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• template for terms of condition for social media based website?

  - by Rubytastic

  Im looking for a template for a terms of usage text based on social media websites. Im actually a coder and not into the legal blabla in general. Ofcourse you could spend a thousand or 2 on a lawyer but just a 3/4 paper text shoulder;t be to hard to compile yourself with some help. Im not sure if this is the right spot to ask this question but I love stack overflow and none of the sites in stack exchange I could find matched better then this one. My first idea lets look at some social media websites and grab some of there text, rewrite it for own specific usage Are there templates on writing such document Same goes with a privacy policy actually.

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• Fork dead SVN based project on GitHub

  - by Quinn Bailey

  I previously asked this at stack overflow but it was closed, I believe because 'programmers' is a more appropriate venue for this question. I have done some work on the SVN Importer project (Apache license), which appears to be effectively dead (no published changes in 5 years). I have a login to their svn server but do not have commit rights. At any rate, I'd like to convert this project to Git and push my own changes to GitHub. The GitHub site suggests the svn2git tool for converting svn projects to Git, so I was planning to convert the SVN repository to Git, add my changes, and then push this Git repository to GitHub. I'm wondering, what are the legal requirements and common conventions of this process? Is it acceptable to clone the entire history of the project and move it to GitHub? Also, even though this is essentially a dead project, once I've translated the repository to Git should I put all of my commits onto a non master branch or is it acceptable to use master in this case?

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• Is there a difference between "self-plagiarizing" in programming vs doing so as a writer?

  - by makerofthings7

  I read this Gawker article about how a writer reused some of his older material for new assignments for different magazines. Is there any similar ethical (societal?) dilemma when doing the same thing in the realm of Programming? Does reusing a shared library you've accumulated over the years amount to self-plagarizm? What I'm getting at is that it seems that the creative world of software development isn't as stringent regarding self-plagarism as say journalism or blogging. In fact on one of my interviews at GS I was asked what kind of libraries I've developed over the years, implying that me getting the job would entail co-licensing helpful portions of code to that company. Are there any cases where although it's legal to self-plagarize, it would be frowned upon in the software world?

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• UI Controls Copyright

  - by user3692481

  I'm developing a cross-platform computer software. It will run on Windows and Mac OS X. For user experience reasons, I want it to have the same graphic on both platforms. I really like the Mac OS UI controls and I'd love to see them on the Windows version too. My question is: is it legal to "copy" UI components? I'm not going to copy icons or reproduce an existing Apple software. I would only "copy" some standard UI components such as Buttons, Progressbars, TreeView, ListView etc. You can see them here: http://i.stack.imgur.com/9YzYQ.png http://i.stack.imgur.com/MWR6B.jpg IMHO, they should not be copyrighted for two reasons: They are implicitly used by any Mac OS software There are a lot of Apps (for Windows and even Web-Apps) that are "inspired by" the Mac graphic. Am I right?

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• Can I use remade sprites in my game?

  - by John Skridles

  Can I use remade sprites in my game? I am making a game and I used some sprites, but I didn't copy them. I remade them completely the character looks nothing like the original. I only did this to get the movement of the character right (moving, running, jumping, punching). I've been working on the game for a long time, so I really need to know is it safe and legal to do this. I do intend making a small profit.

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• Is it safe to have no TOS or PP?

  - by JamerTheProgrammer

  I have coded my own forums from the ground up. I have tried my best to make my code as secure as possible and encrypting everything I can. I want to use this forum for a Minecraft server. I have one concern however.... I would like to setup this forum now but having no TOS or Privacy Policy has put me off. Will having none of either cause me any legal trouble in the unlikely event of a data leakage? Thanks

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• Hacked by our own hosting company!

