Disclaimer
The materials on this website are provided to the faculty and staff at UCSD for informational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. This information is not guaranteed to be up-to-date.
Who handles OSS policy at UCSD?
University of California, San Diego's polices pertaining to software licensing and copyright are handled by the UCSD Technology Transfer Office (TTO).
Relevant Links:
- UCSD's Technology Transfer Office (TTO)
- UC Office of the President (UCOP) Technology Transfer Office
- UC Copyright Education Website.
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This software is Copyright © 2XXX The Regents of the University of California. All Rights Reserved.
Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software and its documentation for educational, research and non-profit purposes, without fee, and without a written agreement is hereby granted, provided that the above copyright notice, this paragraph and the following three paragraphs appear in all copies.
Permission to make commercial use of this software may be obtained by contacting:
Technology Transfer Office
9500 Gilman Drive, Mail Code 0910
University of California
La Jolla, CA 92093-0910
(858) 534-5815
invent@ucsd.edu
This software program and documentation are copyrighted by The Regents of the University of California. The software program and documentation are supplied "as is", without any accompanying services from The Regents. The Regents does not warrant that the operation of the program will be uninterrupted or error-free. The end-user understands that the program was developed for research purposes and is advised not to rely exclusively on the program for any reason.IN NO EVENT SHALL THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BE LIABLE TO ANY PARTY FOR DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, INCLUDING LOST PROFITS, ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE AND ITS DOCUMENTATION, EVEN IF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE. THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ANY WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE SOFTWARE PROVIDED HEREUNDER IS ON AN "AS IS" BASIS, AND THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA HAS NO OBLIGATIONS TO PROVIDE MAINTENANCE, SUPPORT, UPDATES, ENHANCEMENTS, OR MODIFICATIONS.
Note: What the UCSD TTO calls the UC Software Copyright Notice, UCOP TTO refers to as the Software On-Line Permission Statement.
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What does a notice look like?
The standard form for a copyright notice on works belonging to the University is:
Copyright © 1996 The Regents of the University of California
All Rights Reserved
Acknowledging the Author
Per the same page, "acknowledgement of creators may be included, if desired."
Copyright © 1996 The Regents of the University of California
All Rights Reserved.Created by John Smith and Mary Doe
Department of Statistics
Do I have to include the non-ASCII © symbol?
The most important thing is to include the word, "Copyright" in the notice:
Since many keyboards cannot reproduce the © symbol, the symbol (c) may be used instead, although the latter symbol will not always be accepted as a substitute. Use of the symbol, ©, in combination with certain other requirements, allows copyright protection in some foreign countries. To ensure the enforceability of the copyright in the United States, the word, "Copyright" must always appear in the notice.
What year should I use?
UCOP gives the following clarification on the date of copyright:
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Is the developer of a GPL-covered program bound by the GPL? Could the developer's actions ever be a violation of the GPL? (#DeveloperViolate)
Strictly speaking, the GPL is a license from the developer for others to use, distribute and change the program. The developer itself is not bound by it, so no matter what the developer does, this is not a “violation” of the GPL.