Lobotomy
Sorcerer
Group: Members
Posts: 378
Joined: Jul 18, 2008
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#1 id:12419 Posted Sep 20, 2008, 9:37 pm
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About four years ago now I was deeply involved with developing a particular Mud. The Mud ended up closing a few months after I left, and a version of the code at the end was publicly released. The thing is, I recently found a copy of the code I kept from when I left that is a version prior to the official release. What I'm wondering is whether or not I have a right to release that code, having been one of the developers, despite the version of the code being before the official release. I have no clue as to what the legality of the matter would be (i.e, do I have the right to release, or do I need to get the original owner's consent, or something else?), so some armchair lawyer advice of some sort from anyone who knows more on the matter would be appreciated. 
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Cratylus
Wizard
Group: Members
Posts: 1,477
Joined: May 22, 2006
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#2 id:12420 Posted Sep 20, 2008, 9:49 pm
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Quote:I have no clue as to what the legality of the matter
I've been told by a lawyer that in some jurisdictions
it's actually illegal to dispense legal advice without
being a licensed attorney.
Of course...he would say that, wouldn't he ;)
My layman's opinion is that if you want to be anal
about it, a pre-release version of code, parts of
which don't belong to you, is probably not within
your rights to release, assuming they differ from
the actual release version.
However, everything has a context, and the context of
copyright law is commercial exploitation. In that
context, releasing it might violate the letter of
the law but not the spirit.
But then, I may have been breathing bad air lately.
Your mileage may vary.
-Crat
http://lpmuds.net
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Guest
Unregistered
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#3 id:12422 Posted Sep 21, 2008, 12:31 am
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Lobotomy said:I have no clue as to what the legality of the matter would be (i.e, do I have the right to release, or do I need to get the original owner's consent, or something else?), so some armchair lawyer advice of some sort from anyone who knows more on the matter would be appreciated.
Well. I'm clearly no lawyer, but I'd say given you're one of the previous developers you hold a joint copyright on that code and are able to consent to it's being released. Much like there was talk not too long ago that Hans is allowed to speak for the entire Diku team on what is and isn't appropriate for their license. So there's precedent within the community on this already.
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