I've always had trouble understanding intellectual property when it comes to code, because if I read open source code, remember everything, and write my own version (even if slightly different) 10 years later, I am not 100% sure whether it's copyright infrigement or not.
I see it as something akin to a painter studying someone else's work, then reproducing some of the techniques invented by the original artist... except that their techniques didn't have a license I guess?
I think I am not equipped to fully understand the legal boundaries between inspiration and theft, and I think most programmers are in the same situation.
I see it as something akin to a painter studying someone else's work, then reproducing some of the techniques invented by the original artist... except that their techniques didn't have a license I guess?
I think I am not equipped to fully understand the legal boundaries between inspiration and theft, and I think most programmers are in the same situation.