Which copyright for a derivative work ?

Which copyright for a derivative work ?

by Allegre Guillaume -
Number of replies: 7

I'd like to know the best practices to specify the copyright on a contributed plugin, regarding to the Moodle standard header (@package / @subpackage / @copyright / @license).

In my specific case, it concerns a variant of the (official) lesson module, in which almost every file is slightly modified, and a few files are heavily modified (and 3 new are created).

Can I use multiple @copyright line ? Have I to add a note, eg. "This plugin is heavily based on the official lesson module and large portions of code are simply copied from there."

Thanks for any comment or pointing me to guidelines.

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In reply to Allegre Guillaume

Re: Which copyright for a derivative work ?

by Tim Hunt -
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The copyright of every Moodle file is a tangled mix of all the people who have ever contributed. The only way to record that is the version history in git.

The policy is to add the @copyright line when you first create the file, but don't update it later.

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In reply to Tim Hunt

Re: Which copyright for a derivative work ?

by Allegre Guillaume -

Sorry, Tim, but at a second thought, I don't know how to interpret your answer in my specific case.

I duplicate the standard activity "Lesson" into a new one, "Custom Lesson", then I modify (+/- slightly) the majority of files.

Do you understand copying a file as "creating" it, in which case I use my own copyright, os as "updating" it, in which case I keep the original copyright?

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In reply to Allegre Guillaume

Re: Which copyright for a derivative work ?

by Tim Hunt -
Picture of Core developers Picture of Documentation writers Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers Picture of Peer reviewers Picture of Plugin developers

When I make a new file by copying an existing one, then I leave the copyright line at the top alone. That always seemed fairest to me.

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In reply to Tim Hunt

Re: Which copyright for a derivative work ?

by Allegre Guillaume -

OK. That was my first understanding, then later I was not so sure.

Thanks again for your quick answers!

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