lucasgonze

OSS lawyer types: how would you analyze the legal status of sample code that is widely copied, with no clear owner or license?

I'm reviewing a proprietary code base for potential infringements and am finding a lot of files that began as example code in open source projects. The source was clearly meant to be cannibalized, but would that free the cannibalizer from the need to comply with license terms like attribution?

1. This stuff is not webby, usually. Hash trees are not the web. IPFS is not the web. NFTs are not the web. PoW is not the web.

2. The web2 meme was hype from the beginning. Just let it die.

3. Other tech (like, RDF) already tried to claim the term “web 3,” years ago. Trying to snarf it isn't even original.

4. Aspiring to be “web 3” is euphoria. It's delusional. The web is a monster success. Almost nothing in krypto compares.

When people talk about crypto or web3 what they usually mean is P2P. Just say it if that's what you mean.

Have you seen tooling to help give credit to contributors? I'm imaging a name, handle, and info on their contribution.