Suppose I own a copy of a physics book containing original research. Suppose that this book is licensed under a non-free license.
If I use the formulas and concepts explained in that book in my program, am I infringing the book’s copyright?
In my opinion the answer is no because I’m copying ideas, not text, and ideas can’t be copyrighted. Though, I must say that in order to use the formulas, I’m forced to copy parts of the text, hence the question.
Update: I have no problems crediting the author and citing the book; my aim is to have freedom to choice the license I want for my software, without being limited by the book’s license.
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Mathematical formulas usually are not covered by copyright, since there is a limited number of ways to express them. And unless you’re copying mathematica source code, you have to “re-write” the formula anyway.
That said, it’s possible that you may be encumbered by a separate license relating to How you acquired the book. I.e., via a specific contract instead of just picking it up at a bookstore.
I do have to wonder what the point of a physics book whose formulas you aren’t allowed to use, though.
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Copyright isn’t your only concern. You also need to potentially worry about associated patents. However, most academics publish their work because they want others to use them, and in my experience, most would welcome a practical implementation, especially if that implementation is freely licensed.
My first step would be to contact the author and tell him what you plan to do. Chances are he’ll give you express permission. If he doesn’t, you’ll probably have to ask a lawyer’s advice anyway.
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