I'd like to use the MIT License for a project I'm working on. Most of the files in the repository are mine but 1 had to be copied from another open-source project (also under the MIT License).
What ...
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1
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14k
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May I include parts of MIT-licensed code inside my closed-source project?
This could be a simple yes/no answer, but I invite detailed explanations.
Scenario
I have been asked to extend a closed source system at my job, which is not formally released under any license. I ...
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2
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3k
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Adding a new file to a GPL project - how do I carry along/modify copyright information?
Continuing from Author has inserted copyright into code with gnu public license notice - implications?, can I add my author name to a new file (with original code) that I added to a project that comes ...
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3
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1k
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What does it mean for a software to be copyrighted, but the source is also offered?
I recently found a website (LINK) which explains various ways of performing curve fitting using Math.Net. This is one of the only websites I have found that explains the methods and also provides ...
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435
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Can you license a fork of a public domain library?
The original library has this statement in its readme, with a link to CC0 1.0.
To the extent possible by law, [redacted] Company, LLC has waived all
copyright and related or neighboring rights to ...
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3
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1
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505
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Does a license need to go at the top always?
Let's say I have a source file of 800 lines, and I want to "copy/paste" one function from a github project that has a MIT license, and I also have my own (which may be a MIT license, or a stronger one)...
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431
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May I relicense my project from GPLv3 to Apache 2.0? [duplicate]
I am about to publish an Android app project I would like to do it using GPLv3 license to avoid it being used in proprietary projects for now.
If I change my mind in the future, since I am the ...
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1
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1
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77
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Licensing and copyright terms for data from Wikipedia
I have an idea for a client-server software project which involves using information from Wikipedia, but I am not sure about what the conditions for using it in regards of licensing and copyrights ...
2
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1
answer
2k
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Redistribution in binary form - Copyright notice in Javascript
I want to distribute a single exe file, which is a simple http web server. This exe contains all the dependency html/js files (mostly licensed under MIT and New BSD)
I really don't know if that's ...
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1
vote
1
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151
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personal repository with copyright/bsd notice tranferred to organization
If a personal repository with copyright/bsd license file is transferred to a github organization that consists of more than just the original copyright holder, since a group of people (the ...
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0
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2
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220
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GPLv3 licensed library requirement and licensing own library BSD [closed]
I have been searching the web for quite some time now, but the plethora of opinions/comments/articles about licensing questions make it difficult to verify how trustworthy the various sources are. ...
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10
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2
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4k
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How to manage copyright notices from contributors to a BSD licensed project
We have the following BSD license in the LICENSE file:
Copyright (c) 2006-2016 SymPy Development Team
All rights reserved.
Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
...
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1
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855
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Do I update the copyright header when i modify the source?
Suppose I were to modify a said piece of code and put it back on github, would I have to update the license header.
This is the code(Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0): https://github....
3
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1
answer
295
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Is it safe to use old code in a new project? [duplicate]
Here is the situation:
While working by company A on project A you developed a very fast and perfect search algorithm.
Then you switched to company B to work on project B which is totally different ...
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0
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3
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689
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What exactly is copyrighted, the text of the code itself, or the design? [closed]
I am both the sole developer for a relatively small company and someone who enjoys programming as a hobby. Recently, for one of my personal projects, I started making a framework for a RESTful API and ...
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1
answer
2k
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When I modify and redestributes software that is originally using the MIT License, can I revoke the right to sell my modification?
There is a piece of software, free, and open source, under the MIT License.
I make modifications to it, make it better, etc. I distribute this new software, also for free and open source.
But can I ...
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3
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2
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206
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Does ShareAlike mean, that if I include a resource released under CC-BY-SA in my program, that I have to release my entire code?
The FAQ states:
ShareAlike — If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same license as the original.
That makes sense - if I want to ...
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1
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4k
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private copyright to include in the closed source code for the company [closed]
I'm wondering on what's the practice of writing in the copyright area to use for the company I work for.
Earlier I was working solo but now we have hired more developers. Company is not so much ...
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3
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1
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137
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At what point do you drop attribution to original work?
Lets say I have a project which has evolved over the past year. When I began the project, I looked around for open source projects which provided as much of the base system as I could find, and ...
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11
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2
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2k
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How exactly do exclusive code rights work? [closed]
I was asked by a client to submit a proposal for a web-app he wants to built. This client is a startup with a relatively good traction so far (as it seems).
I have been asked to draft up a contract ...
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5
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1
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3k
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Is specifying copyright necessary in a closed source project?
I am working on a back-end, closed-source system for my company, the code for which is never likely to be open-sourced. Is there any reason for including a copyright notice and year at the top of each ...
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0
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0
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62
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Distribute software without license [duplicate]
I wrote a small tool for a game which I now want to present and distribute in the games official forum.
Since a few days I'm thinking about which license I should use to distribute my program.
I don'...
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0
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1
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116
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Copyright for collaborative group
Is there a recommended copyright (eg as BSD is to licensing) agreement type of template that could be used or altered for collaborative software work?
I aim to start a collaborative work that would ...
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2
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1k
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Can someone else copyright my wordpress plugin if I don't own any copyright for it?
Assuming I have a plugin hosted on wordpress.org, can someone else just take my plugin and copyright it?
Can they take the name of my plugin and copyright or trademark it (assuming I do not have it ...
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1
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502
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Open Source Licensing and Intellectual Property Rights [closed]
Is it possible for a developer to lose rights to work on a self-created, open-source-licensed project after an outside company, developer, or organization copyrights (or takes some other legal action ...
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1
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2k
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Do legal names matter with source code licensing in the USA? [closed]
If a project wishes to relicense its source code to a license that was incompatible with the original license, the project maintainers generally need to seek the express approval of its contributors ...
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3
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2
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1k
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Should copyright notice appear on new additions with MIT Licence?
If a library licensed under MIT licence is copied and extended on, should new additions contain the copyright notice as well?
Considering that the additions may at some point overwhelm the initial ...
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2
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90
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Web software license for redistribution by our customer [closed]
I work in a web agency; we developed a web application for a customer.
Once the app was done, the customer asked us the property rights for
our whole app so he can sell it to others.
In this case, ...
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2
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2
answers
618
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(How) should I change the copyright notice in a translated work?
I cannot find any guidance on this. Do I need to change the copyright notice for an application that is automatically translated from a programming language into another one (and recompiled and ...
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0
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2
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230
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Does Un copyrighted software or code fall automatically under copyright? [duplicate]
A programming tutorial, code, software anything that doesn't have a copyright notice or a license ,is it automatically copyrighted to the author ? or its the same as something under public domain or ...
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1
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549
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How to enforce copyright in source code for use by others [duplicate]
I have coded a project for private use. I currently have no intention for commercializing it but the plan might change in the future. A friend of mine now wants to use it for his project, and asks if ...
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1
answer
180
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Providing production code samples as part of an invited freelance work proposal? [closed]
I have only recently started to market myself as a 'programmer' rather than an analyst or something else entirely. In a recent search of freelance/part-time/contract work, I came across an ad for a ...
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2
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1
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758
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Copyrights for Open Source projects [duplicate]
Say I'm developing a piece of Open Source software (BSD-Like permissive license) and I write the initial release entirely on my own. After the initial release however I would like numerous other ...
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0
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3
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973
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GPL Copyright notice in fork of dual licenced software when copyright of original has been sold subsequently
Since 2009 we are developing a fork of a CMS that was started in 1999 as commercial project, but released 2009 additionally under GPL. The original programmer sold copyright, code, name and website in ...
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