  - by dazhall

  OK, so our hosting company decided to clone our site and database onto a new serve. Without our knowledge or permission they then edited our code to point to the new database. The old server was left running, still pointing at the original database. The DNS was changed to reflect the new IP address of the server. Obviously during the propagation customers were hitting both the new and old servers, resulting in orders coming in to both databases, sometimes being split between the two. We're now attempting to reconcile the two databases. The question I have is is it still hacking if it was done by your own hosting company?! I'm fairly sure they shouldn't have edited our code! If they had left it as it was the site would have stayed pointed at the original database and we wouldn't be in this mess! I'm thinking that legal advice is need but just wanted to know if anyone had ever come across this situation before?!

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• New website, plans to go large. How do you protect yourself?

  - by John Redyns

  I'm planning to create a new site that (in hopes) will make it to a decent state of popularity and use. I have made sites before, but they weren't serious, with any intended purpose other than personal and friend use. I've never been able to find a solid post on good steps to protecting yourself, and your site/idea before you start. This site will always be free, and will not be bringing it any revenue by ads or whatnot, but I plan to in the future and would want to make I'm in the clear legally for one. Do you need to copyright anything? Or anything of the same concept as copyright? Do I make an LLC to operate it under? Apologies for this extremely poorly written question, basically I want to be both legal, and I want to make sure nobody can just rip my idea or name(s). (I'm sure this will be more concise as questions here are asked) Thanks

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• Is it illegal to use content in such a way?

  - by MHZ

  I have a couple of questions about the legality of the content of some websites. I am currently working on two websites and I would like to make sure I am not breaking any laws, by using some content like I am... Do I need to get a license to use images from the Internet (such as google.images.com) in my site, assuming they aren't a company logo belonging to another company? If not, am I allowed to use it after I modify it with a image editing software? If content such as phone numbers, e-mail addresses, website addresses, and text from websites can be found for free online, and I gather this information for a search engine based site that I am working on and offering this information on a paid basis (similar to google, but more specialized), is something that is legal? Note: I am not 'copying' or redirecting business from anywhere, to my site. The exact opposite, the site I am working on actually helps advertise businesses and make it easier for customers to find them.

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• Modules already committed, client doesn't pay, what should I do?

  - by John

  So the story is simple, early stage EU portal hired me to do some extra modules. I got all the source code for local testing, did my job, committed new code. Now I am out of this project but client still haven't paid me yet and he is not even thinking about that. It has been couple of months and no contract was signed so I can't take any legal actions. What should I do with all the source code? Sell it? Run exact copy of that portal? Make all portal publicly available?

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• Can I (reasonably) refuse to sign an NDA for pro bono work? [closed]

  - by kojiro

  A friend of mine (let's call him Joe) is working on a promising project, and has asked me for help. As a matter of friendship I agreed (orally) not to discuss the details, but now he has a potential investor who wants me to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA). Since thus far all my work has been pro bono I told Joe I am not comfortable putting myself under documented legal obligation without some kind of compensation for the risk. (It needn't be strictly financial. I would accept a small ownership stake or possibly even just guaranteed credits in the code and documentation.) Is my request reasonable, or am I just introducing unnecessary complexity?

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• Can I use the test suite from an open source project to verify that my own 'compatible library' is compatible?

  - by Mark Booth

  The question Is it illegal to rewrite every line of an open source project in a slightly different way, and use it in a closed source project? makes me wonder what would be considered a clean-room implementation in the era of open source projects. Hypothetically, if I were to develop a library which duplicates the publicly documented interface of an open-source library, without ever looking at the source code for that library, could that code ever be considered a derivative work? Obviously it would need the same class hierarchy and method signatures, so that it could be a drop-in replacement - could that in itself, be enough to provoke a copyright claim? What about if I used the test suite of the open source project to verify whether my clean implementation behaved in the same way as the original library? Would using the test suite be enough to dirty my clean code? As should be expected from a question like this, I am not looking for specific legal advice, but looking to document experiences people may have had with this sort of issue.

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• Is there a certain way that I have to include a library and it's license?

