[Rd] Holding back on source code

Jordi Gutiérrez Hermoso jordigh at octave.org
Wed Nov 30 23:43:12 CET 2011


On 28 November 2011 22:37, Sachinthaka Abeywardana
<sachin.abeywardana at gmail.com> wrote:
> What I want to do is release the code and implement the package, and not
> get in trouble considering I was with CSIRO when I did it.

I am not an internet protocol lawyer, etc...

Did you sign a contract that says the work you did under them is
theirs? If you did, you might get in trouble for releasing the code.
You chould be asking CSIRO, not us. Recoding the work may not be wise,
because perhaps it could breach the terms of your contract too.

Regrettably, the terms of the license you choose (GPL, whatever) are
not relevant, because if you signed a contract, and depending on what
contract says, the choice may fall upon CSIRO, not you.

Also, in general beware of treating the law like an algorithm or a
puzzle ("if (method_a && procedure_b && ! bad_thing) return success;
"). Programmers tend to think algorithmically about the law, but
everything is very fuzzy, vague, open to interpretation and frequently
"unintuitive". Consult a lawyer if possible. The Software Freedom Law
Centre might offer you pro-bono advice on this issue:

    http://www.softwarefreedom.org/about/contact/

HTH,
- Jordi G. H.



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