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If someone else uploads my GPL'd code to Github without my permission, do they not put it at risk of being stolen by Microsoft?


How do I license, “Use my code as per the GNU GPL, but don't put it on GitHub”Are the new GitHub Terms of service a kiss of death for open source projects?Can I distribute signed binaries of someone else's GPL'd code without distributing the private key?How do I license, “Use my code as per the GNU GPL, but don't put it on GitHub”






.everyoneloves__top-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__mid-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__bot-mid-leaderboard:empty margin-bottom:0;








27















I was alarmed to see that someone uploaded one of my old GPL'd projects to Github.
Github has refused to remove it however, and suggests I contact the uploader who is completely anonymous and cannot be contacted.
Even though the GPL allows copying, this is alarming because Microsoft is a malicious company, both now and in the past.



The act of uploading could be used by their corporate lawyers to claim that they can automatically abscond with my copyright.



Or what if Microsoft attempts to give itself rights that are not addressed by the GPL?



Years ago, the "fine print" on Sourceforge literally said that by uploading code you are assigning copyright to them. It was a clear attempt at theft-by-lawyer. All Microsoft has to do is change their fine print for 1 day and they can claim that my code is theirs.










share|improve this question





















  • 2





    Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat. Comments about Microsoft's business ethics are not related to the mechanical question being asked and are welcome to be made in chat.

    – apsillers
    13 hours ago







  • 5





    This asks two very different questions ("Is it s a copyright violation to post someone's GPL-licensed work to GitHub?" and "Can a site's ToS lay claim to an author's copyright when the author does not enter into any agreement with the site's owner?"). Such different questions ought to be in different question-posts, but since you've already received answers for both components, I'll leave them both. I've removed off-topic discussion about Microsoft's business practices but left in the mechanical legal questions. People interested in discussion about Microsoft may use the chat link above.

    – apsillers
    13 hours ago







  • 1





    That's fine: your technical licensing question can have any motivation you'd like. That motivation is not relevant to answering the question, though, and, in this case, is generating a ton of extra noise unrelated to the Q&A here (though it's welcome in the chat room!). An analogously unnecessary justification might be, "How do I stop my GPL software from being used by the military? They recently bombed [location] for [reason] and I find that morally objectionable." The entire second sentence is unrelated to the licensing question being asked, and is likely to generate off-topic noise.

    – apsillers
    9 hours ago







  • 2





    I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because OP is just using this SE site as a platform to troll/rant about Microsoft, promoting misunderstanding of the GPL in the process, and uninterested in listening to answers to the nominal question since the question was just an excuse to troll.

    – R..
    8 hours ago






  • 1





    I think you are missing apsillers' point. The analogy is not attempting to relate to whether or not the third party will try to claim ownership. The analogy is to demonstrate that the motivation of disliking the third party is not relevant to the question being asked. Consider for example: "How do I uninstall Windows?" vs. "How do I uninstall Windows? I want to do so because I hate Microsoft". The latter adds nothing to the question and only serves as a distraction.

    – JBentley
    7 hours ago

















27















I was alarmed to see that someone uploaded one of my old GPL'd projects to Github.
Github has refused to remove it however, and suggests I contact the uploader who is completely anonymous and cannot be contacted.
Even though the GPL allows copying, this is alarming because Microsoft is a malicious company, both now and in the past.



The act of uploading could be used by their corporate lawyers to claim that they can automatically abscond with my copyright.



Or what if Microsoft attempts to give itself rights that are not addressed by the GPL?



Years ago, the "fine print" on Sourceforge literally said that by uploading code you are assigning copyright to them. It was a clear attempt at theft-by-lawyer. All Microsoft has to do is change their fine print for 1 day and they can claim that my code is theirs.










share|improve this question





















  • 2





    Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat. Comments about Microsoft's business ethics are not related to the mechanical question being asked and are welcome to be made in chat.

    – apsillers
    13 hours ago







  • 5





    This asks two very different questions ("Is it s a copyright violation to post someone's GPL-licensed work to GitHub?" and "Can a site's ToS lay claim to an author's copyright when the author does not enter into any agreement with the site's owner?"). Such different questions ought to be in different question-posts, but since you've already received answers for both components, I'll leave them both. I've removed off-topic discussion about Microsoft's business practices but left in the mechanical legal questions. People interested in discussion about Microsoft may use the chat link above.

    – apsillers
    13 hours ago







  • 1





    That's fine: your technical licensing question can have any motivation you'd like. That motivation is not relevant to answering the question, though, and, in this case, is generating a ton of extra noise unrelated to the Q&A here (though it's welcome in the chat room!). An analogously unnecessary justification might be, "How do I stop my GPL software from being used by the military? They recently bombed [location] for [reason] and I find that morally objectionable." The entire second sentence is unrelated to the licensing question being asked, and is likely to generate off-topic noise.

    – apsillers
    9 hours ago







  • 2





    I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because OP is just using this SE site as a platform to troll/rant about Microsoft, promoting misunderstanding of the GPL in the process, and uninterested in listening to answers to the nominal question since the question was just an excuse to troll.

    – R..
    8 hours ago






  • 1





    I think you are missing apsillers' point. The analogy is not attempting to relate to whether or not the third party will try to claim ownership. The analogy is to demonstrate that the motivation of disliking the third party is not relevant to the question being asked. Consider for example: "How do I uninstall Windows?" vs. "How do I uninstall Windows? I want to do so because I hate Microsoft". The latter adds nothing to the question and only serves as a distraction.

    – JBentley
    7 hours ago













27












27








27


4






I was alarmed to see that someone uploaded one of my old GPL'd projects to Github.
Github has refused to remove it however, and suggests I contact the uploader who is completely anonymous and cannot be contacted.
Even though the GPL allows copying, this is alarming because Microsoft is a malicious company, both now and in the past.



The act of uploading could be used by their corporate lawyers to claim that they can automatically abscond with my copyright.



Or what if Microsoft attempts to give itself rights that are not addressed by the GPL?



Years ago, the "fine print" on Sourceforge literally said that by uploading code you are assigning copyright to them. It was a clear attempt at theft-by-lawyer. All Microsoft has to do is change their fine print for 1 day and they can claim that my code is theirs.










share|improve this question
















I was alarmed to see that someone uploaded one of my old GPL'd projects to Github.
Github has refused to remove it however, and suggests I contact the uploader who is completely anonymous and cannot be contacted.
Even though the GPL allows copying, this is alarming because Microsoft is a malicious company, both now and in the past.



The act of uploading could be used by their corporate lawyers to claim that they can automatically abscond with my copyright.



Or what if Microsoft attempts to give itself rights that are not addressed by the GPL?



Years ago, the "fine print" on Sourceforge literally said that by uploading code you are assigning copyright to them. It was a clear attempt at theft-by-lawyer. All Microsoft has to do is change their fine print for 1 day and they can claim that my code is theirs.







gpl github microsoft






share|improve this question















share|improve this question













share|improve this question




share|improve this question








edited 50 mins ago







derik

















asked Aug 5 at 0:37









derikderik

1561 gold badge2 silver badges9 bronze badges




1561 gold badge2 silver badges9 bronze badges










  • 2





    Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat. Comments about Microsoft's business ethics are not related to the mechanical question being asked and are welcome to be made in chat.

    – apsillers
    13 hours ago







  • 5





    This asks two very different questions ("Is it s a copyright violation to post someone's GPL-licensed work to GitHub?" and "Can a site's ToS lay claim to an author's copyright when the author does not enter into any agreement with the site's owner?"). Such different questions ought to be in different question-posts, but since you've already received answers for both components, I'll leave them both. I've removed off-topic discussion about Microsoft's business practices but left in the mechanical legal questions. People interested in discussion about Microsoft may use the chat link above.

