On Thu, 4 Nov 2004, Chris Walsh wrote:
> Can I get some advice on what is required to claim a GPL for a package?
>
> A package I maintain (pcurve) uses some S code from statlib. I have an
email
> from the author of the S code saying that he would be happy to issue a GPL
> for the code. Is the email from the author enough, or do I need something
> more formal?
r-devel is not an ideal place to ask for this sort of advice, especially
as the correct answer may be country-specific. It's unlikely that many
people on this list are experts in Australian IP law.
Formally, you almost certainly need the permission of the copyright
holder, who may or may not be the author. Assuming goodwill and no large
sums of money at stake, permission from the author is probably pretty
safe. For example, the survival package was initially circulated with
permission from the author, but now is GPL with permission from the Mayo
Foundation for Medical Education and Research, who are the real copyright
owners of Dr Therneau's code.
-thomas
Thomas Lumley Assoc. Professor, Biostatistics
tlumley@u.washington.edu University of Washington, Seattle