GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE (Version 3).

[jjbtcp]

I'm considering releasing the source code for my programs I made on my blog. As I understand it, the 'GNU General Public License' will protect my source code so It remains my property. What I want to know is, What happens if someone claims the code is theirs? Can I report it?



Thanks.

[Deerpark]

If you by "report it" mean report the violator to the people behind the GPL (the Free Software Foundation) then no. The GPL is a license, if someone violates the terms of that license you will have to go to court and prove the violation.

[jjbtcp]

But there would be no way to prove it. They could claim it is theirs & I don't like the idea of going to court, what happens if the other person is on the other side of the world?

[Deerpark]

If you choose to publish your source code to the public you also have to prepare for the possibility of misuse. This is a problem several open source projects have faced.
Just check out this site for example:
http://gpl-violations.org/

Several large companies have violated the GPL and it can be hard to do anything about it unless you have the funds for a lengthy court battle. And it can get even harder if the violator is based in a country on the other side of the world.
I don't really know what to say except: Welcome to the real world, where the good guys don't necessarily get the girl in the end and where the bad guys often get away with it.

If you do choose to put your source code online I suggest you post it on a hosting site for open source project like SourceForge. Then you at least have a verifiable date for when you uploaded it. Anyone who wants to claim the code as theirs would have to prove they had it earlier than that date.