7 ms·

Warn HN: Elance clients are stealing code from GitHub

31 points by supster 12y ago

I've hosted source code for a couple of my side project iOS apps on Github (that are like 90% done), and it looks like somebody is claiming them as their own on Elance and bidding for developers to complete them. My code: https://github.com/sapanbhuta/Cents https://github.com/sapanbhuta/Clean Contracts on Elance: https://www.elance.com/j/ios-app-bug-fixes/67713491/ https://www.elance.com/j/ios-app-update-needed/67714378/ I'm all for open-source and code sharing for the sake of learning, but something about this just seems disgustingly wrong.

fabulist 12y ago
I think you're right to take offense, this person is blatantly claiming credit for your work. Their repository on Git doesn't even show it was forked from yours. I'd suggest you get in touch with GitHub and Elance; they'll probably have one or both accounts suspended, and hopefully they'll abandon the endeavor after that.
yuashizuki 12y ago
I suggest you sue this fucker directly, he has violated the lincense terms and condition. https://github.com/sapanbhuta https://github.com/sapanbhuta press fedral charges on this asshole.
- detaro 12y ago
  Uhm... that appears to be OPs account, just saying.
yuashizuki 12y ago
He changed the license by removin ur name and placing his. This it self is a violation of the license.
yuashizuki 12y ago
I am pretty sure all his other repos are fraud to.
eru 12y ago
In this particular instance the elancer might have violated the license. But if they were more careful about preserving attribution (and a few other cosmetics), it seems like everything would technically be above board. Before you use an open source licence, especially the MIT style licences, you should ask yourself, if you are OK with a random stranger profiting off your work commercially. In any case, I advice against suing, since it's unlikely you are going to see any money. (IANAL.) I also doubt that a random elance developer will be able (or willing) to finish your work for 500 USD.
- yuashizuki 12y ago
  But he should atleast ask github to ban this fraudsters, worst case senario sue github for supporting users who violate such licenses. Maybe sending a leagal notice to github would get you results. Atleast there is no doubt that he violated the license
  - eru 12y ago
    Yes, sending a friendly note to github seems like a good idea. But don't expect too much apart from the satisfaction of seeing his current account banned.
    - yuashizuki 12y ago
      Yes, but moraly we should all mark these individuals and there emails and other info, so they are banned for ever. This individual is probabely using this work to show off on his resume. This is fraud, we all should take this very seriously.
      - yazaddaruvala 12y ago
        Do message Github+Elance, but also message this person. Request them to stop. Maybe they just don't understand that you could sue them.. and that, if they broke the terms of the license, you would almost definitely get all of their profits if it were successful.
      - 12y ago
potatosareok 12y ago
This is probably not the place for me to go off on tangent, but why are you getting upset? Do you think he can finish this project on elance for $500 dollar? How is this going to affect you? He is scummy guy. Ok. Agreed. But like eru said, you make your code available under MIT license. You can't have it both way of putting your code under a license like that and then complaining when someone uses it in a way you don't like. It seems very hypocritical to me to be angry if he is using your license properly. If I put $100 dollar out to charity and they don't use it in a way I see fit, that is my fault, not theirs. Worst case scenario he makes someone to finish the app and makes a lot of money off it. And then you have a right to be angry if he violated your license in any way. But also you should think that you are very angry because you had app 90% of way done and someone gets all credit for taking it that last 10%. But then that is your fault for not taking it that last 10% yourself. I will most likely lose all my 10 hn point for this but I would just drop a note to elance and then forget about this issue. Don't be vindictive about this. You are amazing person and have an amazing day, be more happy :) Good luck on being a doctor, forgot about this guy.
- yuashizuki 12y ago
  Well its unfair to change the license and remove all the name of the orignal creator, yeah u can use the code to make money and all. But creadit should be given to the person who created it.
  - detaro 12y ago
    He didn't remove attribution or the license (yet), since he links to the original repository. Even the wording of the elance posts doesn't really claim they build it (but certainly also doesn't say "looking for someone who finishes this open-source app we found for us to use").
    - yuashizuki 12y ago
      why dont u look at his github profile, he changed the license
    - 12y ago
charlesdm 12y ago
You released these apps under the MIT license. This means that people can do with it what they want, as long as attribution is given in the app or when source code is used in binaries If you did not want this, you should've released it under a different license (e.g. GPL). Why are you upset?
nesu 12y ago
Thanks for this post. I myself have a small app that I am thinking whether to publish as GPL or other licenses (MIT or Apache). But I am worried about some shady users who would rather distribute the binaries without the source. I would react the same. At least, before other users change my own code or even profit from it, they should try to contact me. But MIT license does not oblige users to disclose the source. Nothing against MIT license, but it's somehow not a good fit for stuff that don't require the full source in order to run. Why not release a new version, and publish it as GPL? That would be clearly a violation if they accept bids on Elance like that. Or try dual licensing.
- brudgers 12y ago
  If you release under GPL, are you prepared to hire lawyers to enforce the license terms? It's ok if someone isn't, but in that case, why bother?
  - nesu 12y ago
    >If you release under GPL, are you prepared to hire lawyers to enforce the license terms? It would be good if one can hire lawyers, but to be honest, most developers working on side projects are not (at least in my honest opinion). >It's ok if someone isn't, but in that case, why bother? At least there is some sort of protection, and at least to scare away those who cannot afford the risk of being sued. Who knows, a lowly developer now might be able to turn things around and finally afford lawyers at his whim. Or even gain some backers.
brudgers 12y ago
Controlling access to Github repositories requires a paid account. The price of a free account is an open source licence.
- Perdition 12y ago
  Incorrect. A free account means your repos are publicly accessible, it does not mean the code in those repos is under an open source license.
  - brudgers 12y ago
    [IANAL] If the source code is publicly accessible, it seems ipso facto legally infeasible to assert closed source license terms up in it. That's not to say that the terms could not prohibit compilation, interpretation, and other forms of machine execution. But the source is open by the author's choice when the terms and conditions of Github are accepted.
    - DanBC 12y ago
      When magazines used to print sourcecode listings they very much retained the rights to those listings. They didn't allow redistribution in print or on tape. That doesn't seem to be a complicated case and I'm not sure what would be different with hosting the code on github under a weird licence "read but no other use".
      - brudgers 12y ago
        Exactly. Of course here the license used was MIT, but like all licenses the reason it was a license is that the rights holder was a rights holder. If the code was in the public domain then license choice would be moot. The bigger point is [IANAL] that "open source" only has legal relevance in regard to concepts like trade secrets (a common connotation of "closed source") where revealing the source code might be subject to tort. Any rights that others have derive directly from copyright law and the way in which the rights holder decides to assert their rights. Putting something in a public Github repository makes it open source, but "open source" is mostly a common language phrase not a term of legal art.
danielki 12y ago
As others have said - long as proper attribution is provided in the finished product, it's within the terms of the license that you put up. In the future: * If you don't want your code available to the public, use a private repository - either Github's paid plans or Bitbucket (free private repos) or something similar. * If you want your code publicly available, but not to be used in this way, use a different license - GPL/LGPL, CC BY-NC-SA, etc. Research to figure out which one works best.
mapster 12y ago
If he/she is going to submit the presumed finished product to apple store, could you not intervene there?
yuashizuki 12y ago
DO u not see whats wrong here, he created a github repo changed the name on the license to make it look like he created this open source project. This is called FRAUDE. Down Vote me if u hate me for speaking the truth.
supster 12y ago
NOTE: Hey guys, OP here, just to clear up the confusion the github.com/sapanbhuta repo is mine. I included it for comparison purposes. The elance site is the other person using the code as his own. Hope that makes more sense lol

