I am forced to use some proprietary software at work. The software lets users export custom functionalities. You can then share these to other users. I have made some that are pretty simple, but greatly enhance the use of the application using its native tooling.

I'd like to share mine under some sort of open source licence rather than being ambiguous. Mostly to spread awareness of the concept of open source which is at approximately 0% right now.

What are the considerations here? Can I use the GPL or is it inherently out of compliance since you need a proprietary software to run it?

The employer doesn't claim any intellectual property rights over my work product. I'm not able to find anywhere that the proprietary vendor does either. But I haven't gone through everything with a fine tooth comb. What language would I be looking for?

Advice appreciated. Obviously it can only be general as many details are missing. I just don't understand the details of licences very well.

top 3 comments

sorted by: hot top controversial new old

[–] h3ndrik@feddit.de 4 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

Yes, as long as you don't link in their libraries or incorporate other parts of their code, you should be able to license your extensions and stuff that ties into some APIs as you like.

Companies usually like permissively licensed projects like MIT, Apache or BSD. But if you want them not just to take your work, a copyleft license like one of the GPL licenses is a good choice.

[–] SheeEttin@programming.dev 3 points 6 months ago

The employer doesn’t claim any intellectual property rights over my work product. I’m not able to find anywhere that the proprietary vendor does either.

You're probably in the clear. Legalese isn't so opaque that you would miss a section about this.

Of course, that doesn't stop them from suing you if they decide your work could be very profitable for them.

[–] hunger@programming.dev 3 points 6 months ago

GPL effects "derived works". So if your code is derived from proprietary code, you can not use GPL, as you would need to re-license the proprietary code and you can't do that (assuming you do not hold the copyright for the proprietary code). LGPL and permissive licenses are probably fine though.

Now what exactly is a "derived work"? That is unfortunate up to interpretation and different organizations draw the line in slightly different places. We'd need people to go to court to get that line nailed down more firmly.