Questions tagged [software]
For questions involving programming underlying computers and machines. Consider using the [open-source-software] tag if the question is about open source software or licensing.
705
questions
0
votes
1answer
53 views
Using software api documentation without copyright infringement
I've been starting to worry about the details of software copyright. This brought up the question whether using source code from an official documentation, that is copyrighted as usual, is actually ...
4
votes
2answers
115 views
Does the recent EU court ruling allowing decompilation of lawfully purchased software for bugfixes permit removing game DRM if it slows down the game?
The EU court recently ruled that the EU copyright directive:
Article 5(1) of Directive 91/250 must be interpreted as meaning that the lawful purchaser of a computer program is entitled to decompile ...
0
votes
1answer
31 views
Can I impose the requirement of a paid license if and only if my software is offered as a service?
I'm getting ready to open source a project that facilitates the deployment, maintenance, and orchestration of data platforms on just about any architecture (locally, on any cloud of your choosing, on ...
0
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0answers
49 views
Can recursive acronyms for projects consist trademark brands?
Example of known recursive acronyms:
GNU - GNU's Not Unix
Linux - Linux Is Not Unix
Can you use similar approach by including into your project name the letters from major registered trademark ...
1
vote
0answers
49 views
Same name, same class, totally different products
Let's assume the following situation:
A company X produces devices used in some niche industry. It has a US trademark Z registered in IC9 category (class 9).
A company Y creates and sells a software ...
0
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0answers
35 views
Do I own the copyright of a source code if I work only part of it as a freelancer
If a group of freelancers work on a project without a contract from the client(this one refuses to pay), who own the copyright of that source code? I know in the US, one who write the code own the ...
0
votes
2answers
46 views
What happens if there is no formal agreement between two app developers
Suppose two people, A and B, developed an ios app together doing equal amounts of work.
Suppose that they don't have any written agreements and never registered a company. A registered himself as an ...
3
votes
0answers
34 views
Do I own the code I write for analysis and applications using Google Earth Engine?
The terms of service for Google Earth Engine has the following sections:
7.4 Termination for Convenience. Customer may stop using the Services at any time with or without notice. Customer may ...
4
votes
2answers
266 views
Is "cheating" in offline, single-player games illegal?
I understand there are laws like the Circumvention of Technological Measure (CTM), Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). According to these laws it's considered ...
2
votes
2answers
41 views
Common Practices around Incorporating License Agreements by Reference
As part of my job, I help to negotiate contracts when my company is purchasing software (or hardware with embedded software). For these significant business relationships, we typically negotiate a ...
1
vote
0answers
34 views
Restrictions on addictive design in software
Are there any restrictions on what a software can actually do design-wise?
A comparison to make here, for example, is that casinos have to inform their patrons of the dangers of gambling, or they have ...
2
votes
2answers
104 views
Is it legal to reimplement iOS algorithm/framework on Android?
I'm a software developer with experience in CoreImage - very powerful native iOS/OSX framework for image processing. I admire its efficiency, understand how it works internally and want to roughly ...
0
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0answers
18 views
Should I include/mention licenses of dependencies of 3rd party software used by my software?
I have a project that depends on numerous 3rd party libraries. Each library is shipped with a license file. These I automatically copy to the deployment folder, where the compiled files are (my own ...
1
vote
1answer
86 views
How far can a program's user interface be copied before it becomes copyright infringement?
I want to create a program, to be specific, it's an IDE (Integrated Development Environment i.e.: a program that people can use to create programs, write code etc...)
The features I want to implement, ...
12
votes
1answer
852 views
Is an email enumeration vulnerability a breach of GDPR?
I'm a software engineer and I'm often asked to implement version of a user signup flow or login that can be summarised as follows:
User inputs their email
If the email belongs to an existing user, ...
11
votes
4answers
2k views
Does derivative works law allow someone to create a new work based on an old one as long as they make modifications?
How can I find out if extracting Microsoft Word 2019 thesaurus (for another person by a freelancer) is legal or (very likely) not?
I tried searching in Google, but this question seems to be not very ...