31 points by supster 12y ago

fabulist 12y ago

I think you're right to take offense, this person is blatantly claiming credit for your work. Their repository on Git doesn't even show it was forked from yours. I'd suggest you get in touch with GitHub and Elance; they'll probably have one or both accounts suspended, and hopefully they'll abandon the endeavor after that.

yuashizuki 12y ago

I suggest you sue this fucker directly, he has violated the lincense terms and condition. https://github.com/sapanbhuta https://github.com/sapanbhuta press fedral charges on this asshole.

detaro 12y ago
Uhm... that appears to be OPs account, just saying.

yuashizuki 12y ago

He changed the license by removin ur name and placing his. This it self is a violation of the license.

yuashizuki 12y ago

I am pretty sure all his other repos are fraud to.

eru 12y ago

In this particular instance the elancer might have violated the license. But if they were more careful about preserving attribution (and a few other cosmetics), it seems like everything would technically be above board. Before you use an open source licence, especially the MIT style licences, you should ask yourself, if you are OK with a random stranger profiting off your work commercially. In any case, I advice against suing, since it's unlikely you are going to see any money. (IANAL.) I also doubt that a random elance developer will be able (or willing) to finish your work for 500 USD.

yuashizuki 12y ago
But he should atleast ask github to ban this fraudsters, worst case senario sue github for supporting users who violate such licenses. Maybe sending a leagal notice to github would get you results. Atleast there is no doubt that he violated the license
- eru 12y ago
  Yes, sending a friendly note to github seems like a good idea. But don't expect too much apart from the satisfaction of seeing his current account banned.
  - yuashizuki 12y ago
    Yes, but moraly we should all mark these individuals and there emails and other info, so they are banned for ever. This individual is probabely using this work to show off on his resume. This is fraud, we all should take this very seriously.
    - yazaddaruvala 12y ago
      Do message Github+Elance, but also message this person. Request them to stop. Maybe they just don't understand that you could sue them.. and that, if they broke the terms of the license, you would almost definitely get all of their profits if it were successful.
    - 12y ago