    – apsillers
    13 hours ago







  • 1





    That's fine: your technical licensing question can have any motivation you'd like. That motivation is not relevant to answering the question, though, and, in this case, is generating a ton of extra noise unrelated to the Q&A here (though it's welcome in the chat room!). An analogously unnecessary justification might be, "How do I stop my GPL software from being used by the military? They recently bombed [location] for [reason] and I find that morally objectionable." The entire second sentence is unrelated to the licensing question being asked, and is likely to generate off-topic noise.

    – apsillers
    9 hours ago







  • 2





    I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because OP is just using this SE site as a platform to troll/rant about Microsoft, promoting misunderstanding of the GPL in the process, and uninterested in listening to answers to the nominal question since the question was just an excuse to troll.

    – R..
    8 hours ago






  • 1





    I think you are missing apsillers' point. The analogy is not attempting to relate to whether or not the third party will try to claim ownership. The analogy is to demonstrate that the motivation of disliking the third party is not relevant to the question being asked. Consider for example: "How do I uninstall Windows?" vs. "How do I uninstall Windows? I want to do so because I hate Microsoft". The latter adds nothing to the question and only serves as a distraction.

    – JBentley
    7 hours ago












  • 2





    Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat. Comments about Microsoft's business ethics are not related to the mechanical question being asked and are welcome to be made in chat.

    – apsillers
    13 hours ago







  • 5





    This asks two very different questions ("Is it s a copyright violation to post someone's GPL-licensed work to GitHub?" and "Can a site's ToS lay claim to an author's copyright when the author does not enter into any agreement with the site's owner?"). Such different questions ought to be in different question-posts, but since you've already received answers for both components, I'll leave them both. I've removed off-topic discussion about Microsoft's business practices but left in the mechanical legal questions. People interested in discussion about Microsoft may use the chat link above.

    – apsillers
    13 hours ago







  • 1





    That's fine: your technical licensing question can have any motivation you'd like. That motivation is not relevant to answering the question, though, and, in this case, is generating a ton of extra noise unrelated to the Q&A here (though it's welcome in the chat room!). An analogously unnecessary justification might be, "How do I stop my GPL software from being used by the military? They recently bombed [location] for [reason] and I find that morally objectionable." The entire second sentence is unrelated to the licensing question being asked, and is likely to generate off-topic noise.

    – apsillers
    9 hours ago







  • 2





    I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because OP is just using this SE site as a platform to troll/rant about Microsoft, promoting misunderstanding of the GPL in the process, and uninterested in listening to answers to the nominal question since the question was just an excuse to troll.

    – R..
    8 hours ago






  • 1





    I think you are missing apsillers' point. The analogy is not attempting to relate to whether or not the third party will try to claim ownership. The analogy is to demonstrate that the motivation of disliking the third party is not relevant to the question being asked. Consider for example: "How do I uninstall Windows?" vs. "How do I uninstall Windows? I want to do so because I hate Microsoft". The latter adds nothing to the question and only serves as a distraction.

    – JBentley
    7 hours ago







2




2





Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat. Comments about Microsoft's business ethics are not related to the mechanical question being asked and are welcome to be made in chat.

– apsillers
13 hours ago






Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat. Comments about Microsoft's business ethics are not related to the mechanical question being asked and are welcome to be made in chat.

– apsillers
13 hours ago





5




5





This asks two very different questions ("Is it s a copyright violation to post someone's GPL-licensed work to GitHub?" and "Can a site's ToS lay claim to an author's copyright when the author does not enter into any agreement with the site's owner?"). Such different questions ought to be in different question-posts, but since you've already received answers for both components, I'll leave them both. I've removed off-topic discussion about Microsoft's business practices but left in the mechanical legal questions. People interested in discussion about Microsoft may use the chat link above.

– apsillers
13 hours ago






This asks two very different questions ("Is it s a copyright violation to post someone's GPL-licensed work to GitHub?" and "Can a site's ToS lay claim to an author's copyright when the author does not enter into any agreement with the site's owner?"). Such different questions ought to be in different question-posts, but since you've already received answers for both components, I'll leave them both. I've removed off-topic discussion about Microsoft's business practices but left in the mechanical legal questions. People interested in discussion about Microsoft may use the chat link above.

– apsillers
13 hours ago





1




1





That's fine: your technical licensing question can have any motivation you'd like. That motivation is not relevant to answering the question, though, and, in this case, is generating a ton of extra noise unrelated to the Q&A here (though it's welcome in the chat room!). An analogously unnecessary justification might be, "How do I stop my GPL software from being used by the military? They recently bombed [location] for [reason] and I find that morally objectionable." The entire second sentence is unrelated to the licensing question being asked, and is likely to generate off-topic noise.

– apsillers
9 hours ago






That's fine: your technical licensing question can have any motivation you'd like. That motivation is not relevant to answering the question, though, and, in this case, is generating a ton of extra noise unrelated to the Q&A here (though it's welcome in the chat room!). An analogously unnecessary justification might be, "How do I stop my GPL software from being used by the military? They recently bombed [location] for [reason] and I find that morally objectionable." The entire second sentence is unrelated to the licensing question being asked, and is likely to generate off-topic noise.

– apsillers
9 hours ago





2




2





I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because OP is just using this SE site as a platform to troll/rant about Microsoft, promoting misunderstanding of the GPL in the process, and uninterested in listening to answers to the nominal question since the question was just an excuse to troll.

– R..
8 hours ago





I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because OP is just using this SE site as a platform to troll/rant about Microsoft, promoting misunderstanding of the GPL in the process, and uninterested in listening to answers to the nominal question since the question was just an excuse to troll.

– R..
8 hours ago




1




1





I think you are missing apsillers' point. The analogy is not attempting to relate to whether or not the third party will try to claim ownership. The analogy is to demonstrate that the motivation of disliking the third party is not relevant to the question being asked. Consider for example: "How do I uninstall Windows?" vs. "How do I uninstall Windows? I want to do so because I hate Microsoft". The latter adds nothing to the question and only serves as a distraction.

– JBentley
7 hours ago





I think you are missing apsillers' point. The analogy is not attempting to relate to whether or not the third party will try to claim ownership. The analogy is to demonstrate that the motivation of disliking the third party is not relevant to the question being asked. Consider for example: "How do I uninstall Windows?" vs. "How do I uninstall Windows? I want to do so because I hate Microsoft". The latter adds nothing to the question and only serves as a distraction.

– JBentley
7 hours ago










7 Answers
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97














Generally, anyone who receives software under the GNU GPL may redistribute it however they please*, and those recipients have the right to distribute it further, etc. This definitely allows recipients to post copies of the software to online servers to facilitate further distribution. It's not really correct to say this is done "without your permission" since you gave permission for your software to be redistributed in this way when you licensed it under the GPL.



The GPL FAQ further clarifies that the GPL does not even require a redistributor to notify you (nor does any FLOSS license require this).



In the case of GitHub in particular, there has been some speculation that their terms of service are technically incompatible with the GPL, but even the FSF itself has found the possibility very unlikely. (See Are the new GitHub Terms of service a kiss of death for open source projects?)




* Redistribution is allowed as long as they meet the requirements to preserve the GPL notices/permissions downstream and that any binaries are accompanied by source; see MadHatter's answer as well.






share|improve this answer


































    52














    APSillers' answer is excellent, but I'd add one thing: although by licensing under the GPL you gave permission to anyone to redistribute your code, you by the same mechanism required that such redistribution be under the relevant version of the GPL. If this github repository isn't clearly GPL'ed, then a copyright violation is occurring, and you as the rightsholder have every right to have this repository taken down.



    Whether that's happening in this case we have no hope of saying without knowing the exact repo in question.






    share|improve this answer

























    • Just to clarify "every right to have this repository taken down", do you mean that OP could require GitHub to remove it, or the person who posted it?

      – JBentley
      12 hours ago






    • 2





      @JBentley either, as the OP chooses. GitHub must act promptly on receipt of notification that it's distributing infringing content in order to retain safe harbor status under OCILLA.