0
votes
1answer
67 views
Can I develop open source software to parse a copyrighted document for private use?
I obtained a foreign language dictionary in PDF format, whose copyright information states the following:
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part
of ...
1
vote
2answers
79 views
Is a retroactive patent infringement possible?
A software researcher (from an American university) published a new method/algorithm and then an implementation of it, licensed under the MIT license. I wrote to him to ask if he had filed a patent or ...
0
votes
1answer
73 views
Selling software internationally and taxes
I'm about to go crazy due to the amount of information I have explored on this matter and still I have no answers. Anyone with at least some knowledge, please share it.
My case is very simple (I think)...
0
votes
1answer
48 views
How to protect IP for product being developed outside company hours and resources
Suppose that a person is a data scientist employed by the data analytics arm of an auto maker.Suppose this person is continuing my old research and developing a software product:
outside of company ...
1
vote
1answer
81 views
Is it legal to decompile Apple Open Source components?
I want to write a blogpost / record a screencast about macOS opensource components. I was going to decompile those opensource components and I am not sure if it would be legal. MacOS software license ...
0
votes
1answer
37 views
What means non-commercial and commecial use of software? (Question with examples)
Have a laptop with OS GNU Linux with many kinda of software: browsers, text tools, players, system tools, IDE's. I use it in home no for working: for reading news watching YouTube, learning, creating ...
1
vote
1answer
122 views
Is it a breach of privacy law in Australia if schools track student device usage at home?
Since I usually only use programming Stack Exchange sites, sorry if I do anything wrong in this post.
My school recently installed software on all student devices (owned by the school) which can track ...
0
votes
0answers
43 views
Is using Free apps in commercial services allowed by Google Play ToS?
Here are parts of the Terms of Service I find to be relevant:
Free Content. Google may allow you to download, view or use Content free of charge on Google Play. Additional limitations may apply to ...
0
votes
1answer
65 views
Using JetBrains Student license to develop a commercial product that is in developpement
I was just wondering if a student user would be able to use JetBrains Student license to develop a commercial product that is still not released and where the company is still not created?
Text of ...
1
vote
1answer
18 views
Which licenses are most applicable for themes within a web app?
Suppose a developer is building a hosted web app which lets people use prebuilt themes on their websites. They can select and apply a theme, and they can also view and edit the HTML, CSS, and ...
5
votes
1answer
150 views
Can I legally use the Windows licenses listed on the back of devices I purchased?
I purchased some second-hand laptops from various sources. On the underside, I noticed there are stickers with Windows Vista and Windows 7 license keys listed, which I assume were there from the ...
0
votes
1answer
25 views
In software contracts, does "all right, title & interest in & to software" provide more protection than "all ownership right, title & interest in..."?
Seems that the addition of "ownership" here is limiting, but I'm not sure whether it really is or how it is.
If the language "supplier retains all right, title and interest in and to ...
-2
votes
1answer
53 views
How should I properly give credit for an image I will use in a software application?
I am making a computer application that I will receive payment for. I have found an image online with a creative commons license (CC BY) allowing it to be used for any purpose with attribution, and I ...
0
votes
0answers
19 views
General Data Protection Regulation- Responsibility & consequences
Currently I am working for a company/foundation that technically doesn't exist yet, but I have to get a few thing in order and I was wondering about the legal ramifications of a few aspects.
To ...
2
votes
1answer
41 views
Does using some software for research (intended for publication) count as "public performance"?
A specific example is section 2.1.3 of the NVIDIA license agreement: https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/drivers/geforce-license/, from which I quote:
No Sublicensing or Distribution. Customer may not sell, ...
1
vote
1answer
65 views
Am I allowed to mention trademarks in my free app?
Suppose that someone develops and distributes a free app, which will be published in the Google Play Store. The application is meant to be some sort of a drinking game / truth-or-dare game, which ...
-6
votes
1answer
99 views
California: Unauthorized Access to Medical Info
I took a Covid vaccine few weeks ago with Walgreens. Suddenly in the news, California states they have an electronic record of everyone's vaccine, just provide the info on a website, and you will get ...