potatosareok 12y ago

This is probably not the place for me to go off on tangent, but why are you getting upset? Do you think he can finish this project on elance for $500 dollar? How is this going to affect you? He is scummy guy. Ok. Agreed. But like eru said, you make your code available under MIT license. You can't have it both way of putting your code under a license like that and then complaining when someone uses it in a way you don't like. It seems very hypocritical to me to be angry if he is using your license properly. If I put $100 dollar out to charity and they don't use it in a way I see fit, that is my fault, not theirs. Worst case scenario he makes someone to finish the app and makes a lot of money off it. And then you have a right to be angry if he violated your license in any way. But also you should think that you are very angry because you had app 90% of way done and someone gets all credit for taking it that last 10%. But then that is your fault for not taking it that last 10% yourself. I will most likely lose all my 10 hn point for this but I would just drop a note to elance and then forget about this issue. Don't be vindictive about this. You are amazing person and have an amazing day, be more happy :) Good luck on being a doctor, forgot about this guy.

yuashizuki 12y ago
Well its unfair to change the license and remove all the name of the orignal creator, yeah u can use the code to make money and all. But creadit should be given to the person who created it.
- detaro 12y ago
  He didn't remove attribution or the license (yet), since he links to the original repository. Even the wording of the elance posts doesn't really claim they build it (but certainly also doesn't say "looking for someone who finishes this open-source app we found for us to use").
  - yuashizuki 12y ago
    why dont u look at his github profile, he changed the license
  - 12y ago

charlesdm 12y ago

You released these apps under the MIT license. This means that people can do with it what they want, as long as attribution is given in the app or when source code is used in binaries If you did not want this, you should've released it under a different license (e.g. GPL). Why are you upset?

nesu 12y ago

Thanks for this post. I myself have a small app that I am thinking whether to publish as GPL or other licenses (MIT or Apache). But I am worried about some shady users who would rather distribute the binaries without the source. I would react the same. At least, before other users change my own code or even profit from it, they should try to contact me. But MIT license does not oblige users to disclose the source. Nothing against MIT license, but it's somehow not a good fit for stuff that don't require the full source in order to run. Why not release a new version, and publish it as GPL? That would be clearly a violation if they accept bids on Elance like that. Or try dual licensing.

brudgers 12y ago
If you release under GPL, are you prepared to hire lawyers to enforce the license terms? It's ok if someone isn't, but in that case, why bother?
- nesu 12y ago
  >If you release under GPL, are you prepared to hire lawyers to enforce the license terms? It would be good if one can hire lawyers, but to be honest, most developers working on side projects are not (at least in my honest opinion). >It's ok if someone isn't, but in that case, why bother? At least there is some sort of protection, and at least to scare away those who cannot afford the risk of being sued. Who knows, a lowly developer now might be able to turn things around and finally afford lawyers at his whim. Or even gain some backers.

brudgers 12y ago

Controlling access to Github repositories requires a paid account. The price of a free account is an open source licence.

Perdition 12y ago
Incorrect. A free account means your repos are publicly accessible, it does not mean the code in those repos is under an open source license.
- brudgers 12y ago
  [IANAL] If the source code is publicly accessible, it seems ipso facto legally infeasible to assert closed source license terms up in it. That's not to say that the terms could not prohibit compilation, interpretation, and other forms of machine execution. But the source is open by the author's choice when the terms and conditions of Github are accepted.
  - DanBC 12y ago
    When magazines used to print sourcecode listings they very much retained the rights to those listings. They didn't allow redistribution in print or on tape. That doesn't seem to be a complicated case and I'm not sure what would be different with hosting the code on github under a weird licence "read but no other use".
    - brudgers 12y ago
      Exactly. Of course here the license used was MIT, but like all licenses the reason it was a license is that the rights holder was a rights holder. If the code was in the public domain then license choice would be moot. The bigger point is [IANAL] that "open source" only has legal relevance in regard to concepts like trade secrets (a common connotation of "closed source") where revealing the source code might be subject to tort. Any rights that others have derive directly from copyright law and the way in which the rights holder decides to assert their rights. Putting something in a public Github repository makes it open source, but "open source" is mostly a common language phrase not a term of legal art.

danielki 12y ago

As others have said - long as proper attribution is provided in the finished product, it's within the terms of the license that you put up. In the future: * If you don't want your code available to the public, use a private repository - either Github's paid plans or Bitbucket (free private repos) or something similar. * If you want your code publicly available, but not to be used in this way, use a different license - GPL/LGPL, CC BY-NC-SA, etc. Research to figure out which one works best.

mapster 12y ago

If he/she is going to submit the presumed finished product to apple store, could you not intervene there?

yuashizuki 12y ago

DO u not see whats wrong here, he created a github repo changed the name on the license to make it look like he created this open source project. This is called FRAUDE. Down Vote me if u hate me for speaking the truth.

supster 12y ago

NOTE: Hey guys, OP here, just to clear up the confusion the github.com/sapanbhuta repo is mine. I included it for comparison purposes. The elance site is the other person using the code as his own. Hope that makes more sense lol