4 ms·

what if it's not code per se but more like "if you see this error, make sure to use this flag/change the value of this parameter"?

• shagie 3y ago
  If you copy those exact words, that's copyrighted and under a CC license. If you follow the instructions, you're completely fine since how you do that is up to you. This is covered under the idea–expression dichotomy ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idea–expression_distinction https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idea–expression_distinction ). It is the expression of an idea - not the idea itself - that is copyrightable. I can paint a picture of a red house on a wooded hillside with a snow capped mountain in the background. My painting is copyrighted. You can paint the same thing based on the the same description. I can't copyright the idea of the red house on a wooded hillside with a snow capped mountain in the background (I can copyright the text, but that text likely lacks sufficient originality). Likewise, I can't copyright the idea of how to fix a problem. I can copyright some particular code that fixes that problem. I can copyright the text that describes how to fix the problem - but I can't copyright the idea. Creative Commons, GPL, and the rest of the FOSS licenses all deal with copyrights - not ideas. If you do want to protect an idea, that is in the domain of a patent. "This particular arrangement of latches and levers solves the problem of how to open the back of a truck with minimal force" - that idea of the arrangement of latches and levers is patentable.