0
votes
1answer
28 views
Copyright on scripts and procedurally generated artwork using GPL software
Using Blender as an example, suppose I programmatically create an artwork using the API that it provides and then proceed to sell this work to someone.
My understanding is that I still own the ...
-5
votes
1answer
123 views
How is it Legal for sites like Udemy to charge more than 517% (Literally) to it's existing users?
If you search for any courses in Udemy, when you are not logged in and Incognito (important, as they do cookie tracking and mix ups with pixel track as well).
You will see a significantly low price.
...
1
vote
1answer
54 views
Are there any legal issues for commercial emulator software?
There are many emulators for old computer and game console systems (like C64, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, NES, Sega, etc). But all I know about are free and open-source software. I was not able to find ...
0
votes
1answer
49 views
Australian laws to protect employees general skills against IP claims
I live in Victoria, Australia. When signing a contract for software development industries, the employers tend to write the contract agreement conditions too broad to protect their IPs. When searching ...
0
votes
1answer
73 views
Should you share Credit Card details with online websites?
This comes from me casually entering my bank details on every next website.
This includes Canadian tire, Home Depot, Coinbase, etc. to name a few. There are countless such (reliable and well-known) ...
1
vote
1answer
75 views
Could signing an intellectual property agreement for an algorithm coding job prevent me from working in a similar industry later?
I am a computer coder / algorithm developer and am just getting started in industry where I know I'll have to deal with IP agreements. In particular, the question I'm asking here came about because I ...
3
votes
1answer
235 views
"For people in Canada" in MS Teams' "Your daily briefing" email
The "Your daily briefing" email from Microsoft Teams contains a section called "For People in Canada":
For people in Canada
This is a mandatory service communication. To set your ...
0
votes
1answer
84 views
Can legal actions be taken against an app developer if his/her app fails due to technical faults?
For example, a developer has developed an app that shares the location of the user to the saved contacts during an emergency on the press of a button. But the app may fail to work due to network ...
1
vote
2answers
85 views
Phone Recording and phone routing - USA
I am pretty familiar with the legalities of USA one-party and two-party recording laws, but there is one piece of the puzzle that doesn't seem clear.
For some background, I received a call from a ...
0
votes
0answers
51 views
Is securely storing and using customer credentials and passwords in customer-commissioned software GDPR compliant?
My team is in charge of developing integration software for our customers. The customer integrates their system with our platform in order to use our services.
Numerous customers avoid managing their ...
0
votes
1answer
64 views
What are the implications of a NASA Open Source Agreement version 1.3
There is this code released under NASA Open Source Agreement version 1.3.
I don't get the license. Can I use the code in a commercial product? Any limitation?
1
vote
1answer
64 views
Retaining maximum free/open-source freedoms in a software license except for source redistribution
There are several free/open-source licenses (e.g. GPLv3, Apache 2.0, MIT) that allow several freedoms to the user of a software.
Generally if you grant access to an individual to use software under ...
-1
votes
1answer
100 views
Two wow js on github
I see two wowjs distributors on the GitHub. The first is https://github.com/graingert/wow and the second is https://github.com/matthieua/WOW.
The first is under a license like this one and free of ...
0
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1answer
74 views
Licence for Windows API
Is a licence required for calling operating system functions provided by Windows or calling its kernel? Is any licence required to use dll files of win API (linking but not distributing)? If yes, what ...
0
votes
2answers
70 views
Can software vendors add a ToS that would give them monetary privileges over things created by their software?
Imagine that a software user typed an original novel into a word processor (e.g Microsoft Word or Google Docs). Imaging that the software vendor added something to the terms of service (ToS) saying ...
0
votes
1answer
66 views
Is it illegal to copy commercial software features into an open source project?
Imagine I work for a company that has a software X, no algorithm in this software is patented.
If I want to create an open source software Z that has similar features as software X by looking into the ...
-2
votes
1answer
49 views
Can my bot trade crypto for others? [closed]
Is it legal if someone gives me their API key for phemex, with the intention that my bot ( which predicts and can trade each minute ) will trade for them?
Alternatively, if I license software which ...
