strotter Posted May 21, 2006 Share Posted May 21, 2006 I've been working on some datalogging software, and have gotten to the point with it that I think others might find it useful. I'd like to release the source code and compiled app as freeware. However, I'm thinking I need to protect it in some way, such as with the GNU General Public License. I've done a little bit of research, and have found this page, which outlines the "copyleft" procedure, but I'm still a bit confused as to what I need to do to enable it. Don't I have to provide a copy of the code to someone somewhere, so as to provide a record of what's actually being secured? Or is it that I simply include the copyright statement in the source code, as well as a copy of the GPL in a textfile alongside? That doesn't seem like enough, does it? And, if someone actually *does* rip off the code, what can (or should) be done? I'm a bit lost here, and any help from someone who's been there would be appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete280z Posted May 21, 2006 Share Posted May 21, 2006 Define "rip off." The GPL basically gives anyone the right to modify your code so long as whatever they create from it is also released under GPL. I personally prefer the BSD license because I think it is more "Free." It all depends on what your intentions are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strotter Posted May 24, 2006 Author Share Posted May 24, 2006 Pete, how do you actually go about publishing software under the BSD license? What is the procedure? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete280z Posted May 24, 2006 Share Posted May 24, 2006 The way I understand it, you include the text of the license with your source code or binaries that you distribute. I don't believe that the BSD license requires you to distribute the source code with a binary distribution. You should include the license with binaries anyway. here is a template you can use to generate your own license: http://www.opensource.org/licenses/bsd-license.php opensource.org in general is a good resource for OSS license information. wikipedia actually has a decent page explaining the license: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BSD_License The Free Software Foundation has a great FAQ detailing how software is released under GPL (not related to BSD really, but very thoroughly documented): http://www.fsf.org/licensing/licenses/gpl-faq.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strotter Posted May 25, 2006 Author Share Posted May 25, 2006 Thanks Pete, that's what I needed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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