  - by leaf68

  I know this may be a dumb question, but I'm only 15 so I don't really know how the legal part of it works. When I choose a .dll to be included in my project, Visual Studio only includes the .dll file with my project (of course) so I just copy the license and stick it in a folder called licenses. But now, I'm going to be making a program for a contest so I need to make sure I have the licenses done right or I'll get disqualified. So is there any specific location I have to keep the licenses in my project, is there a way for Visual Studio to automatically copy the license the way it does with .dll files and is there anything else I have to watch out for legally? PS: If it matters the libraries I'm planning on using right now are WriteableBitmapEx and AvalonDock Thanks

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• Limit website usage in court

  - by steveo225

  I run a few websites for a non-profit organization. Recently, our neighbor has been taking us to court and attempting to sue over everything he can. He made a comment to a supporter of ours that he wants the land and knows we won't sell, so he is trying to use his money to break us, and get the land for cheap. One of his latest tactics was to use excerpts from our website to take us to court about potential zoning violations for ideas we spit-balled on a forum with our supporters. I am trying to find a legal disclaimer that prevents somebody from using any information from our sites against us in court. Can this be done? If so, is there a default disclaimer on the web that would fit our needs? Thanks!

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• Are there Any Concerns with Importing Document Files From a Competing Product?

  - by Thunderforge

  I have a new product that serves the same purpose as my competitor's long-standing product. One thing I have considered doing is allowing my program to import document files created by their product in order to provide an easy way for users to migrate towards mine. Naturally, this would be done without the competitor's permission, as it goes against their interests. I've seen this done before with office suite software (e.g. Open Office and Apple Pages can import MS Word documents), but I'm wondering if there are any concerns, legal or ethical, with me doing this. I fully expect any answers will most likely fall under the "I am not a lawyer" clause, but it would be helpful to have a starting point for anything I would need to be aware of, or if I shouldn't need to worry.

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• Is it okay to rollback code if your client refuses to pay you?

  - by JustinY

  A friend of mine did some contracting work to add localization support to an existing mobile app. He was not contracted to add any other features or fix any already existing bugs. He has finished his work, but the client refuses to pay him because of an already existing bug that he hasn't fixed. The only card my friend has left is to rollback the server code to the state it was before he began working, which will probably break the mobile app and hopefully force the client's hand. Is this legal? Is there a better way to handle the situation?

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• GPL exception that allows linking to free licenses only?

  - by fNek

  There is the GPL license and the linking exception which allows closed-source programs to use the program as a library. There is also the slightly more restrictive LGPL (more restrictive than GPL with exception since it requires that the user can change the library in the resulting project, etc.). And there is the Cygwin exception that allows linking to open source programs. I see clear advantages: Open-Source programs may use the library. People may use these programs for closed-source programs, but then they lose the permission to use the (GPL) library. However, there are two things I don't like about the Cygwin exception: - Its legal status is disputed - I keep hearing that it is basically worthless - It requires certification by the OSI, I would rather have certification by FSF Is there an exception to the GNU General Public License that meets my requirements?

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• Is it illegal to rewrite every line of an open source project in a slightly different way, and use it in a closed source project?

  - by Chris Barry

  There is some code which is GPL or LGPL that I am considering using for an iPhone project. If I took that code (JavaScript) and rewrote it in a different language for use on the iPhone would that be a legal issue? In theory the process that has happened is that I have gone through each line of the project, learnt what it is doing, and then reimplemented the ideas in a new language. To me it seems this is like learning how to implement something, but then reimplementing it separately from the original licence. Therefore you have only copied the algorithm, which arguably you could have learnt from somewhere else other than the original project. Does the licence cover the specific implementation or the algorithm as well? EDIT------ Really glad to see this topic create a good conversation. To give a bit more backing to the project, the code involved does some kind of audio analysis. I believe it is non-trivial to learn or implement, although I was prepared to embark on this task (I'm at the level where I can implement an FFT algorithm, and this was going to go beyond that.) It is a fairly low LOC script, so I didn't think it would be too hard to do a straight port. I really like the idea of rereleasing my port as well as using it in the application. I don't see any problem with that, and it would be a great way to give something back to the community. I was going to add a line about not wanting to discuss the moral issues, but I'm quite glad I didn't as it seems to have fired the debate a bit. I still feel a bit odd about using open source code to learn from. Does this mean that anything one learns from an open source project is not allowed to be used in a closed source project? And how long after or different does an implementation have to be to not be considered violation of the licence? Murky! EDIT 2 -------- Follow up question

