usually i don’t do it because i don’t have a reason. anyway i can’t use any stolen code.
Are you sure about this? Technically I don’t think you can ‘loose’ the copyright of your own work, but I think you mean losing ‘exclusive’ copyright.
I suppose there could be two cases: if you include a license with the code, it depends entirely on the license. If you don’t, then … ? A lawyer should probably answer that question.
but decrypting scripts, makes me think, that you loose all your rights. If there were such thing as code ethics. I don’t think decrypting would get any support legally.
the same as one can get annoyed because someone is getting false credit for your code.
the same as one can get annoyed because someone is decrypting your code that it’s supposed to be absolutely private.
I also wonder what the implications of decrypting really are. I know it can be done with maxscript and heard (I don’t know how to do this myself) that the code is then freely readable, via relatively simple means. Also in csharp you have the redgate reflector tool (not free anymore unfortunately) it opens up csharp dll’s and exe’s for inspection and debugging, only to be masked via obfuscation. What does that mean…
In the end I think it’s about the license provided with the tool/code and the goodwill of others to not missuse your hard work. I think it’s hard to claim pieces of code when published on public sites, I think the best you can do is being flattered about the “great” use your code is providing. I myself use c# classes I find on the net for manipulation of ini files or listview sorters or whatever, it’s for commercial use (in our company), and most of the times I credit the author and put a link to the source it came from. But it’s basically the same idea.
-Johan
Post your work for free and it is saying, go ahead and use it. If you don’t want some one using your code then don’t post it. Do I think that it is right for some one to encrypt your code into their script and sell it, no I don’t but how are you going to stop that if you are posting your code freely on the internet. I think that if you are going and cracking some ones encrypted script to see if your code is there in the first place you are making the bigger mistake in judgement. If I encrypt a script so that I can sell it then no one should be digging into it.
i have to repeat… i don’t talk about the law, i talk about ethics.
i think that is not morally right to show anyone else’s as my own.
i think that is not right to sell anything that i got from anyone else for free.
here is a story. couple weeks ago i found some tool for sell. it was absolutely useless for me because i wrote similar tools many years ago. but the tool was looking too familiar for me by functionality.
it costs a little and i bought it. it’s encrypted but …
so i saw my functions there in my original transcription. the person didn’t want to learn, he didn’t change his or my stuff to match the quality. he didn’t give me a credit, or informed me about possible selling.
of course i don’t want to do anything with it… i leave it to him.
but all this was really annoyed me…
end of story. there is nothing to discuss here.
It’s not a complicated matter as far as I’m concerned. If that kind of use annoys you, you should release your code under a license that prevents it. Like GPL for example. If it happens then, you have a point to be annoyed and possibly take action.
If you share your code without any license or restrictions, then in my opinion, you can and should expect any sort of use of it (or ‘abuse’ as you may see it).
By adding a license you don’t only have a legal document to fall back on should it be necessary, but you also indicate to a potential user how you do or do not want it to be used without ambiguity.
I totally get it annoys you. It would annoy me too.
But there are many people out there who only care about making money, even if they have some skills. (just look at all the iphone clones out there).
I think you just have to accept that some people don’t care about ethics or ‘doing the right thing’ at all. You just have to surround yourself by those people who do give you appreciation for what you do and the code and tricks you share and ignore everybody else.
If somebody grabs some piece of code from any of my tools and sells it, I just ignore them. They will forever be lame. Its like a sports athlete winning a gold medal by using doping/steroids.
I never understood why they get any satisfaction out of winning when they know they cheated. But for some people, that makes no difference. They just want to get ahead no matter what the cost or how much they have to cheat.
But I also do not believe in trying to put too many rules or limitations on code sharing or sharing of ideas. In the end, we should all be able to build on each other ideas and feel free to explore similar ideas to somebody else. But straight out clones of your code and selling it, yea…that’s lame.
I’m not an expert on copyright, far from it, but here is what I think.
Unauthorized use of code someone posted in a public forum is a copyright violation, however if the code comes with no license, it may be hard do enforce that. It’s a gray area, I suppose.
You can take it to court, but there is nothing to win.
However, unencrypting/cracking a piece of code and publishing the source may actually be a crime in the US.
see: Digital Millennium Copyright Act
I agree Denis that I would not want that to happen to me. I have had cases where my work as been copied and then posted for free without due credit. I have in those cases contacted the vendor and explained that what they are doing is wrong. In both cases it was pulled down as neither had considered what they were doing was wrong. Both were young and new to the business.
I would consider contacting the person and telling them that you want it pulled down, my guess is they will. If they are a prick and just don’t care then one of two things can be done, release your tool that does the same thing for free, I’m sure yours would be better anyways and advertise the crap out of it. Give it the same name or similar name as theirs as well so that any one searching for it finds yours at the same time. Or, you can just release your code that makes it possible and suggest that they write their own tool that does the same.
I’m sure that I have grabbed code of yours at times and used lines of it, I would never usually grab whole function as I want to write them my self. In the cases that I have and have used them I have given credit in the code when I have remembered to. I don’t know if any of that is in code that I sell, there might be tools that have gone to specific clients where I have used a dotNet function where C# is used or something of the like but again this is free code that is distributed freely without restrictions on the internet. If you don’t want your code used don’t post it. It is kind of like, if you don’t want to have your tools cracked and on a warz site don’t release them.