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  • John Minnihanjbminn@toot.bldrweb.org
    Mar 25, 2023, 3:09 PM

    3/

    i learned quickly to not accept any new gigs that attempted to assert ownership over the automation i'd already produced + importantly - critically - the client wld not own anything i produced on that project.

    licensed in perpetuity, sure. own? absolutely not.

    in the early to mid-aughts, the contract pages listing my pre-existing works that were exempt from whatever claims the client may later make were full + very specific. i had numerous clients ask if i was an attorney. (i'm not)

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  • John Minnihanjbminn@toot.bldrweb.org
    Mar 25, 2023, 3:10 PM

    4/

    the license i first created in ca. 2001 had seven terms which i later condensed to five. it covered my intentions abt what could be done w/ the licensed work and ensured that any use of it anywhere would contain attribution.

    i used this license on everything i released (in whatever manner) since. i was dismayed a couple times to find that it was ignored - the most glaring ex. was use of my logfile-tailing technique in a commercial log manager.

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  • John Minnihanjbminn@toot.bldrweb.org
    Mar 25, 2023, 3:10 PM

    5/

    i decided it wasn't worth the cost or relationship damage (vc friends were backing this co) to litigate that one, so i let it go. this was my first direct encounter w/ 'people are gonna use it if it's there' behavior.

    the best you can do is to create a written legal agreement between yourself + the recipient. you can't later enforce an agreement that doesn't exist. don't even get me started on oral agreements.

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  • John Minnihanjbminn@toot.bldrweb.org
    Mar 25, 2023, 3:12 PM

    6/

    my license

    License: The Minnihan License
    copyright [year] John Minnihan

    1. This script, associated functions and code ("the code") may be used by you ("the recipient") for any purpose.
    2. This code may be modified in any way deemed useful by the recipient.
    3. This code may be used in derivative works of any kind, anywhere, by the recipient.
    4. Your use of the code indicates your acceptance of these terms.
    5. This notice must be kept intact with any use of the code to provide attribution.
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  • John Minnihanjbminn@toot.bldrweb.org
    Mar 25, 2023, 3:13 PM

    7/

    now that license would allow for the AI "code-generation" nonsense (fancy autocomplete / search) if it had been applied to any publicly released software.

    here's where things are both super black + white and fuzzy as hell:

    my license doesn't give you permission to re-release my software. but where exactly are the bounds of a derivative work? is that the AI scraper? whatever the scraper spits out?

    suddenly it's less clear.

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  • John Minnihanjbminn@toot.bldrweb.org
    Mar 25, 2023, 3:14 PM

    8/

    license terms are key here to what is legally permissible. but because humans are not great rules-followers, what really controls this flood-gate is what's accessible.

    i've written before abt the importance of licensing + public release to the protection of your IP: jbminn.com/posts/oss-will-kill

    "Public release is a forever decision."

    make sure you understand what that means several yrs down the road.

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  • John Minnihanjbminn@toot.bldrweb.org
    Mar 25, 2023, 3:15 PM

    9/

    i have a lot of friends who i admire deeply that are huge OSS fans. i use OSS every day, literally. i have no aversion to the practice + believe it has been a boon to society.

    that said, not everyone on the planet plays by the same rules. what you intended to allow and what the license actually allows may be significantly different.

    layer in public access to your code and deviance from the license, either in spirit or actual terms, is just a matter of time.

    here we are

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