licenced source code

pwd

Consider the following situation:

If I get a licence for source code that I developed, while under contract to the copyright holder. I further develop that source code.

Would the copyright holder of the original have any rights to the additional portions of code? Would it depend on the individual licence agreement?

pwd

What I mean is, would they have rights to the code added after the licence was granted, and they no longer have a right automatically due to contract.

aidan_walsh

Contractually, who owns original code?

pwd

university

deep1

pwd wrote: »

Consider the following situation:

If I get a licence for source code that I developed, while under contract to the copyright holder. I further develop that source code.

Would the copyright holder of the original have any rights to the additional portions of code? Would it depend on the individual licence agreement?

If it is a assignment then University holds the copyright.

pwd

no it's a commercialisation project.
It's quite clear that the university own the copyright for the work done thus far.
What I am asking is: If I licence the code from them, and add to it, might they have a claim to the copyright of the additional portion.
I've seen a couple of licences from other unis by googling and the typical answer seems would be no.

fergalr

pwd wrote: »

no it's a commercialisation project.
It's quite clear that the university own the copyright for the work done thus far.
What I am asking is: If I licence the code from them, and add to it, might they have a claim to the copyright of the additional portion.
I've seen a couple of licences from other unis by googling and the typical answer seems would be no.

IANAL - but I believe the answer is 'it depends'.

One search term you should probably look for is 'derivative work'.
The wikipedia article ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derivative_work ) has sentences like:
"Copyright infringement liability for a later work arises only if the later work embodies a substantial amount of protected expression taken from the earlier, underlying work."

I don't know enough to say anything more firm than that, but its definitely worth being careful over, taking advice on, etc.

stevenmu

I think it would depend upon the license you get to the original code, that would typically specify the purposes you are licensed for. If those purposes allowed for you to modify the code it should then also specify ownership and rights to the modifications.

edit: IANAL etc