If a coder has seemingly abandoned their plugin, and I've fixed it for 4.0

[TNCclubman]

I think the percentage changed argument may be valid.

[Videx]

Originally Posted by Alfa1

Doesn't copyright have to be explicitly stated? Like it is at the bottom of this page?

Not from what I understand. As soon as you create a work, it's copyrighted. Proving it in court if necessary is something else.

But we're confusing the issue by trying to compare software routines to music or books. i.e., There's only so many ways to say "Hello World!" in PHP, so nobody can be expected to change x% of the code before using it.

We've all been flabbergasted at recent software patent infringement suits - like Apple claiming all mouse routines, or someone claiming to own all .gifs. But as ridiculous as that is, those are properly registered patents, not just a modification to existing code.

In the case of abandoned mods here, no patents or copyright registration has been obtained. It's simply a rule that prevents re-use. Rules can be changed. And it's certainly in VB's best interest to have a thriving mod community, rather than one that finds itself increasingly restricted to fewer and fewer mods that can only accomplish their objective with wild code workarounds.

What's so wrong about simply changing the rule to read "If you disappear for more than six months your code will automatically become reusable"? Where is this rule codified anyway, because honestly I don't know if that isn't what it says already.

[Zachery]

No ones saying you couldn't code a similiar modification, you just can't update and release their code.

[Rahstyles]

Dude post it who cares if it's sombody elses.. Obiously if they don't go on anymore.. That's because they don't care bout it... Like Nike says.... Just do it!!

[nnStaff]

Originally Posted by Zachery

No ones saying you couldn't code a similiar modification, you just can't update and release their code.

the issue here is that we're getting too caught up in copyrights and licensing IMO

it should be a given that mods posted freely for vb on these boards are open source and can be freely modified and re-released. why should I have to recode something completely to release it to my fellow users when I can just update what someone else has already done? so I've fixed 2 mods for vb4, but you guys would rather I keep this work to myself than share it with an open source community

if they were coding these for money, that's a different story. however they're not, and they're posting this free for vb users.

I will respect your rules but I think they need modifying

[Marco van Herwaarden]

Originally Posted by Rahstyles2008

Dude post it who cares if it's sombody elses.. Obiously if they don't go on anymore.. That's because they don't care bout it... Like Nike says.... Just do it!!

Please do not post advice that could cause others to loose their membership here.

Posting copyrighted material without permission of the original author is taken serious and will often result in infractions.

Copyright rules are not a site rule, they are international law. Any original work of art (and this includes code) is automatically copyrighted. If a person is still visiting our site, still alive or not doesn't make any difference.

[sulasno]

as a non coder and a user, if someone shares the Mod privately, I don't see a problem; Publishing somebody's code to the public is a no no

[Alfa1]

Originally Posted by Marco van Herwaarden

Copyright rules are not a site rule, they are international law. Any original work of art (and this includes code) is automatically copyrighted.

Can you please elaborate on this? It seems to me that this law would make any copyright registration superfluous. And I regularly need to register trademarks and copyrights. I know for a fact that several countries do not recognise a copyright, unless it is registered.

[Paul M]

Originally Posted by nnStaff

it should be a given that mods posted freely for vb on these boards are open source and can be freely modified and re-released.

if they were coding these for money, that's a different story. however they're not, and they're posting this free for vb users.

I will respect your rules but I think they need modifying

Just because i dont charge for any modifications I write doesnt mean you should be allowed to copy and re-distribute them whenever you feel like it.

If any coder wants to do that then they can mark their mod as Re-Usable, otherwise you need their permission. Thats the law, whether you like it or not.

[BlackJacket]

The last i checked, you cannot copyright a language. HTML/PHP is a coding language. You also cannot copyright the format of of the mod. IE the end result, etc.

In reality, this is just a VB rule to allow coders rights to their mod. I agree with the "dead mod" rule which would allow someone else to take over the mod when the user has not updated it within a year period.

I was having a hard time find supporting laws that Marco stated. In fact, i did not find any copyright laws that mention copyrights on coding and scripting language. I also could not find specific coding such as PHP/HTML/etc categorized as "art." Marco please post references when making statements regarding international law.

From the U.S. Copyright law -

"(b) In no case does copyright protection for an original work of authorship extend to any idea, procedure, process, system, method of operation, concept, principle, or discovery, regardless of the form in which it is described, explained, illustrated, or embodied in such work"


http://www.copyright.gov/title17/
http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html#101
http://www.rpi.edu/dept/llc/webclass...p5/format.html