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• License Requirements for Including Dual-Licensed Open-Source Software

  - by Rick Roth

  How do you opt into one software license and not the other when the distributor gives the consumer more than one choice? For example I would like to use the DataTables JavaScript library in my web application. According to their web site, "DataTables is dual licensed under the GPL v2 license or a BSD (3-point) license." Furthermore, the source code of the JavaScript library has this text that calls out both licenses: /** * @summary DataTables * @description Paginate, search and sort HTML tables * @version 1.9.4 * @file jquery.dataTables.js * @author Allan Jardine (www.sprymedia.co.uk) * @contact www.sprymedia.co.uk/contact * * @copyright Copyright 2008-2012 Allan Jardine, all rights reserved. * * This source file is free software, under either the GPL v2 license or a * BSD style license, available at: * http://datatables.net/license_gpl2 * http://datatables.net/license_bsd * * This source file is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but * WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY * or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the license files for details. * * For details please refer to: http://www.datatables.net */ Finally, the web pages with the licensing text (e.g. the DataTables BSD license page) has this statement: "DataTables is made available under both the GPL v2 license and a BSD (3-point) style license. You can select which one you wish to use the DataTables code under." My specific question is "how do you select which one you want to use." In my case, I want to only use the BSD license and I want to make it explicitly clear that I do not opt into the GPL v2 license in any way. How do you do that and have it hold up to legal challenge?

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• Pursuing violators of software license/copyright

  - by Dmitry Brant

  I've recently discovered a seller on eBay who is selling CDs with my (trialware) software on it. The seller is clearly trying to pass the software off as his own; he's copied all the verbiage from my software's website, except its actual name. This seller also sells a whole bunch of other CDs with free software for which he's misrepresenting authorship. For example, this listing contains screen shots that are obviously of the free program InfraRecorder. However, the name InfraRecorder or its authors aren't mentioned anywhere. Before I splurge on official legal assistance, does the community have any recommendations or past experiences with these kinds of matters? What's the best way to proceed, and at the very least, have the eBay listings taken down? Is it possible to reclaim the earnings from the sales of these CDs (not just for me, but for the other authors of the free software that this person is selling)? I realize that GPL'd software doesn't have any restrictions on "selling" the software, but this person has gone to great lengths to obfuscate the software's authorship, which is surely a violation of the license. (My software is not GPL; it's a custom license, and it does not permit redistribution of any kind without permission)

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• Is there a way to legally create a game mod?

  - by Rodrigo Guedes

  Some questions about it: If I create a funny version of a copyrighted game and sell it (crediting the original developers) would it be considered a parody or would I need to pay royalties? If I create a game mod for my own personal use would it be legal? What if I gave it for free to a friend? Is there a general rule about it or it depends on the developer will? P.S.: I'm not talking about cloning games like this question. It's all about a game clearly based on another. Something like "GTA Gotham City" ;) EDIT: This picture that I found over the internet illustrate what I'm talking about: Just in case I was not clear: I never created a mod game. I was just wondering if it would be legally possible before trying to do it. I'm not apologizing piracy. I pay dearly for my games (you guys have no idea how expensive games are in Brazil due to taxes). Once more I say that the question is not about cloning. Cloning is copy something and try to make your version look like a brand new product. Mods are intended to make reference to one or more of its source. I'm not sure if it can be done legally (if I knew I wasn't asking) but I'm sure this question is not a duplicate. Even so, I trust in the moderators and if they close my question I will not be offended - at least I had an opportunity to explain myself and got 1 good answer (by the time I write this, maybe some more will be given later).

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• GPL - what is distribution?

