I am writing an app but I’m not sure I’ll sell it yet. I have it in a private GitHub location and GitHub prompts me for a license. I don’t really understand licenses so I just picked Apache 2.0. Maybe I’m going too far with my worry about which license I pick. I’m not selling it now so it doesn’t matter. I have to do a lot more work before I get to that point
Sent from my iPhone > On Mar 31, 2023, at 6:52 PM, Chris Angelico <ros...@gmail.com> wrote: > > On Sat, 1 Apr 2023 at 10:34, Jim Schwartz <jsch...@sbcglobal.net> wrote: >> >> Yea. You’re right. I probably need a lawyer someday. Thanks. >> > > If your needs are basic, you shouldn't need a lawyer. Copyright law > and treaties DO protect you. But it's important to be aware that no > amount of legal protection - whether you hire a lawyer or not, and > whether you identify copyright and license or not - will stop people > from copying your code. NOTHING will stop people from copying your > code if they have access to it. All you can do is discourage them. > > So that brings us back to the original question: Why protect your > *source code* specifically? There are two extremes available to > everyone: > > 1) Distribute the source code. Let everyone see it. Stick a license on > it that permits them to use it, modify it, distribute modified > versions. Set your code free and let it be used. > > 2) Don't distribute the program *at all*. Don't distribute the source > OR the binary. Instead, permit people to *access* the program - which, > in today's world, usually means a web service. > > Both of these are very popular and work well. I don't have access to > the Gmail source code but I'm using the service. I don't have access > to the Twitch.tv source code but I'm using the service. Meanwhile, I > have Python programs running on a Debian system using the Linux > kernel, invoked using bash, served from an ext4 mass storage device, > etc, etc. I have the binary code for all of these, and I'm legally > guaranteed access to the source if I want it, so there's no incentive > to steal it. > > The middle ground of "distribute binaries but stop people from > accessing the source" is a much narrower use-case, and I would say > that it's not actually a single use-case but a family of them, each > with different needs and requirements. So it's essential to know what > you're actually trying to protect, and why. > > ChrisA > -- > https://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list -- https://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list