Abandoned GPL -> BSD ?

[zratchet]

If a project is no longer actively developed by maintainers and is over 5-10 years old, can a new maintainer change the license?

[qubodup]

Not in the US. I have not researched other countries, but assume the situation is similar in many other countries.

Example using US law:

• Software is a literary work [1]
• <<The United States copyright law protects "original works of authorship," including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works.>> [2] (this is just to show that regular US copyright law applies)
• <<[...] after 1978 [...] works are granted copyright protection for a term ending 70 years after the death of the author. If the work was a work for hire (e.g., those created by a corporation) then copyright persists for 120 years after creation or 95 years after publication, whichever is shorter.>> [3]

I hope this helps. Sorry to bring the bad news (if it is bad news for you).

My reccomendation for such a case would be to try to find and contact the author and ask for permission to use the code under a different license. (Probably just stating the obvious here )

[Andrew]

Lets assume it's under public domain, which it probably isn't. Even then you couldn't change the license because you never owned the code. You would only be able to license new code under a BSD license.

[svenskmand]

Lets assume it's under public domain, which it probably isn't. Even then you couldn't change the license because you never owned the code. You would only be able to license new code under a BSD license.

As far as I understand public domain you do not need to attribute the original author at all and you can release your derivative work under any license you want, which may include the original work?

So in your example I would say that you can license the PD code and the new code under a BSD license. Would you like to say why this should not be the case? Thanks