  - by Martin Beckett

  An interesting point came up on another thread about alleged misappropriation of a GPL project. In this case the enterprise software was used by some large companies who essentially took the code, changed the name, removed the GPL notices and used the result. The point was - if the company did this and only used the software internally then there isn't any distribution and that's perfectly legal under GPL. Modifications by their own employees for internal use would also be allowed. So At what point does it become a distribution? Presumably if they brought in outside contractors under 'work for hire' their modifications would also be internal and so not a distribution. If they hired an external software outfit to do modifications and those changes were only used internally by the company - would those changes be distributed? Does the GPL apply to the client or to the external developers? If the company then give the result to another department, another business unit, another company? What if the other company is a wholly owned subsidiary? ps. yes I know the answer is ask a lawyer. But all the discussion I have seen over GPL2/GPL3 distribution has been about webservices - not about internal use.

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• What is the "default" software license?

  - by Tesserex

  If I release some code and binaries, but I don't include any license at all with it, what are the legal terms that apply by default (in the US, where I am). I know that I automatically have copyright without doing anything, but what restrictions are there on it? If I upload my code to github and announce it as a free download / contribute at will, then are people allowed to modify and close source my work? I haven't said that they cannot, as a GPL would, but I don't feel that it would by default be acceptable to steal my work either. So what can and cannot people do with code that is freely available, but has absolutely no licensing terms attached? By the way, I know that it would be a good idea for me to pick a license and apply it to my code soon, but I'm still curious about this. Edit Thanks! So it looks like the consensus is that it starts out very restricted, and then my actions imply any further rights. If I just put software on my website with no security, it would be an infringement to download it. If I post a link to that download on a forum, then that would implicitly give permission to use it for free, but not distribute it or its derivatives (but you can modify it for your own use). If I put it on GitHub, then it is conveyed as FOSS. Again, this is probably not codified exactly in law but may be enough to be defensible in court. It's still a good idea to post a complete license to be safe.

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• Employers and intellectual property 2

  - by Rick

  I have a question about intellectual property, I am currently a manager in a small manufacturing firm. The owners are driven by greed and don't appreciate the development process of complex machinery and are happy just to send things out half done. I on the other hand think that it should be done properly as breakdown in the field can be costly, embarrassing. They seem to have all of us running around doing most of the work out of hours using the attitude of "Be grateful to have a job" yet no one has a contract or any security or any agreement in place. For a couple of the projects i am using PLC's and doing the code in my own time and the testing during company time, and i am aware that they cannot support their own machines if i left, but as i created the code in my own time who owns it? The have asked my to put in a shutdown code for a maintenance request after a given length of time, could this be classed as criminal damage or anything illegal apart from immoral? (we sell the machines with 12 month warrantee, shut down after) But as time goes on I'm getting rather fed up of the companies attitude toward the client. I am considering keeping the clients as my own and get them to contact me directly In the shutdown code. By doing something like this is a trial version contact me for a full license? I wouldn't feel bad for my current employer as he is not afraid to S***t on people as he has been evolved in numerous law suits and has over 30 failed companies leaving people and customers high and dry, we have took the company this far on the reputation of the workers and and i can see things heading like all the other companies he has owned and taking our reputations with him. So i suppose now i have set the scene, if i code into it to contact me directly in the shutdown could there be any legal impact on me, as i rightly or wrongly think i own the code and designs? Cheers R

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• What constitutes a programming language and how does one copyright a programming language?

  - by Yannbane

  I've decided to create a programming language of my own, mostly just for fun. However, I got interested in the legal aspect of it all. You can, for example, licence specific programs under specific terms. However, how do you go about licensing a language? Also, by that I don't just mean the implementation of the language (compiler & VM), but the standard itself. Is there something else to a programming language I'm missing? What I would like to achieve by such licensing: Make it completely FOSS (can a language even be FOSS, or is that the implementation that can be FOSS?) Establish myself as the author (can you legally be an author of a language? Or, again, just the implementation?) Make it so that anyone implementing my language would be required to attribute me (MIT-style. Please note that I do not have any hopes for anyone actually ever doing that though, I'm just learning.) I think that the solution would be to separately license the VM and the compiler for my language, as "the official implementation", and then license the design document as the language itself. What exactly am I missing here?

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