      – MadHatter
      10 hours ago












    • @MadHatter Maybe, maybe not. I know that Microsoft/GitHub will not take any action against projects that are represented as being AGPL but actually have additional licensing terms that are not part of the AGPL. Though that may be because the actual violation is against the copyright of the AGPL itself, so only the FSF can file a formal copyright complaint.

      – TKK
      8 hours ago











    • @TKK that is likely because the only people who can issue a meaningful OCILLA takedown notice are the rightsholders (or their designated agents), which in your example is probably not the FSF, but in this case is the OP. Anyone else complaining may lawfully be ignored.

      – MadHatter
      40 mins ago



















    35














    To address some of the questions in the follow-up edit:




    For instance, what if Microsoft does something illegal




    If someone is going to break the law and steal your code, then they are going to break the law and steal your code. It makes absolutely no difference whether the code is hosted on Github or any other site. Even if the code is only available on your personal website, somebody could download it from there and use it in violation of the open source license, for example by incorporating it into a closed-source project.



    Licenses are not magic spells; they don't prevent somebody from using the code in an unlawful way. What they do is give you the ability to take that person to court if they violate your rights (assuming you find out about it).




    like assign the copyright of my work to itself, or give itself rights that are not addressed by the GPL?




    Microsoft cannot "assign" copyright of your work, nor can Microsoft "give itself rights" to your code, because it is not their copyright to assign in the first place. Only you as the copyright owner can legally assign your copyright to somebody else, and only you can choose to grant rights to other people through the choice of an open-source license.



    If Microsoft were to claim rights to your code which you hadn't granted (either individually to Microsoft, or generally to everybody via the GPL) then they would be making a false claim and possibly breaking the law, at which point they could be sued or prosecuted depending on exactly what they did and which legal jurisdiction they did it in.




    All Microsoft has to do is change their fine print for 1 day and they can claim that my code is theirs.




    It doesn't work like that. Changing the terms on their website doesn't magically seize ownership of all code that is currently hosted on that site. If Microsoft did wish to change the terms of Github to require copyright assignment (which I'm 100% sure they will never do, because nobody would use it on these terms and the site would be dead in a heartbeat), the change would only apply to code that was uploaded after the new terms were put into effect, and would require explicit agreement by the copyright holder at the point where they uploaded the code. This would mean that Microsoft would probably need to delete all existing projects (including yours) that did not agree to copyright re-assignment.



    Summary



    Regardless of how you may personally feel about Microsoft, your concerns are unwarranted. Your code does not become vulnerable to some kind of "copyright seizure" simply by being on Github, because there is no such concept.



    The only rights Microsoft have to your code is the rights you have chosen to grant via releasing the code as GPL. If you did not want them to have those rights, you shouldn't have released it as GPL in the first place.






    share|improve this answer










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    • 1





      "then they would be making a false claim and possibly breaking the law" Yes, but if someone used the code in a closed-source software, you'll never know that they broke the law.

      – Tobias Knauss
      yesterday






    • 1





      @TobiasKnauss Not necessarily true. High level code compiles to patterns that can be detected. It just requires using all versions of a compiler to generate the patterns. Furthermore assembly language code assembles to the same specific patterns.

      – derik
      13 hours ago












    • Incorporating open-source code in closed-source project by itself usually does not violate open source licenses. Distributing such software might be violating.

      – n0rd
      5 hours ago











    • Regarding "it doesn't work like that", I suggest that you speak with a lawyer because last I checked, it does work like that.

      – derik
      44 mins ago


















    15














    Short answer: Probably not a violation.



    Long answer (using the relevant part from GPL - since you did not specify the version):




    You may copy and distribute verbatim copies of the Program's source
    code as you receive it, in any medium, provided that you conspicuously and
    appropriately publish on each copy an appropriate copyright notice and
    disclaimer of warranty; keep intact all the notices that refer to this
    General Public License and to the absence of any warranty; and give any
    other recipients of the Program a copy of this General Public License
    along with the Program.




    Did the uploader comply with the requirements above? Then it is not a copyright/license violation.






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    • 3





      There is no "probably" here. Your quoted paragraph is straight from GPL v1. The current v3 contains the same (with different wording and some extensions, none of which restrict the right to copy and distribute). OP does not mention anything about missing copyright notices, but is clearly asking about the simple fact that someone published the GPLed code on github.

      – AnoE
      20 hours ago


















    2














    The ability to redistribute the source code code (to a site like GitHub) is a fundamental aspect of the GNU/GPL licence. If you wish to prevent someone from doing this, then perhaps releasing the project / code under a different licence would be worth while.






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    • 1





      That wasn't really my question. Please read it more closely.

      – derik
      7 hours ago











    • @derik Your question was "If someone else uploads my GPL'd code to Github without my permission, is that a copyright violation?" and you opened by saying you were "alarmed to see" that this had occurred. This answer addresses both parts. The first sentence tells you (by implication) that it is not a copyright violation. The second sentence implies that you don't have a justification to be alarmed, because you made the choice to use GPL and therefore authorised this kind of scenario. I therefore think this is a perfectly valid answer to your question.

      – JBentley
      7 hours ago












    • That wasn't really my question. Please read it more closely.

      – derik
      7 hours ago











    • @derik You do realise that I directly copy and pasted from your question, right? You can't claim it isn't your question when it is exactly what you wrote, word for word.

      – JBentley
      5 hours ago












    • As this request for clarification moves forward, please be civil, everyone.

      – apsillers
      4 hours ago


















    2














    No, they can copy or fork your whole code into a new GPLed project, or copy or any parts of your code into other GPLed projects, and distribute it however they like.



    I'm assuming that copyright notices remain intact on this copy of your project.



    I think the only possible offense here is plagiarism, if they claim to have written it. That's a separate thing from copyright violation.



    To simplify, let's consider another case: I publish a book of plays and poems. I put my name on it. But the works inside are word-for-word copies of Shakespeare, whose name doesn't appear anywhere. The work is in the public domain so there's no copyright claim to be made, but I've committed a new offense by claiming to have written them. (This is a kind of fraud against society, as well as or instead of against Shakespeare.)



    This may not actually be a crime, I'm not sure. But if the project doesn't credit you, that's probably why you're feeling offended even though (from what you've said) there's no sign of a copyright violation.



    See also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_rights for more about the moral rights of authors to get credit for their work, regardless of copyright law. Some countries even have legislation supporting that.






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      1














      Possibly. The GPL requires distribution of build scripts and so forth. If source code only was uploaded and this was not sufficient to build the system then the licence conditions have not been met, so there would be no permission to distribute the source code.






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        97














        Generally, anyone who receives software under the GNU GPL may redistribute it however they please*, and those recipients have the right to distribute it further, etc. This definitely allows recipients to post copies of the software to online servers to facilitate further distribution. It's not really correct to say this is done "without your permission" since you gave permission for your software to be redistributed in this way when you licensed it under the GPL.



        The GPL FAQ further clarifies that the GPL does not even require a redistributor to notify you (nor does any FLOSS license require this).



        In the case of GitHub in particular, there has been some speculation that their terms of service are technically incompatible with the GPL, but even the FSF itself has found the possibility very unlikely. (See Are the new GitHub Terms of service a kiss of death for open source projects?)




        * Redistribution is allowed as long as they meet the requirements to preserve the GPL notices/permissions downstream and that any binaries are accompanied by source; see MadHatter's answer as well.






        share|improve this answer































          97














          Generally, anyone who receives software under the GNU GPL may redistribute it however they please*, and those recipients have the right to distribute it further, etc. This definitely allows recipients to post copies of the software to online servers to facilitate further distribution. It's not really correct to say this is done "without your permission" since you gave permission for your software to be redistributed in this way when you licensed it under the GPL.



          The GPL FAQ further clarifies that the GPL does not even require a redistributor to notify you (nor does any FLOSS license require this).



          In the case of GitHub in particular, there has been some speculation that their terms of service are technically incompatible with the GPL, but even the FSF itself has found the possibility very unlikely. (See Are the new GitHub Terms of service a kiss of death for open source projects?)




