Free software and copyright

That depends on the license of the open-source code you used, but generally the answer is no, which might be surprising to a more than few software developers.

First, you need to determine if the code was freely distributed without any caveats, or if the code was under a license. We also offer competitive full fee legal services on a selective basis. For more information on the services we provide click here. What is copyright law, who created it, and why do people think we need it? Are there any legal issues that might arise from writing a song with another person? Can I copyright my paintings, sculptures or other visual art as a group to save money?

Can I register my work myself to avoid having to pay a lawyer? Do I own the copyright to the blogs that I write for my job? Do you have to register a copyright for your work to be protected under copyright law? Does a freeware programmer retain the copyright to software he or she creates? Does software labeled as freeware have a copyright? How are music royalties given? How do I copyright the book I wrote? Without free as in freedom software, we cannot and will not have a free society.

Your membership will help us pave a way to UserFreedom. Read more. Skip to content , sitemap or skip to search. Subscribe to our monthly newsletter, the Free Software Supporter :. Read the Email Self-Defense Guide to get started with email encryption, a skill necessary to combat bulk surveillance. So even if you can prove infringement, you may not be able to show very much in the way of actual damages.

In other words, relying on the recovery of actual damages creates a substantial risk that you will lose money bringing the suit. But if you registered the work before the infringement began or within three months of the date the work was published, you may be entitled to recover from the infringer, in addition to your actual damages:.

Also uniquely with software, copyright is not only infringed by taking a direct copy of the original work, but also by adapting versions of the original.

Software copyright can also be infringed without even taking a copy of the code. Even if none of the original code is actually used, the copyright in the original program may in some cases be infringed. Software copyright is a complex and evolving area of law and unlike other artistic works, software copies are sold with specific terms attached, in order to highlight what constitutes acceptable usage.

Software copyright is predominantly used by software developers and proprietary software owners to prevent unauthorized copying of their software. Copyright holders routinely invoke legal and technological measures to prevent and penalize copyright infringement more commonly referred to as piracy where works protected by copyright law are used without permission.

Where there is no direct copying of code, line-for-line, it can be difficult to prove that copying has actually occurred. One way of trying to make copying easier to detect is to include redundant code or program components in among the real code. If an alleged copy includes the same redundant program components, even if they are not line-for-line copies, it can provide a very strong inference that copying has occurred.

Independent software vendors should be very careful about disclosing source code. If someone can independently create from scratch what you have produced, just by looking at your source code, providing that the code is substantively different then your software copyright has not been infringed. However, ultimately any unauthorized use of the software is deemed to be piracy or theft, in recognition of the commercial harm of infringement of copyright holders.

Software copyright can be difficult to enforce. However, using an identity-based licensing solution will ensure that you always know who your end-users are. Software Intellectual Property. Software Licence Compliance. Software Licensing Guide — Why is it so important?