licensing open-source-software unlicensed-practice
Is it legit to fork an unlicensed repository for non-commercial purposes?
<p><strong>Edit: bear in mind that I'm not asking for which license, I'm asking whether it's fair or not.</strong></p>
<p>I want to use the treepedia_dl_public library as a core part of a new website. I checked the repository and noticed that the developers hadn't chosen a license, even though it has been already 2 years since the last time they made a commit.</p>
<p><a href="https://github.com/billcai/treepedia_dl_public" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://github.com/billcai/treepedia_dl_public</a></p>
<p>For the last 2 weeks, I've tried to contact the developers and they didn't answer.</p>
<p>Is it legal to fork an unlicensed project for non-commercial purposes?</p>

<h2>Yes, you can fork it - but you can’t use it</h2>
<p>GitHub explain what’s a public deposit with no licence means <a href="https://choosealicense.com/no-permission/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">here</a>.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>If you find software that doesn’t have a license, that generally means you have no permission from the creators of the software to use, modify, or share the software. Although a code host such as GitHub may allow you to view and fork the code, this does not imply that you are permitted to use, modify, or share the software for any purpose.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>Your options:</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<ul>
<li><strong>Ask the maintainers nicely to add a license.</strong> Unless the software includes strong indications to the contrary, lack of a license is probably an oversight. If the software is hosted on a site like GitHub, open an issue requesting a license and include a link to this site. If you’re bold and it’s fairly obvious what license is most appropriate, open a pull request to add a license – see “suggest this license” in the sidebar of the page for each license on this site (e.g., MIT).</li>
<li><strong>Don’t use the software.</strong> Find or create an alternative that is under an open source license.</li>
<li><strong>Negotiate a private license.</strong> Bring your lawyer.</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>

<p>Without a license you fall back on basic copyright - and the copyright owner has not granted any rights to you to distribute their code or derivatives of their code.  Github also does not grant you any rights to do so.</p>
<p>So, yes you can fork the repository, but you cannot distribute it or any derivative code you base on it even for non-commercial use - the fork you make should be private, so as to eliminate any accidental infringement.</p>