          * Redistribution is allowed as long as they meet the requirements to preserve the GPL notices/permissions downstream and that any binaries are accompanied by source; see MadHatter's answer as well.






          share|improve this answer





























            97












            97








            97







            Generally, anyone who receives software under the GNU GPL may redistribute it however they please*, and those recipients have the right to distribute it further, etc. This definitely allows recipients to post copies of the software to online servers to facilitate further distribution. It's not really correct to say this is done "without your permission" since you gave permission for your software to be redistributed in this way when you licensed it under the GPL.



            The GPL FAQ further clarifies that the GPL does not even require a redistributor to notify you (nor does any FLOSS license require this).



            In the case of GitHub in particular, there has been some speculation that their terms of service are technically incompatible with the GPL, but even the FSF itself has found the possibility very unlikely. (See Are the new GitHub Terms of service a kiss of death for open source projects?)




            * Redistribution is allowed as long as they meet the requirements to preserve the GPL notices/permissions downstream and that any binaries are accompanied by source; see MadHatter's answer as well.






            share|improve this answer















            Generally, anyone who receives software under the GNU GPL may redistribute it however they please*, and those recipients have the right to distribute it further, etc. This definitely allows recipients to post copies of the software to online servers to facilitate further distribution. It's not really correct to say this is done "without your permission" since you gave permission for your software to be redistributed in this way when you licensed it under the GPL.



            The GPL FAQ further clarifies that the GPL does not even require a redistributor to notify you (nor does any FLOSS license require this).



            In the case of GitHub in particular, there has been some speculation that their terms of service are technically incompatible with the GPL, but even the FSF itself has found the possibility very unlikely. (See Are the new GitHub Terms of service a kiss of death for open source projects?)




            * Redistribution is allowed as long as they meet the requirements to preserve the GPL notices/permissions downstream and that any binaries are accompanied by source; see MadHatter's answer as well.







            share|improve this answer














            share|improve this answer



            share|improve this answer








            edited 2 days ago

























            answered Aug 5 at 3:50









            apsillersapsillers

            18.9k2 gold badges39 silver badges59 bronze badges




            18.9k2 gold badges39 silver badges59 bronze badges


























                52














                APSillers' answer is excellent, but I'd add one thing: although by licensing under the GPL you gave permission to anyone to redistribute your code, you by the same mechanism required that such redistribution be under the relevant version of the GPL. If this github repository isn't clearly GPL'ed, then a copyright violation is occurring, and you as the rightsholder have every right to have this repository taken down.



                Whether that's happening in this case we have no hope of saying without knowing the exact repo in question.






                share|improve this answer

























                • Just to clarify "every right to have this repository taken down", do you mean that OP could require GitHub to remove it, or the person who posted it?

                  – JBentley
                  12 hours ago






                • 2





                  @JBentley either, as the OP chooses. GitHub must act promptly on receipt of notification that it's distributing infringing content in order to retain safe harbor status under OCILLA.

                  – MadHatter
                  10 hours ago












                • @MadHatter Maybe, maybe not. I know that Microsoft/GitHub will not take any action against projects that are represented as being AGPL but actually have additional licensing terms that are not part of the AGPL. Though that may be because the actual violation is against the copyright of the AGPL itself, so only the FSF can file a formal copyright complaint.

                  – TKK
                  8 hours ago











                • @TKK that is likely because the only people who can issue a meaningful OCILLA takedown notice are the rightsholders (or their designated agents), which in your example is probably not the FSF, but in this case is the OP. Anyone else complaining may lawfully be ignored.

                  – MadHatter
                  40 mins ago
















                52














                APSillers' answer is excellent, but I'd add one thing: although by licensing under the GPL you gave permission to anyone to redistribute your code, you by the same mechanism required that such redistribution be under the relevant version of the GPL. If this github repository isn't clearly GPL'ed, then a copyright violation is occurring, and you as the rightsholder have every right to have this repository taken down.



                Whether that's happening in this case we have no hope of saying without knowing the exact repo in question.






                share|improve this answer

























                • Just to clarify "every right to have this repository taken down", do you mean that OP could require GitHub to remove it, or the person who posted it?

                  – JBentley
                  12 hours ago






                • 2





                  @JBentley either, as the OP chooses. GitHub must act promptly on receipt of notification that it's distributing infringing content in order to retain safe harbor status under OCILLA.

                  – MadHatter
                  10 hours ago












                • @MadHatter Maybe, maybe not. I know that Microsoft/GitHub will not take any action against projects that are represented as being AGPL but actually have additional licensing terms that are not part of the AGPL. Though that may be because the actual violation is against the copyright of the AGPL itself, so only the FSF can file a formal copyright complaint.

                  – TKK
                  8 hours ago











                • @TKK that is likely because the only people who can issue a meaningful OCILLA takedown notice are the rightsholders (or their designated agents), which in your example is probably not the FSF, but in this case is the OP. Anyone else complaining may lawfully be ignored.

                  – MadHatter
                  40 mins ago














                52












                52








                52







                APSillers' answer is excellent, but I'd add one thing: although by licensing under the GPL you gave permission to anyone to redistribute your code, you by the same mechanism required that such redistribution be under the relevant version of the GPL. If this github repository isn't clearly GPL'ed, then a copyright violation is occurring, and you as the rightsholder have every right to have this repository taken down.



                Whether that's happening in this case we have no hope of saying without knowing the exact repo in question.






                share|improve this answer













                APSillers' answer is excellent, but I'd add one thing: although by licensing under the GPL you gave permission to anyone to redistribute your code, you by the same mechanism required that such redistribution be under the relevant version of the GPL. If this github repository isn't clearly GPL'ed, then a copyright violation is occurring, and you as the rightsholder have every right to have this repository taken down.



                Whether that's happening in this case we have no hope of saying without knowing the exact repo in question.







                share|improve this answer












                share|improve this answer



                share|improve this answer










                answered 2 days ago









                MadHatterMadHatter

                12k1 gold badge23 silver badges47 bronze badges




                12k1 gold badge23 silver badges47 bronze badges















                • Just to clarify "every right to have this repository taken down", do you mean that OP could require GitHub to remove it, or the person who posted it?

                  – JBentley
                  12 hours ago






                • 2





                  @JBentley either, as the OP chooses. GitHub must act promptly on receipt of notification that it's distributing infringing content in order to retain safe harbor status under OCILLA.

                  – MadHatter
                  10 hours ago












                • @MadHatter Maybe, maybe not. I know that Microsoft/GitHub will not take any action against projects that are represented as being AGPL but actually have additional licensing terms that are not part of the AGPL. Though that may be because the actual violation is against the copyright of the AGPL itself, so only the FSF can file a formal copyright complaint.

                  – TKK
                  8 hours ago











                • @TKK that is likely because the only people who can issue a meaningful OCILLA takedown notice are the rightsholders (or their designated agents), which in your example is probably not the FSF, but in this case is the OP. Anyone else complaining may lawfully be ignored.

                  – MadHatter
                  40 mins ago


















                • Just to clarify "every right to have this repository taken down", do you mean that OP could require GitHub to remove it, or the person who posted it?

                  – JBentley
                  12 hours ago






                • 2





                  @JBentley either, as the OP chooses. GitHub must act promptly on receipt of notification that it's distributing infringing content in order to retain safe harbor status under OCILLA.

                  – MadHatter
                  10 hours ago












                • @MadHatter Maybe, maybe not. I know that Microsoft/GitHub will not take any action against projects that are represented as being AGPL but actually have additional licensing terms that are not part of the AGPL. Though that may be because the actual violation is against the copyright of the AGPL itself, so only the FSF can file a formal copyright complaint.

                  – TKK
                  8 hours ago











                • @TKK that is likely because the only people who can issue a meaningful OCILLA takedown notice are the rightsholders (or their designated agents), which in your example is probably not the FSF, but in this case is the OP. Anyone else complaining may lawfully be ignored.

