Unlicense and Uncopyright

Published on 04 May 2023.

I decided to put my source code in the public domain and all content on this website is uncopyrighted.

What does it mean to you?

You can do whatever you like to the source code of this website. Also, you can do whatever you want to the content of this website.

Why do you make this decision?

I used the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 before using the Unlicense. The GNU AGPLv3 license is very long. While the Unlicense is shorter and I understand it. That is the first reason.

Second, the Unlicense allows anyone to do whatever they like to the source code. They can copy the entire source code without any changes. They can make money from it. They can improve it and tell the world that they are written by them. Whatever. They can do whatever they want.

For the content, I did not put any copyright. This is a problem because people are not allowed to do anything with my content. If I license the content of this website, people can share the content with some terms and conditions. For example, they are allowed to share the content and they must put an attribution.

With uncopyright content, people can do whatever they want. They can share it. They can sell it. They can make a book. They can do anything without asking my permission. They can use the content of this website without the fear of I will take legal action.

Now, let's be real. People put the copyright symbol on their websites, but some of them do not really know about "copyright". They just think it is cool. Also, if people copy the entire work and claim it as theirs, do you think they will take action? If they have the money to hire a lawyer, then probably they will take legal action. But, it would cost a lot of money and time. Do you think most people have the time and the money to do that?

I am not alone

You can see the projects that use Unlicense on the Unlicense.org » Unlicense Yourself: Set Your Code Free.

Here are some people that decide to release copyright on all their works.

Blog posts from others

Open Source Blogging: Feel Free to Steal My Content - zen habits zen habits

Who's Afraid of the Public Domain?