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Asked: 2026-06-06T00:05:03+00:00

I ported some code from C to C# and I also added some new

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I ported some code from C to C# and I also added some new features into the ported code. Original code is under MPL license.

This is original source code license terms:

/*
 * file name
 * Version .....
 *
 * Copyright (c) 2004-2012 by XXX YYY
 *
 * The contents of this file are subject to the Mozilla Public License Version
 * 1.1 (the "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance with
 * the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at
 * http://www.mozilla.org/MPL/
 *
 * Software distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" basis,
 * WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the License
 * for the specific language governing rights and limitations under the
 * License.
 *
 * The Original Code is file.c
 *
 * The Initial Developer of the Original Code is XXX YYY.
 *
 * Portions created by XXX YYY are Copyright (C) 2004-2012
 * XXX YYY. All Rights Reserved.
 *
 */

Can i change the license for the ported code and include original source code license terms of the original source code this way:

//
// test.cs
//
// Author:
//   "My Name" (my@email.com) 
//
// Copyright (c) 2012 My Name
//
// Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining
// a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the
// "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including
// without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish,
// distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to
// permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to
// the following conditions:
//
// The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be
// included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
//
// THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND,
// EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF
// MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND
// NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE
// LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION
// OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION
// WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.
// 
// Parts of this source code are ported from C to C# by "My Name".
//
// The Original Code is file.c (http://original-source-code-link.com);
// and under Mozilla Public License Version 1.1 (http://www.mozilla.org/MPL/) 
// The Initial Developer of the Original Code is XXX YYY (xxxyyy@email.com).
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1 Answer

  1. Editorial Team

    A port is simply a modification of code.

    You ARE in violation of section 3.1 and 3.4 of the MPL, which state respectively:

    All distribution of Covered Software in Source Code Form, including any Modifications that You create or to which You contribute, must be under the terms of this License. You must inform recipients that the Source Code Form of the Covered Software is governed by the terms of this License, and how they can obtain a copy of this License. You may not attempt to alter or restrict the recipients’ rights in the Source Code Form.

    …

    You may not remove or alter the substance of any license notices (including copyright notices, patent notices, disclaimers of warranty, or limitations of liability) contained within the Source Code Form of the Covered Software, except that You may alter any license notices to the extent required to remedy known factual inaccuracies.

    So the answer is no, your code must keep the terms of the MPL, and keep the original comment block.

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