                  – MadHatter
                  40 mins ago

















                Just to clarify "every right to have this repository taken down", do you mean that OP could require GitHub to remove it, or the person who posted it?

                – JBentley
                12 hours ago





                Just to clarify "every right to have this repository taken down", do you mean that OP could require GitHub to remove it, or the person who posted it?

                – JBentley
                12 hours ago




                2




                2





                @JBentley either, as the OP chooses. GitHub must act promptly on receipt of notification that it's distributing infringing content in order to retain safe harbor status under OCILLA.

                – MadHatter
                10 hours ago






                @JBentley either, as the OP chooses. GitHub must act promptly on receipt of notification that it's distributing infringing content in order to retain safe harbor status under OCILLA.

                – MadHatter
                10 hours ago














                @MadHatter Maybe, maybe not. I know that Microsoft/GitHub will not take any action against projects that are represented as being AGPL but actually have additional licensing terms that are not part of the AGPL. Though that may be because the actual violation is against the copyright of the AGPL itself, so only the FSF can file a formal copyright complaint.

                – TKK
                8 hours ago





                @MadHatter Maybe, maybe not. I know that Microsoft/GitHub will not take any action against projects that are represented as being AGPL but actually have additional licensing terms that are not part of the AGPL. Though that may be because the actual violation is against the copyright of the AGPL itself, so only the FSF can file a formal copyright complaint.

                – TKK
                8 hours ago













                @TKK that is likely because the only people who can issue a meaningful OCILLA takedown notice are the rightsholders (or their designated agents), which in your example is probably not the FSF, but in this case is the OP. Anyone else complaining may lawfully be ignored.

                – MadHatter
                40 mins ago






                @TKK that is likely because the only people who can issue a meaningful OCILLA takedown notice are the rightsholders (or their designated agents), which in your example is probably not the FSF, but in this case is the OP. Anyone else complaining may lawfully be ignored.

                – MadHatter
                40 mins ago












                35














                To address some of the questions in the follow-up edit:




                For instance, what if Microsoft does something illegal




                If someone is going to break the law and steal your code, then they are going to break the law and steal your code. It makes absolutely no difference whether the code is hosted on Github or any other site. Even if the code is only available on your personal website, somebody could download it from there and use it in violation of the open source license, for example by incorporating it into a closed-source project.



                Licenses are not magic spells; they don't prevent somebody from using the code in an unlawful way. What they do is give you the ability to take that person to court if they violate your rights (assuming you find out about it).




                like assign the copyright of my work to itself, or give itself rights that are not addressed by the GPL?




                Microsoft cannot "assign" copyright of your work, nor can Microsoft "give itself rights" to your code, because it is not their copyright to assign in the first place. Only you as the copyright owner can legally assign your copyright to somebody else, and only you can choose to grant rights to other people through the choice of an open-source license.



                If Microsoft were to claim rights to your code which you hadn't granted (either individually to Microsoft, or generally to everybody via the GPL) then they would be making a false claim and possibly breaking the law, at which point they could be sued or prosecuted depending on exactly what they did and which legal jurisdiction they did it in.




                All Microsoft has to do is change their fine print for 1 day and they can claim that my code is theirs.




                It doesn't work like that. Changing the terms on their website doesn't magically seize ownership of all code that is currently hosted on that site. If Microsoft did wish to change the terms of Github to require copyright assignment (which I'm 100% sure they will never do, because nobody would use it on these terms and the site would be dead in a heartbeat), the change would only apply to code that was uploaded after the new terms were put into effect, and would require explicit agreement by the copyright holder at the point where they uploaded the code. This would mean that Microsoft would probably need to delete all existing projects (including yours) that did not agree to copyright re-assignment.



                Summary



                Regardless of how you may personally feel about Microsoft, your concerns are unwarranted. Your code does not become vulnerable to some kind of "copyright seizure" simply by being on Github, because there is no such concept.



                The only rights Microsoft have to your code is the rights you have chosen to grant via releasing the code as GPL. If you did not want them to have those rights, you shouldn't have released it as GPL in the first place.






                share|improve this answer










                New contributor



                InfiniteDissent is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                Check out our Code of Conduct.
















                • 1





                  "then they would be making a false claim and possibly breaking the law" Yes, but if someone used the code in a closed-source software, you'll never know that they broke the law.

                  – Tobias Knauss
                  yesterday






                • 1





                  @TobiasKnauss Not necessarily true. High level code compiles to patterns that can be detected. It just requires using all versions of a compiler to generate the patterns. Furthermore assembly language code assembles to the same specific patterns.

                  – derik
                  13 hours ago












                • Incorporating open-source code in closed-source project by itself usually does not violate open source licenses. Distributing such software might be violating.

                  – n0rd
                  5 hours ago











                • Regarding "it doesn't work like that", I suggest that you speak with a lawyer because last I checked, it does work like that.

                  – derik
                  44 mins ago















                35














                To address some of the questions in the follow-up edit:




                For instance, what if Microsoft does something illegal




                If someone is going to break the law and steal your code, then they are going to break the law and steal your code. It makes absolutely no difference whether the code is hosted on Github or any other site. Even if the code is only available on your personal website, somebody could download it from there and use it in violation of the open source license, for example by incorporating it into a closed-source project.



                Licenses are not magic spells; they don't prevent somebody from using the code in an unlawful way. What they do is give you the ability to take that person to court if they violate your rights (assuming you find out about it).




                like assign the copyright of my work to itself, or give itself rights that are not addressed by the GPL?




                Microsoft cannot "assign" copyright of your work, nor can Microsoft "give itself rights" to your code, because it is not their copyright to assign in the first place. Only you as the copyright owner can legally assign your copyright to somebody else, and only you can choose to grant rights to other people through the choice of an open-source license.



                If Microsoft were to claim rights to your code which you hadn't granted (either individually to Microsoft, or generally to everybody via the GPL) then they would be making a false claim and possibly breaking the law, at which point they could be sued or prosecuted depending on exactly what they did and which legal jurisdiction they did it in.




                All Microsoft has to do is change their fine print for 1 day and they can claim that my code is theirs.




                It doesn't work like that. Changing the terms on their website doesn't magically seize ownership of all code that is currently hosted on that site. If Microsoft did wish to change the terms of Github to require copyright assignment (which I'm 100% sure they will never do, because nobody would use it on these terms and the site would be dead in a heartbeat), the change would only apply to code that was uploaded after the new terms were put into effect, and would require explicit agreement by the copyright holder at the point where they uploaded the code. This would mean that Microsoft would probably need to delete all existing projects (including yours) that did not agree to copyright re-assignment.



                Summary



                Regardless of how you may personally feel about Microsoft, your concerns are unwarranted. Your code does not become vulnerable to some kind of "copyright seizure" simply by being on Github, because there is no such concept.



                The only rights Microsoft have to your code is the rights you have chosen to grant via releasing the code as GPL. If you did not want them to have those rights, you shouldn't have released it as GPL in the first place.






                share|improve this answer










                New contributor



                InfiniteDissent is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                Check out our Code of Conduct.
















                • 1





                  "then they would be making a false claim and possibly breaking the law" Yes, but if someone used the code in a closed-source software, you'll never know that they broke the law.

                  – Tobias Knauss
                  yesterday






                • 1





                  @TobiasKnauss Not necessarily true. High level code compiles to patterns that can be detected. It just requires using all versions of a compiler to generate the patterns. Furthermore assembly language code assembles to the same specific patterns.

                  – derik
                  13 hours ago












                • Incorporating open-source code in closed-source project by itself usually does not violate open source licenses. Distributing such software might be violating.

                  – n0rd
                  5 hours ago











                • Regarding "it doesn't work like that", I suggest that you speak with a lawyer because last I checked, it does work like that.

