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source contains fork of Apache-2.0 license file #20

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jonassmedegaard opened this issue Nov 20, 2021 · 0 comments
Open

source contains fork of Apache-2.0 license file #20

jonassmedegaard opened this issue Nov 20, 2021 · 0 comments

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@jonassmedegaard
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This project includes in source an Apache-2.0 license text, with appendix changed to list the actual copyright holders of this project.

Please don't do that.

Instead, please do as instructed right above that copyright line:

To apply the Apache License to your work, attach the following boilerplate notice, with the fields enclosed by brackets "{}" replaced with your own identifying information. (Don't include the brackets!) The text should be enclosed in the appropriate comment syntax for the file format. We also recommend that a file or class name and description of purpose be included on the same "printed page" as the copyright notice for easier identification within third-party archives.

I.e. copy the boilerplate text and paste it at the top of each code source file, commented as appropriate for the coding language.

There is no legal need to state copyright since 1989.
The reason we do it anyway is as a curtesy for our users: We want to promote the code as Free Software, which requires it to be licensed as such, which can be done only by copyright holders - we therefore want our users to most easily locate not only licensing statement but also who made those statements for which code pieces.

When you list copyright notices in a project-wide file instead of inside each code file, you make it more difficult for your users to reuse code and still keep track of owers and licensing of the mixed parts.

When you edit general public licenses (concretely, the Apache-2.0 license text) you make it more difficult for users to rely on such files being general.

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