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Licensing concerns in porting S-Plus code to R libraries

2 messages · Chris Green, Duncan Murdoch

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On 12-10-15 8:38 PM, Chris Green wrote:
For the functions that just use the same techniques but are new code, 
you probably don't need to worry.  But for the ones that include 
non-trivial amounts of S-PLUS code, you probably need permission from 
the copyright holder to release them.

I would write to Tibco (the current owners of S-PLUS) and ask permission 
to release your functions under the GPL.  Include copyright notices for 
them as well as for yourself.  You should include copies of the 
functions that are based on their work, so they know how much you are 
asking for.

You can also offer to release them under some other open license, if 
they'd prefer that.

I have no idea how receptive they'll be to this offer, but I think it's 
worth a try.  If they say no, then you should rewrite (or better still, 
get someone else to rewrite, based on your specs) those functions that 
use their code so they're all new.

Duncan Murdoch