                  – derik
                  44 mins ago













                35












                35








                35







                To address some of the questions in the follow-up edit:




                For instance, what if Microsoft does something illegal




                If someone is going to break the law and steal your code, then they are going to break the law and steal your code. It makes absolutely no difference whether the code is hosted on Github or any other site. Even if the code is only available on your personal website, somebody could download it from there and use it in violation of the open source license, for example by incorporating it into a closed-source project.



                Licenses are not magic spells; they don't prevent somebody from using the code in an unlawful way. What they do is give you the ability to take that person to court if they violate your rights (assuming you find out about it).




                like assign the copyright of my work to itself, or give itself rights that are not addressed by the GPL?




                Microsoft cannot "assign" copyright of your work, nor can Microsoft "give itself rights" to your code, because it is not their copyright to assign in the first place. Only you as the copyright owner can legally assign your copyright to somebody else, and only you can choose to grant rights to other people through the choice of an open-source license.



                If Microsoft were to claim rights to your code which you hadn't granted (either individually to Microsoft, or generally to everybody via the GPL) then they would be making a false claim and possibly breaking the law, at which point they could be sued or prosecuted depending on exactly what they did and which legal jurisdiction they did it in.




                All Microsoft has to do is change their fine print for 1 day and they can claim that my code is theirs.




                It doesn't work like that. Changing the terms on their website doesn't magically seize ownership of all code that is currently hosted on that site. If Microsoft did wish to change the terms of Github to require copyright assignment (which I'm 100% sure they will never do, because nobody would use it on these terms and the site would be dead in a heartbeat), the change would only apply to code that was uploaded after the new terms were put into effect, and would require explicit agreement by the copyright holder at the point where they uploaded the code. This would mean that Microsoft would probably need to delete all existing projects (including yours) that did not agree to copyright re-assignment.



                Summary



                Regardless of how you may personally feel about Microsoft, your concerns are unwarranted. Your code does not become vulnerable to some kind of "copyright seizure" simply by being on Github, because there is no such concept.



                The only rights Microsoft have to your code is the rights you have chosen to grant via releasing the code as GPL. If you did not want them to have those rights, you shouldn't have released it as GPL in the first place.






                share|improve this answer










                New contributor



                InfiniteDissent is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                Check out our Code of Conduct.









                To address some of the questions in the follow-up edit:




                For instance, what if Microsoft does something illegal




                If someone is going to break the law and steal your code, then they are going to break the law and steal your code. It makes absolutely no difference whether the code is hosted on Github or any other site. Even if the code is only available on your personal website, somebody could download it from there and use it in violation of the open source license, for example by incorporating it into a closed-source project.



                Licenses are not magic spells; they don't prevent somebody from using the code in an unlawful way. What they do is give you the ability to take that person to court if they violate your rights (assuming you find out about it).




                like assign the copyright of my work to itself, or give itself rights that are not addressed by the GPL?




                Microsoft cannot "assign" copyright of your work, nor can Microsoft "give itself rights" to your code, because it is not their copyright to assign in the first place. Only you as the copyright owner can legally assign your copyright to somebody else, and only you can choose to grant rights to other people through the choice of an open-source license.



                If Microsoft were to claim rights to your code which you hadn't granted (either individually to Microsoft, or generally to everybody via the GPL) then they would be making a false claim and possibly breaking the law, at which point they could be sued or prosecuted depending on exactly what they did and which legal jurisdiction they did it in.




                All Microsoft has to do is change their fine print for 1 day and they can claim that my code is theirs.




                It doesn't work like that. Changing the terms on their website doesn't magically seize ownership of all code that is currently hosted on that site. If Microsoft did wish to change the terms of Github to require copyright assignment (which I'm 100% sure they will never do, because nobody would use it on these terms and the site would be dead in a heartbeat), the change would only apply to code that was uploaded after the new terms were put into effect, and would require explicit agreement by the copyright holder at the point where they uploaded the code. This would mean that Microsoft would probably need to delete all existing projects (including yours) that did not agree to copyright re-assignment.



                Summary



                Regardless of how you may personally feel about Microsoft, your concerns are unwarranted. Your code does not become vulnerable to some kind of "copyright seizure" simply by being on Github, because there is no such concept.



                The only rights Microsoft have to your code is the rights you have chosen to grant via releasing the code as GPL. If you did not want them to have those rights, you shouldn't have released it as GPL in the first place.







                share|improve this answer










                New contributor



                InfiniteDissent is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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                share|improve this answer



                share|improve this answer








                edited 20 hours ago





















                New contributor



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                answered yesterday









                InfiniteDissentInfiniteDissent

                3611 silver badge4 bronze badges




                3611 silver badge4 bronze badges




                New contributor



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                New contributor




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                Check out our Code of Conduct.












                • 1





                  "then they would be making a false claim and possibly breaking the law" Yes, but if someone used the code in a closed-source software, you'll never know that they broke the law.

                  – Tobias Knauss
                  yesterday






                • 1





                  @TobiasKnauss Not necessarily true. High level code compiles to patterns that can be detected. It just requires using all versions of a compiler to generate the patterns. Furthermore assembly language code assembles to the same specific patterns.

                  – derik
                  13 hours ago












                • Incorporating open-source code in closed-source project by itself usually does not violate open source licenses. Distributing such software might be violating.

                  – n0rd
                  5 hours ago











                • Regarding "it doesn't work like that", I suggest that you speak with a lawyer because last I checked, it does work like that.

                  – derik
                  44 mins ago












                • 1





                  "then they would be making a false claim and possibly breaking the law" Yes, but if someone used the code in a closed-source software, you'll never know that they broke the law.

                  – Tobias Knauss
                  yesterday






                • 1





                  @TobiasKnauss Not necessarily true. High level code compiles to patterns that can be detected. It just requires using all versions of a compiler to generate the patterns. Furthermore assembly language code assembles to the same specific patterns.

                  – derik
                  13 hours ago












                • Incorporating open-source code in closed-source project by itself usually does not violate open source licenses. Distributing such software might be violating.

                  – n0rd
                  5 hours ago











                • Regarding "it doesn't work like that", I suggest that you speak with a lawyer because last I checked, it does work like that.

                  – derik
                  44 mins ago







                1




                1





                "then they would be making a false claim and possibly breaking the law" Yes, but if someone used the code in a closed-source software, you'll never know that they broke the law.

                – Tobias Knauss
                yesterday





                "then they would be making a false claim and possibly breaking the law" Yes, but if someone used the code in a closed-source software, you'll never know that they broke the law.

                – Tobias Knauss
                yesterday




                1




                1





                @TobiasKnauss Not necessarily true. High level code compiles to patterns that can be detected. It just requires using all versions of a compiler to generate the patterns. Furthermore assembly language code assembles to the same specific patterns.

                – derik
                13 hours ago






                @TobiasKnauss Not necessarily true. High level code compiles to patterns that can be detected. It just requires using all versions of a compiler to generate the patterns. Furthermore assembly language code assembles to the same specific patterns.

                – derik
                13 hours ago














                Incorporating open-source code in closed-source project by itself usually does not violate open source licenses. Distributing such software might be violating.

                – n0rd
                5 hours ago





                Incorporating open-source code in closed-source project by itself usually does not violate open source licenses. Distributing such software might be violating.

                – n0rd
                5 hours ago













                Regarding "it doesn't work like that", I suggest that you speak with a lawyer because last I checked, it does work like that.

                – derik
                44 mins ago





                Regarding "it doesn't work like that", I suggest that you speak with a lawyer because last I checked, it does work like that.

                – derik
                44 mins ago











                15














                Short answer: Probably not a violation.



                Long answer (using the relevant part from GPL - since you did not specify the version):




                You may copy and distribute verbatim copies of the Program's source
                code as you receive it, in any medium, provided that you conspicuously and
                appropriately publish on each copy an appropriate copyright notice and
                disclaimer of warranty; keep intact all the notices that refer to this
                General Public License and to the absence of any warranty; and give any
                other recipients of the Program a copy of this General Public License
                along with the Program.




