Subj : Re: Copyright Issues? To : comp.programming From : Flavius Vespasianus Date : Mon Jul 18 2005 04:01 am "Murray R. Van Luyn" wrote in news:42d9c3e0$0$18746$5a62ac22@per-qv1-newsreader-01.iinet.net.au: > Hi, > > Where do programmers go to find out about free software copyright law? Hire a lawyer. > > I asked this guy if I could make significant alterations to some > software that he distributes FOC, and then to redistribute my version, > with appropriate acknowledgments, also FOC. He said okay but wanted to > see a copy for approval beforehand. I spent a lot of time finishing > the code, and then sent it off for final approval. Deathly silence... > > My questions are:- 1) How much or how little work do I have to do to > code before its considered a unique, independently owned work. 2) What > can I do if the guy decides to start selling or distributing my > un-released, code which was marked copyright & 'free for any purpose, > both commercial and non commercial'. The following is not legal advice and is not intended to create a lawyer/client relationship but rather serve a general educational function. Nearly any original work is sufficient to be copyrightable. In general the extent of your effort determines the extent of your protection. For example, you might create a poster with a stylized letter "X" on it and copyright. Your poster would be protected from copying but the protection would be limited to stylized "X"s that look nearly EXACTLY like yours. If someone else creates a poster with a different looking "X", you probably don't have protection. If you do a whole book (or software system) involving more original content you get more protection. Where in the case of a poster, something that looked 99% like yours might not be infringing, in a books, something 5% like yours might be infringing. Thus.... If you modify someone else's code, you are likely to have created something that is copyrightable. Howver, if you take someone else's code and modify it, they would retain the copyright in the original. You do not exstinguish the other guy's copyright through modification. In short, you would be creating something that could not be distributed without the permission of both of you. If he starts distributing the code with your modifications, you might have a cause of action against him for copyright violation. If you start distributing the code with your modifications without his permission, he might have a cause of action against you for copyright violation. These are general applications of copyright law answered according to the limited facts provided. No legal advice is intended. .