proper copyright

[me at mattgillen.net (Matthew Gillen)]

Stephen Adler wrote:
> Guys,
> 
> I'm thinking of writing a software package in the open source/free
> software framework. From a legal standpoint, what do I need to do to
> make it truly free. Basically, I want to protect the project from being
> high jacked by some entity in the private industry since the source code
> will be sitting out there freely down loadable.

What specifically do you want to protect against?  People making money off
building a product that is based on your code?  Or just protect against
people taking credit for your code?

For the former, the GPL is your best option.  For the latter, the BSD
license is a nice one:
http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/articles/bsdl-gpl/current-bsdl.html

Even the GPL doesn't protect against products that /use/ your code
(specifically, if something links with your code, it's a derivative work).
Supposing they find some way of using your code without linking to it (pipes
anyone?), then the GPL doesn't infect their code, and as long as they
distribute the source of /your/ program, they'd be compliant.

Also, the GPL doesn't protect against people charging for distribution
(think Redhat, SUSE, etc).  It's probably wise to be careful that the
license you pick doesn't prevent the kind of thing Redhat or Suse does (ie
charge for distribution, packaging, and support, but don't try and take
credit for the code).

> Do I need to add a license clause to each text file?
IANAL, but I've seen packages that just include a COPYING file in the source
distribution that contains the license, and everything just says "see the
COPYING file that came with this distribution".

> Do I need to setup a web page filled with legal language?
again, IANAL but that's certainly not how most projects do it (they just use
the COPYING file in the source-distribution).

> If someone does take the code and repackages in
> close source form for sale, what legal action could I take to stop them?
Entirely depends on the particulars of the license you choose and how they
violated it.

It's a very sticky issue, where choice of words matters a lot.  That's why
people tend to use readily made licenses rather than roll their own.
Check this site for a bunch of common (and well understood) Open-source
licenses (so called OSI-approved licenses):
http://opensource.org/licenses/

Have fun,
Matt

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