Ask HN: What is the license of GitHub's blog and The README project?

I don't see a license on their articles, which makes me think they are simply copyrighted.

If so, is it legal to translate an article (and link to the original article) on another website?

Translations are derivative works (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derivative_work, https://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ14.pdf) and in most countries the copyright holder of the original work must give permission for derivative works to be distributed publicly

supermatt · 3 years ago

Pretty sure that given the copilot situation (and LLMs in general I guess), microsofts stance on all things copyrighted is "if its publicly accessible then it is fair game to use, provided you claim it as original work and absolutely do not give credit to the source". Just roll a dice a few times when copying it, or something. /s

Dead Comment

HatchedLake721 · 3 years ago

Legal? Probably not. Would GitHub care? No. Would GitHub be happy their content is being translated and pointed back to the source? Yes.

taubek · 3 years ago

concordDance · 3 years ago

The actually relevant question is whether you'll be sued. And if it's a good translation, you plainly state that its a translation of the blog article and link to it the answer is obviously not.

Hamuko · 3 years ago

I doubt you'd be sued at all, even if GitHub/Microsoft really didn't want you doing it. More likely they'd just send a cease and desist or a DMCA takedown request first. Path of least resistance.

asperous · 3 years ago

Why not ask Github?

Dead Comment

labster · 3 years ago

Anyone offering free legal advice on HN today?

speedgoose · 3 years ago

We share advices on many fields all the time. Legal advices are no exception.

Especially when it's this simple, "water is wet", "prefer postgresql over mongodb", "no you can't legally copy content without being authorised by the authors, even if translated".

ealexhudson · 3 years ago

Legal advice is an exception. In many jurisdictions, it's a regulated field (like health) and providing legal advice without holding the requisite license is illegal.

Offering your own opinion on the law is fine, but IMHO answering someone else's question with opinion on the law is probably the wrong side of the line.

Disclaimers don't help, either, the regulation exists whether you acknowledge being outwith the licensing or not.

smartblondeva · 3 years ago

Hi there - I oversee The ReadME Project at GitHub. Our stories are copyrighted, but we are open to syndication/translation if the story is clearly credited with a link that drives readers to the original source.

linkdd · 3 years ago

Thank you. I ended up contacting the author who gave me permission quite quickly :)