EA coding fraud - page 3
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Could be worse. They could have come on here asking for free help on fixing their free code before selling it on
Could be worse. They could have come on here asking for free help on fixing their free code before selling it on
You are paying for the time and knowledge someone puts in developing the "CUSTOMISED ON YOUR REQUESTS" job.
If you ask a lawyer to prepare a contract or a letter for you and what the lawyer does is to spend 5 minutes to get an existing template he/she found ,change a few names and clauses ,but covers what you have asked, would you still call the lawyer a fraud and demand your money back? The person is experienced enough to find a way to do the job fast and that experience is part of the cost.
Unless you are buying a specific product/service which is not customised , does it really matter if the person did the whole work on its own or took bits and pieces from other locations, if it does what you asked.
Cause otherwise you would have search the internet on your own to find that solution and spend significant more time than what it would have taken.
Due to a recent situation, I have decided to awaken this thread in order to express an opinion which I feel strongly about!
All the code available in the CodeBase, or in Articles, or in even code snippets placed on the Forum are inherently considered "open source" for which all rights are reserved by the author, including but not limited to the copyright. In fact, it is common practice to start a full EA, Script or Indicator with a comments block which includes the Copyright and authors details. The same applies even for code sourced on other websites as well.
With that said, the "open source" code can only be used for the following conditions (and even that is dependent on what rights the author is conceding):
It is however, unethical and unlawful to use such code for commercial use or gain, be it "open source" or not, without the express autorisation of the author, such as for example, in Market Products being sold here or when used in the Freelance projects. This is the meaning of the common phrase used, namely "All Rights Reserved".
So, if anyone wants to use any code, be it in entirety or even just in part, without express authorisation from the author, then you are not only being unethical, but also breaking the law in many countries. And if you should engage in such unethical and unlawful practices, I think it only fair, that moderators outright ban you from this site permanently.
...
It is however, unethical and unlawful to use such code for commercial use or gain, be it "open source" or not, without the express autorisation of the author, such as for example, in Market Products being sold here or when used in the Freelance projects. This is the meaning of the common phrase used, namely "All Rights Reserved".
So, if anyone wants to use any code, be it in entirety or even just in part, without express authorisation from the author, then you are not only being unethical, but also breaking the law in many countries. And if you should engage in such unethical and unlawful practices, I think it only fair, that moderators outright ban you from this site permanently.
I completely agree.
And unless explicitly agreed between parties, I find it unethical and misleading to take such code to fulfil a freelance job. So I agree with the OP that it's a coding fraud, and I would report this practice to Metaquotes.
... With that said, the "open source" code can only be used for the following conditions (and even that is dependent on what rights the author is conceding):
Well, I have to admit, as open source is commonly used in commercial applications, I can hardly imagine any of the commercial JAVA projects without it. Usually the author provides a document with a license statement, which specifies conditions of reuse. There are practically no limits for commercial use, often the only requirement is appending that licensing document to the project package.
That is exactly the point! Since here, no such "license" file is supplied by the authors, All Rights are therefore Reserved until otherwise stated!
Obviously, most users here act in good faith, such as yourself, because this MQL site is mostly about a community of sharing code and our love of trading because that is from where ultimately most want to get their income (Forex and other Markets).
However, there are some "sneaky" users that don't know how to code very well themselves, that abuse this "openness" and take these "works" and then pass it off as their own while profiting from it. I find that deplorable as they essentially commit fraud by claiming to be "coders" when they are not!
That is exactly the point! Since here, no such "license" file is supplied by the authors, All Rights are therefore Reserved until otherwise stated!
Obviously, most users here act in good faith, such as yourself, because this MQL site is mostly about a community of sharing code and our love of trading because that is from where ultimately most want to get their income (Forex and other Markets).
However, there are some "sneaky" users that don't know how to code very well themselves, that abuse this "openness" and take these "works" and then pass it off as their own while profiting from it. I find that deplorable as they essentially commit fraud by claiming to be "coders" when they are not!
Yes, agree, on most. On the other way, if there is no license statement, I would expect very loose conditions for reuse.