                Did the uploader comply with the requirements above? Then it is not a copyright/license violation.






                share|improve this answer








                New contributor



                CharonX is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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                • 3





                  There is no "probably" here. Your quoted paragraph is straight from GPL v1. The current v3 contains the same (with different wording and some extensions, none of which restrict the right to copy and distribute). OP does not mention anything about missing copyright notices, but is clearly asking about the simple fact that someone published the GPLed code on github.

                  – AnoE
                  20 hours ago















                15














                Short answer: Probably not a violation.



                Long answer (using the relevant part from GPL - since you did not specify the version):




                You may copy and distribute verbatim copies of the Program's source
                code as you receive it, in any medium, provided that you conspicuously and
                appropriately publish on each copy an appropriate copyright notice and
                disclaimer of warranty; keep intact all the notices that refer to this
                General Public License and to the absence of any warranty; and give any
                other recipients of the Program a copy of this General Public License
                along with the Program.




                Did the uploader comply with the requirements above? Then it is not a copyright/license violation.






                share|improve this answer








                New contributor



                CharonX is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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                • 3





                  There is no "probably" here. Your quoted paragraph is straight from GPL v1. The current v3 contains the same (with different wording and some extensions, none of which restrict the right to copy and distribute). OP does not mention anything about missing copyright notices, but is clearly asking about the simple fact that someone published the GPLed code on github.

                  – AnoE
                  20 hours ago













                15












                15








                15







                Short answer: Probably not a violation.



                Long answer (using the relevant part from GPL - since you did not specify the version):




                You may copy and distribute verbatim copies of the Program's source
                code as you receive it, in any medium, provided that you conspicuously and
                appropriately publish on each copy an appropriate copyright notice and
                disclaimer of warranty; keep intact all the notices that refer to this
                General Public License and to the absence of any warranty; and give any
                other recipients of the Program a copy of this General Public License
                along with the Program.




                Did the uploader comply with the requirements above? Then it is not a copyright/license violation.






                share|improve this answer








                New contributor



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                Short answer: Probably not a violation.



                Long answer (using the relevant part from GPL - since you did not specify the version):




                You may copy and distribute verbatim copies of the Program's source
                code as you receive it, in any medium, provided that you conspicuously and
                appropriately publish on each copy an appropriate copyright notice and
                disclaimer of warranty; keep intact all the notices that refer to this
                General Public License and to the absence of any warranty; and give any
                other recipients of the Program a copy of this General Public License
                along with the Program.




                Did the uploader comply with the requirements above? Then it is not a copyright/license violation.







                share|improve this answer








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                answered 2 days ago









                CharonXCharonX

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                • 3





                  There is no "probably" here. Your quoted paragraph is straight from GPL v1. The current v3 contains the same (with different wording and some extensions, none of which restrict the right to copy and distribute). OP does not mention anything about missing copyright notices, but is clearly asking about the simple fact that someone published the GPLed code on github.

                  – AnoE
                  20 hours ago












                • 3





                  There is no "probably" here. Your quoted paragraph is straight from GPL v1. The current v3 contains the same (with different wording and some extensions, none of which restrict the right to copy and distribute). OP does not mention anything about missing copyright notices, but is clearly asking about the simple fact that someone published the GPLed code on github.

                  – AnoE
                  20 hours ago







                3




                3





                There is no "probably" here. Your quoted paragraph is straight from GPL v1. The current v3 contains the same (with different wording and some extensions, none of which restrict the right to copy and distribute). OP does not mention anything about missing copyright notices, but is clearly asking about the simple fact that someone published the GPLed code on github.

                – AnoE
                20 hours ago





                There is no "probably" here. Your quoted paragraph is straight from GPL v1. The current v3 contains the same (with different wording and some extensions, none of which restrict the right to copy and distribute). OP does not mention anything about missing copyright notices, but is clearly asking about the simple fact that someone published the GPLed code on github.

                – AnoE
                20 hours ago











                2














                The ability to redistribute the source code code (to a site like GitHub) is a fundamental aspect of the GNU/GPL licence. If you wish to prevent someone from doing this, then perhaps releasing the project / code under a different licence would be worth while.






                share|improve this answer








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                • 1





                  That wasn't really my question. Please read it more closely.

                  – derik
                  7 hours ago











                • @derik Your question was "If someone else uploads my GPL'd code to Github without my permission, is that a copyright violation?" and you opened by saying you were "alarmed to see" that this had occurred. This answer addresses both parts. The first sentence tells you (by implication) that it is not a copyright violation. The second sentence implies that you don't have a justification to be alarmed, because you made the choice to use GPL and therefore authorised this kind of scenario. I therefore think this is a perfectly valid answer to your question.

                  – JBentley
                  7 hours ago












                • That wasn't really my question. Please read it more closely.

                  – derik
                  7 hours ago











                • @derik You do realise that I directly copy and pasted from your question, right? You can't claim it isn't your question when it is exactly what you wrote, word for word.

                  – JBentley
                  5 hours ago












                • As this request for clarification moves forward, please be civil, everyone.

                  – apsillers
                  4 hours ago















                2














                The ability to redistribute the source code code (to a site like GitHub) is a fundamental aspect of the GNU/GPL licence. If you wish to prevent someone from doing this, then perhaps releasing the project / code under a different licence would be worth while.






                share|improve this answer








                New contributor



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                • 1





                  That wasn't really my question. Please read it more closely.

                  – derik
                  7 hours ago











                • @derik Your question was "If someone else uploads my GPL'd code to Github without my permission, is that a copyright violation?" and you opened by saying you were "alarmed to see" that this had occurred. This answer addresses both parts. The first sentence tells you (by implication) that it is not a copyright violation. The second sentence implies that you don't have a justification to be alarmed, because you made the choice to use GPL and therefore authorised this kind of scenario. I therefore think this is a perfectly valid answer to your question.

                  – JBentley
                  7 hours ago












                • That wasn't really my question. Please read it more closely.

                  – derik
                  7 hours ago











                • @derik You do realise that I directly copy and pasted from your question, right? You can't claim it isn't your question when it is exactly what you wrote, word for word.

                  – JBentley
                  5 hours ago












                • As this request for clarification moves forward, please be civil, everyone.

                  – apsillers
                  4 hours ago













                2












                2








                2







                The ability to redistribute the source code code (to a site like GitHub) is a fundamental aspect of the GNU/GPL licence. If you wish to prevent someone from doing this, then perhaps releasing the project / code under a different licence would be worth while.






                share|improve this answer








                New contributor



                shustak is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                Check out our Code of Conduct.









                The ability to redistribute the source code code (to a site like GitHub) is a fundamental aspect of the GNU/GPL licence. If you wish to prevent someone from doing this, then perhaps releasing the project / code under a different licence would be worth while.







                share|improve this answer








                New contributor



                shustak is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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                share|improve this answer



                share|improve this answer






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                answered 8 hours ago









                shustakshustak

                292 bronze badges




                292 bronze badges




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                • 1





                  That wasn't really my question. Please read it more closely.

                  – derik
                  7 hours ago











                • @derik Your question was "If someone else uploads my GPL'd code to Github without my permission, is that a copyright violation?" and you opened by saying you were "alarmed to see" that this had occurred. This answer addresses both parts. The first sentence tells you (by implication) that it is not a copyright violation. The second sentence implies that you don't have a justification to be alarmed, because you made the choice to use GPL and therefore authorised this kind of scenario. I therefore think this is a perfectly valid answer to your question.

                  – JBentley
                  7 hours ago












                • That wasn't really my question. Please read it more closely.

                  – derik
                  7 hours ago











                • @derik You do realise that I directly copy and pasted from your question, right? You can't claim it isn't your question when it is exactly what you wrote, word for word.

                  – JBentley
                  5 hours ago












                • As this request for clarification moves forward, please be civil, everyone.

                  – apsillers
                  4 hours ago












                • 1





                  That wasn't really my question. Please read it more closely.

