What makes a script your own?

[justAnoob]

If someone finds a login script online, and changes some variable names around and some other minor adjustments. Is that considered there own script?  What would define a script as being yours?  I just ask because a lot of scripts online you see that the code author says you can use them on your project, but you must include there info(name and stuff) to use it.

[oni-kun]

If someone finds a login script online, and changes some variable names around and some other minor adjustments. Is that considered there own script?  What would define a script as being yours?  I just ask because a lot of scripts online you see that the code author says you can use them on your project, but you must include there info(name and stuff) to use it.

 

Depends (in most cases) purely on the license that they place the code into. Generally if otherwise not stated it is public domain (IE: Thy don't claim copyright on page or in code or in their tos), but as you'll see most scripts will release their code under GPL (which is free to take the code into your own use, and be able to call it yours and be released usually under the same circumstances)

 

http://www.gnu.org/licenses/quick-guide-gplv3.html

 

Nobody should be restricted by the software they use. There are four freedoms that every user should have:

 

    * the freedom to use the software for any purpose,

    * the freedom to change the software to suit your needs,

    * the freedom to share the software with your friends and neighbors, and

    * the freedom to share the changes you make.

 

When a program offers users all of these freedoms, we call it free software.

 

Just look in the respective documentation for the release, either on site or usually included with the script itself, and you can know your legal limitations.

 

[teamatomic]

To be truly "Yours" you start with <?php then write a whole bunch of weird stuff and finish up with ?>. But what I gather from your Q is you want to grab some code, use it, but not have the client know you didnt write it. If that is the case then find a tutorial on what you wish to accomplish. The code you write will be "yours" and you can even say:

"copyright 2010 ME,Mine,not yours"

 

Why not peruse the various licenses and decide which you and you conscience can live with. 

 

 

HTH

Teamatomic

[MatthewJ]

I would say unless you have provided some sort of innovation in the code you have written, you are hard pressed to call it "yours" I have seen people try to require you leave their name or links in a file that they themselves copied from php.net with a couple variable changes.

[calmchess]

I say no copyright can be claimed on code.......about the only thing that can be claimed is style that the code is written for example 1 author uses an array while another writes a bunch of variables instead......on the other hand there is no way an author is going to write unique code 100% of the time......I say claim it as your own and wait to be sued.(which is unlikely to happen.)

[salathe]

Generally if otherwise not stated it is public domain (IE: Thy don't claim copyright on page or in code or in their tos)

Hold on a second, could you let us know what gives you this impression? As far as my limited understanding of copyright law goes, all works are protected by default. If the work is to be public domain, the owner has to say so somewhere. Just because some code contains no license or copyright claim does not (especially does not!) mean you can "steal" (in the truest sense of the word) it.

 

As for the original question; I certainly would claim to be the composer of a piece of music if all I did was change a few notes around. For code to be mine, I believe it has to be the product of my own mind (and fingers).