And also, I expect such "coders" would be majority - look at the job prices. You cannot make income at those rates when you code from scratch.
As far as I know, in most countries, the law is that by default all rights are reserved (see below), unless otherwise stated. This is to prevent the misuse of code obtained by indirect means, such as in corporate espionage, or reverse engineering, etc. in which a license or rights don't accompany the code obtained. This applies also to many other forms such as Literature, Music, Photography, etc. So, depending on the country, the same will apply here!
As for the majority of "coders" carrying out those practices, just because it is the majority, does not make it ethical or legal.
Legal Background
What is copyright and why does it matter?
Copyright law grants exclusive rights to creators of original works of authorship. National laws usually extend protections to such works automatically once fixed in a tangible medium, prohibiting the making of copies without the rights holder’s permission, among other things. On the internet, even the most basic activities involve making copies of copyrighted content. As content is increasingly uploaded, downloaded, and shared online, copyright law is becoming more relevant to more people than it was 20 years ago. Unfortunately, infringing copyrights—even unintentionally or unknowingly—can lead to liability. Successful navigation of the internet requires some understanding of copyright law. Copyright grants to creators a bundle of exclusive rights over their creative works, which generally include, at a minimum, the right to reproduce, distribute, display, and make adaptations. The phrase "All Rights Reserved" is often used by owners to indicate that they reserve all of the rights granted to them under the law. When copyright expires, the work enters the public domain, and the rights holder can no longer stop others from engaging in those activities under copyright, with the exception of moral rights reserved to creators in some jurisdictions.
What do I need to do to get a copyright?
Copyright in most jurisdictions attaches automatically without need for any formality once a creative work is fixed in tangible form (i.e. the minute you put pen to paper, take a photo, or hit the “save” button on your computer). In some jurisdictions, creators may be required to register with a national agency in order to enforce copyright in court. If you would like more information, please consult the Berne Convention or your jurisdiction's copyright law. Although you do not have to apply a copyright notice for your work to be protected, it may be a useful tool to clearly signal to people that the work is yours. It also tells the public who to contact about the work.
EDIT: Please note however, that by posting code on this site, you are in fact conceding some rights to MetaQuotes themselves, but not to the users and certainly not for commercial use, and I quote from the sites Terms of Use:
4.6. By submitting any materials to the sections of www.mql5.com for public use, the User automatically grants (or warrants that the owner of such materials has expressly granted MQL5 Ltd) MQL5 Ltd, its partners and Affiliated Entities the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive right (non-exclusive license) to use, post, store, reproduce, modify, create derivative works from (such as those resulting from translations, adaptations or other optimizations), communicate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute such materials, worldwide for the full term of any copyright that may exist in such material as stipulated by local laws.
The above rights are used for the limited purpose of operating, promoting, and improving the website www.mql5.com. No additional formality, including that in writing, will be required for the rights granted by the User to be recognized.
This license shall continue even if You stop using the website www.mql5.com. Before You submit to MQL5 Ltd any materials and thus grant this license for their use, make sure You have the necessary rights to do so.
As far as I know, in most countries, the law is that by default all rights are reserved (see below), unless otherwise stated. This is to prevent the misuse of code obtained by indirect means, such as in corporate espionage, or reverse engineering, etc. in which a license or rights don't accompany the code obtained. This applies also to many other forms such as Literature, Music, Photography, etc. So, depending on the country, the same will apply here!
As for the majority of "coders" carrying out those practices, just because it is the majority, does not make it ethical or legal.
EDIT: Please note however, that by posting code on this site, you are in fact conceding some rights to MetaQuotes themselves, but not to the users and certainly not for commercial use, and I quote from the sites Terms of Use:
I agree! For MetaQuotes or for moderators to control that, would be very difficult! But moderators can at least "punish" those users that make it so obvious that they are committing such acts!
Moderators and users can also "educate" other users to be on the look-out for such practices and complain to MetaQuotes via "arbitration" when they detect such practices, and help reduce it somewhat. It will probably only be a drop in the ocean, but we need to start somewhere!