                  – derik
                  7 hours ago











                • @derik Your question was "If someone else uploads my GPL'd code to Github without my permission, is that a copyright violation?" and you opened by saying you were "alarmed to see" that this had occurred. This answer addresses both parts. The first sentence tells you (by implication) that it is not a copyright violation. The second sentence implies that you don't have a justification to be alarmed, because you made the choice to use GPL and therefore authorised this kind of scenario. I therefore think this is a perfectly valid answer to your question.

                  – JBentley
                  7 hours ago












                • That wasn't really my question. Please read it more closely.

                  – derik
                  7 hours ago











                • @derik You do realise that I directly copy and pasted from your question, right? You can't claim it isn't your question when it is exactly what you wrote, word for word.

                  – JBentley
                  5 hours ago












                • As this request for clarification moves forward, please be civil, everyone.

                  – apsillers
                  4 hours ago







                1




                1





                That wasn't really my question. Please read it more closely.

                – derik
                7 hours ago





                That wasn't really my question. Please read it more closely.

                – derik
                7 hours ago













                @derik Your question was "If someone else uploads my GPL'd code to Github without my permission, is that a copyright violation?" and you opened by saying you were "alarmed to see" that this had occurred. This answer addresses both parts. The first sentence tells you (by implication) that it is not a copyright violation. The second sentence implies that you don't have a justification to be alarmed, because you made the choice to use GPL and therefore authorised this kind of scenario. I therefore think this is a perfectly valid answer to your question.

                – JBentley
                7 hours ago






                @derik Your question was "If someone else uploads my GPL'd code to Github without my permission, is that a copyright violation?" and you opened by saying you were "alarmed to see" that this had occurred. This answer addresses both parts. The first sentence tells you (by implication) that it is not a copyright violation. The second sentence implies that you don't have a justification to be alarmed, because you made the choice to use GPL and therefore authorised this kind of scenario. I therefore think this is a perfectly valid answer to your question.

                – JBentley
                7 hours ago














                That wasn't really my question. Please read it more closely.

                – derik
                7 hours ago





                That wasn't really my question. Please read it more closely.

                – derik
                7 hours ago













                @derik You do realise that I directly copy and pasted from your question, right? You can't claim it isn't your question when it is exactly what you wrote, word for word.

                – JBentley
                5 hours ago






                @derik You do realise that I directly copy and pasted from your question, right? You can't claim it isn't your question when it is exactly what you wrote, word for word.

                – JBentley
                5 hours ago














                As this request for clarification moves forward, please be civil, everyone.

                – apsillers
                4 hours ago





                As this request for clarification moves forward, please be civil, everyone.

                – apsillers
                4 hours ago











                2














                No, they can copy or fork your whole code into a new GPLed project, or copy or any parts of your code into other GPLed projects, and distribute it however they like.



                I'm assuming that copyright notices remain intact on this copy of your project.



                I think the only possible offense here is plagiarism, if they claim to have written it. That's a separate thing from copyright violation.



                To simplify, let's consider another case: I publish a book of plays and poems. I put my name on it. But the works inside are word-for-word copies of Shakespeare, whose name doesn't appear anywhere. The work is in the public domain so there's no copyright claim to be made, but I've committed a new offense by claiming to have written them. (This is a kind of fraud against society, as well as or instead of against Shakespeare.)



                This may not actually be a crime, I'm not sure. But if the project doesn't credit you, that's probably why you're feeling offended even though (from what you've said) there's no sign of a copyright violation.



                See also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_rights for more about the moral rights of authors to get credit for their work, regardless of copyright law. Some countries even have legislation supporting that.






                share|improve this answer








                New contributor



                Peter Cordes is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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                  2














                  No, they can copy or fork your whole code into a new GPLed project, or copy or any parts of your code into other GPLed projects, and distribute it however they like.



                  I'm assuming that copyright notices remain intact on this copy of your project.



                  I think the only possible offense here is plagiarism, if they claim to have written it. That's a separate thing from copyright violation.



                  To simplify, let's consider another case: I publish a book of plays and poems. I put my name on it. But the works inside are word-for-word copies of Shakespeare, whose name doesn't appear anywhere. The work is in the public domain so there's no copyright claim to be made, but I've committed a new offense by claiming to have written them. (This is a kind of fraud against society, as well as or instead of against Shakespeare.)



                  This may not actually be a crime, I'm not sure. But if the project doesn't credit you, that's probably why you're feeling offended even though (from what you've said) there's no sign of a copyright violation.



                  See also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_rights for more about the moral rights of authors to get credit for their work, regardless of copyright law. Some countries even have legislation supporting that.






                  share|improve this answer








                  New contributor



                  Peter Cordes is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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                    2












                    2








                    2







                    No, they can copy or fork your whole code into a new GPLed project, or copy or any parts of your code into other GPLed projects, and distribute it however they like.



                    I'm assuming that copyright notices remain intact on this copy of your project.



                    I think the only possible offense here is plagiarism, if they claim to have written it. That's a separate thing from copyright violation.



                    To simplify, let's consider another case: I publish a book of plays and poems. I put my name on it. But the works inside are word-for-word copies of Shakespeare, whose name doesn't appear anywhere. The work is in the public domain so there's no copyright claim to be made, but I've committed a new offense by claiming to have written them. (This is a kind of fraud against society, as well as or instead of against Shakespeare.)



                    This may not actually be a crime, I'm not sure. But if the project doesn't credit you, that's probably why you're feeling offended even though (from what you've said) there's no sign of a copyright violation.



                    See also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_rights for more about the moral rights of authors to get credit for their work, regardless of copyright law. Some countries even have legislation supporting that.






                    share|improve this answer








                    New contributor



                    Peter Cordes is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                    Check out our Code of Conduct.









                    No, they can copy or fork your whole code into a new GPLed project, or copy or any parts of your code into other GPLed projects, and distribute it however they like.



                    I'm assuming that copyright notices remain intact on this copy of your project.



                    I think the only possible offense here is plagiarism, if they claim to have written it. That's a separate thing from copyright violation.



                    To simplify, let's consider another case: I publish a book of plays and poems. I put my name on it. But the works inside are word-for-word copies of Shakespeare, whose name doesn't appear anywhere. The work is in the public domain so there's no copyright claim to be made, but I've committed a new offense by claiming to have written them. (This is a kind of fraud against society, as well as or instead of against Shakespeare.)



                    This may not actually be a crime, I'm not sure. But if the project doesn't credit you, that's probably why you're feeling offended even though (from what you've said) there's no sign of a copyright violation.



                    See also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_rights for more about the moral rights of authors to get credit for their work, regardless of copyright law. Some countries even have legislation supporting that.







                    share|improve this answer








                    New contributor



                    Peter Cordes is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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                    share|improve this answer



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                    answered 7 hours ago









                    Peter CordesPeter Cordes

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                        1














                        Possibly. The GPL requires distribution of build scripts and so forth. If source code only was uploaded and this was not sufficient to build the system then the licence conditions have not been met, so there would be no permission to distribute the source code.






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                          1














                          Possibly. The GPL requires distribution of build scripts and so forth. If source code only was uploaded and this was not sufficient to build the system then the licence conditions have not been met, so there would be no permission to distribute the source code.






                          share|improve this answer








                          New contributor



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                            1












                            1








                            1







                            Possibly. The GPL requires distribution of build scripts and so forth. If source code only was uploaded and this was not sufficient to build the system then the licence conditions have not been met, so there would be no permission to distribute the source code.






                            share|improve this answer








                            New contributor



                            quick answer right now is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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                            Possibly. The GPL requires distribution of build scripts and so forth. If source code only was uploaded and this was not sufficient to build the system then the licence conditions have not been met, so there would be no permission to distribute the source code.







                            share|improve this answer








                            New contributor



                            quick answer right now is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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                            share|improve this answer






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                            answered 1 hour ago









                            quick answer right nowquick answer right now

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