Is Andor’s Trail properly licensed?
Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2024 4:16 am
Usually, when I go to look at code in github, there is some sort of “LICENSE” file that says verbatim what the code is licensed under. For example, the program “OnionShare” is licensed under the GNU General Public License, version 3. The complete text of that license can be found at https://github.com/onionshare/onionshar ... ICENSE.txt .
However, for Andor’s Trail, I do not find an equivalent file. Instead, I find two things. First, in the About/help section of the game, under licenses, it says that the game is licensed under the GPLv2+, and it gives a link to http://www.gnu.org/licenses. But it does not directly show the text of the license in the game itself.
Second, the file at https://github.com/AndorsTrailRelease/a ... /readme.md says the following-
“Licenses
Code
Andor's Trail code is released under GNU GPL v2.
Content
Andor's Trail gameplay content is copyright by their respective authors and has only been licensed for use in Andor's Trail.
Graphics
The graphics licenses and contributions can be found here.”
But here, there is not any text of the GNU GPL v2 either. And it does not say that the end-user can relicense under a later version of the GPL, while the in-game about section does say that. If anything, this readme file implies that the game can only be licensed under the GPLv2, which would be a contradition. It is also unclear how the code would be under the GPL but the gameplay created by the code would be under some sort of exclusive copyright.
Regardless, the game’s repository seems to lack the actual text of the GPL. Would these problems lead to the license for Andor’s Trail to be considered invalid in a court of law? I ask because as far as I know, we still do not know whether the Federal BOP version is being licensed under the GPL or if the copyleft is being violated. I would imagine that some lawyer over at Keefe Group or whatever thought through the copyright issues before endorsing its use in the prison tablets.
So, is Andor’s Trail properly licensed? Or is the BOP exploiting improper licensing in order to use the game?
However, for Andor’s Trail, I do not find an equivalent file. Instead, I find two things. First, in the About/help section of the game, under licenses, it says that the game is licensed under the GPLv2+, and it gives a link to http://www.gnu.org/licenses. But it does not directly show the text of the license in the game itself.
Second, the file at https://github.com/AndorsTrailRelease/a ... /readme.md says the following-
“Licenses
Code
Andor's Trail code is released under GNU GPL v2.
Content
Andor's Trail gameplay content is copyright by their respective authors and has only been licensed for use in Andor's Trail.
Graphics
The graphics licenses and contributions can be found here.”
But here, there is not any text of the GNU GPL v2 either. And it does not say that the end-user can relicense under a later version of the GPL, while the in-game about section does say that. If anything, this readme file implies that the game can only be licensed under the GPLv2, which would be a contradition. It is also unclear how the code would be under the GPL but the gameplay created by the code would be under some sort of exclusive copyright.
Regardless, the game’s repository seems to lack the actual text of the GPL. Would these problems lead to the license for Andor’s Trail to be considered invalid in a court of law? I ask because as far as I know, we still do not know whether the Federal BOP version is being licensed under the GPL or if the copyleft is being violated. I would imagine that some lawyer over at Keefe Group or whatever thought through the copyright issues before endorsing its use in the prison tablets.
So, is Andor’s Trail properly licensed? Or is the BOP exploiting improper licensing in order to use the game?