285
votes
Lab colleague uses cracked software. Should I report it?
I don't feel that general academic ethics obliges you to report this, unless you have reason to believe that it might be endangering the research of the lab (giving inaccurate results, introducing ...
- 135k
188
votes
Lab colleague uses cracked software. Should I report it?
I would stay away from his "personal laptop" in the future and avoid peeking at other people's "very personal" screens. It is not your job to report this. And you should not be looking at other people'...
- 5,826
134
votes
How to respond to a company that wants specific details on implementation of my PhD research?
It's not normal to work for a company for free, and I'd simply answer something like this:
Dear X,
I am glad to know that my PhD work caught your interest. I can
provide more information ...
- 55.7k
130
votes
Someone I don't know contributed to my program on GitHub. Can I still present that program as my Bachelor thesis?
First, congratulations! The code you wrote for your bachelor's thesis was useful enough that other people used it to teach classes at a university level and added new features. This is a major ...
- 3,124
99
votes
Accepted
Academic code copied by library author
In fact something great happened: Your research did have impact in the real world and seems to be useful - not everyone can say that!
When it comes to legal issues, things are usually complicated and ...
- 13.2k
97
votes
How to respond to a company that wants specific details on implementation of my PhD research?
Other answers make the case that you should ask for money for your services. I certainly think that is a very fair and reasonable thing to do, but rather than asking for money upfront, I would like to ...
- 202k
87
votes
Accepted
Someone I don't know contributed to my program on GitHub. Can I still present that program as my Bachelor thesis?
Can I still present my PicoBlaze assembler and emulator as my Bachelor thesis, or will I run into problems because a part of it was written by agustiza? Do I need to write a new Bachelor thesis?
...
79
votes
Is it ethical to share with students a book draft that the author no longer makes publicly available?
If the author can be contacted, ask them politely whether you may distribute the manuscript that used to be available online, explaining the purpose of your request and the size of your class.
Perhaps ...
58
votes
What do I do if my thesis is stolen
Inform your advisor and the department, maybe also the Dean of the school what happened. Don't pay any money to extortionists. Let the authorities deal with it. Your university may have a legal ...
- 399k
55
votes
Can a (predatory or fake) journal refuse to withdraw a non-published paper, even though the journal is to blame for withdrawal request?
The journal has nothing to "give back" and no basis for demanding payment. As long as the authors still hold copyright the work is theirs and theirs alone.
All that is required is a ...
- 399k
52
votes
How to respond to a company that wants specific details on implementation of my PhD research?
I've never worked with a commercial interest directly, but the impression I get from colleagues is that companies will take as much as they can and pay as little as possible. "It's just business" as ...
- 8,412
51
votes
My code is published as original work by a different group. What should I do?
This seems to be a clear case of plagiarism, and potentially a copyright violation.
The BSD license contains a line "Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this list ...
- 8,202
50
votes
How to preserve a rare version of a book respecting the copyright as well?
Discuss with the librarian - they may know what is available - ie it could be scanned while the book is refurbished and recovered.
And, take the opportunity to explain to the librarian why it is ...
- 28.3k
48
votes
Accepted
Is it ethical to share with students a book draft that the author no longer makes publicly available?
The author took a willful, deliberate action of removing the draft from its publicly available location online. The only thing we can infer from this is that he has revoked any implied approval he may ...
- 202k
45
votes
What to do when another researcher used my results without credit in a science documentary?
I agree with your former advisor: let it slide...published information can be used by anyone in documentaries...[they] cannot cite everyone, perhaps even anyone, as this is not interesting, moreover, ...
- 41.1k
44
votes
Accepted
Is it okay to upload code I wrote for replicating someone else’s simulation study?
You ask about uploading three different things, so it's worth answering with regard to the three parts.
Your own code: Definitely acceptable to upload it. You wrote
the code so
the code is your ...
- 11.4k
43
votes
Copyright Status of a Math Text
I would encourage you to contact the authors. Both John Milnor and James Stasheff have their contact info on the web. As Stasheff is emeritus, Milnor might be a better bet.
- 691
43
votes
Accepted
Can/should one put a copyright notice on one's CV or resume? Why/why not?
While your CV can technically be regarded as a piece of intellectual property, the usual reason why people assert their copyright to a work by putting a copyright notice on it is to deter and prevent ...
- 202k
42
votes
Accepted
Permission to include a segment from Google Maps as a figure in a publication
Why, of course you should contact Google. More precisely, the Google Permissions page states that it is okay to use Google Map images for the purposes of research assuming that you provide proper ...
- 3,027
42
votes
Lab colleague uses cracked software. Should I report it?
Are you sure it is cracked software ? A 'warning' popup could just be phishing malware and you might expect that a feature to detect piracy would just shut the application down rather than just issue ...
- 1,259
42
votes
Accepted
Can I publish a source code containing potential copyright violations that someone gave me at a university (updated)?
With the caveat that I am not a lawyer, the answer is "no".
You have:
code A, which is GPL-licensed
code B, which is a derivative work of A and not GPL-licensed.
The GPL license requires that all ...
- 11.3k
41
votes
Academic code copied by library author
Here's how I would view it:
I got to do all the fun work of research and discovery. Somebody else voluntarily did the not-fun work of wrapping this work up in a nice software package. They're even ...
- 37.2k
40
votes
Accepted
I believe a publisher is infringing copyright when reproducing a figure I created. What can I do?
You attempted to use a crayon license, that is, modify the terms of an existing well-established license to better suit your needs.
This is frowned upon, because it can cause legal complications. In ...
- 47.4k
40
votes
Private company using my dissertation
I think that your best bet is to contact the IP department at the academic institution where you did your PhD:
They can inform you about your rights concerning the work you did there as a student
...
- 13.6k
38
votes
If a journal publishes my article against my will, do they have the right to request a publication charge?
It is just their "business model". I suggest that you ignore them. If they insist, then ask that the paper be retracted. Apparently you still hold copyright.
However, IANAL, and don't know ...
- 399k
37
votes
Accepted
MathSciNet reviews license
Here are some answers to your questions: Yes, MathSciNet is behind a paywall. Yes, we ask reviewers to give us copyright to their reviews. Yes, you can post your reviews elsewhere.
In return, for ...
- 551
36
votes
Copyright Status of a Math Text
The copyright holder is Princeton University Press.
Princeton University Press says:
Permission to Reprint a Complete Book
A full reprint of a Princeton University Press title requires a ...
- 828
36
votes
Accepted
Do Research Papers have Public Domain Expiration Date?
From your question:
This is an article published more than 150 years ago. How long do I have to wait in order to download it and use it for free?
From a comment you posted:
Yes, I know I do still ...
- 29.8k
35
votes
Accepted
Would it violate copyright to retype a classic mathematics book from the 1960s using modern notation and uploading it online?
For your own use, you can type anything you like, modify it in any way that you like. There are no restrictions on that sort of thing, as long as it is strictly for personal use. Among other reasons, ...
- 399k
34
votes
Accepted
Journal allows me to choose whether to transfer copyright – why would I do so?
To expand a little on user2768's answer, the text provided by the publisher normally explains the benefits and implications of the different options quite well.
If you choose to retain your copyright,...
- 137k
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