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Is this legal?

by Elliott Bean
6 replies
Hi everyone

I'm creating one of those dimesale scripts(to sell). I'm using php to dynamically create an encrypted paypal button. I'm looking at tutorials of how to do this from other peoples' sites. The thing is the code I've written is now very similar to one of the sites I've been reading, with different variable/function names etc.

I don't want to just rip off someone else's code. Is what I've done legal or do I have to find a new way of doing the whole process? The thing is the code does use alot of built in php functions which I couldn't rewrite anyway,

any thoughts?
#legal
  • Profile picture of the author brianoh
    That depends entirely on the legal policies of the sites in question. Some sites allow code to be used for any purpose, others are more restrictive. It may also be down to the individual author, as at codeproject.com, for instance, where the license terms are normally stated at the end of each contribution.

    If you can't find any clear license statement, your safest option is to be upfront about it and ask the site owners directly. Even if you have to pay a small fee, it would still be worth your while when set against the time you would have to spend to write it yourself.

    Of course you might get away with just quietly publishing the code and saying nothing, but if you're caught out, it could prove a costly gamble.

    Brian
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    • Profile picture of the author andi_gt2005
      You could buy a PLR product on this subject and in this way you can do whatever you want with the code.
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      • Profile picture of the author Elliott Bean
        Hi thanks for the replies

        Couldn't find a plr product for this so I just rewrote the code
        Signature

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  • Profile picture of the author bridgerlandweb
    The provider of the script may or may not let you copy and paste it into your own project; however, if you can go through the code and learn how they did it, you can write your own version. There's definitely no harm in that approach.
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  • Profile picture of the author vipdistinct
    I don't see any harm in writing your own code that is similar (but not copy and pasted) to someone else's code. But if you're including chunks of their code into your script that you might want to also check the license under which their code was written some are free for you to use (including commercially and sell them) - it just depends on the code's licence.
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  • Profile picture of the author ninjawarrior
    Paypal has a section on their website where you can find documentation (and sample php code I believe) on how to place their buttons. It's alright to use this documentation and samples that they provide, meaning, there are no copyright or legal issues with doing this.

    Have you tried looking for this kind of information that might help you?

    Hope this helps.
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