github copyright assignment

Understanding the Key Elements of a Copyright Assignment Agreements

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Introduction

For creators and owners of intellectual property, copyright assignment agreements are a crucial tool for protecting their interests. These agreements allow the original creator to transfer ownership of copyright to a new owner while receiving appropriate compensation or maintaining certain rights. If not properly crafted and registered, this can lead to legal disputes, financial losses and other serious consequences.

The Genie AI team has experience in drafting these agreements to ensure that the original creator is compensated fairly and retains any rights they wish. This is done by including such elements as a lump sum payment, royalties or license back clause which allows the original creator to continue using their work for certain purposes only. It is also important that both parties understand the obligations that come with signing such an agreement in order to avoid any misinterpretations which could lead to future complications.

When it comes to international copyright protection, it’s essential that these agreements are legally registered with the relevant authorities. This guarantees that both parties are held accountable if they breach any of the outlined terms and conditions, allowing any potential disputes or miscommunications between them in future. Additionally, proper registration means that all stakeholders have a clear understanding of who owns what right - ensuring everyone can benefit from the expected outcomes of this agreement accordingly.

At Genie AI we understand how important it is for creators and owners of intellectual property to protect their rights - which is why we offer free templates from our open source legal template library as well as step-by-step guidance on how best to complete your own copyright assignment agreement correctly and confidently from start-to-finish . With millions of datapoints teaching us what market-standard looks like for each document type - you don’t need an account with us or even have to pay a lawyer – just read on below for more information on accessing our library today!

Definitions (feel free to skip)

Copyright: The exclusive legal right to reproduce, publish, or sell an original work of authorship, such as a book, film, or song.

Transferring: Moving ownership of something from one party to another.

Assigning: Granting permission to use or access something that belongs to another party.

Work Made for Hire: A work that is specially commissioned by an employer or client and is considered to be owned by them.

Consideration: The amount of money or other form of compensation that is paid in exchange for something.

Infringement: An unauthorized use or violation of another’s intellectual property rights.

Misattribution: The incorrect attribution of a work to its creator.

Execution: The signing and witnessing of a document by the parties involved in order to make it legally binding.

Discuss the purpose of a copyright assignment agreement

Explain why copyright assignments are important, describe the benefits of assigning copyright, explain the differences between transferring and assigning copyright, outline the key distinctions between the two, outline the key terms in a copyright assignment agreement, explain the concept of the “work made for hire”, describe the rights the assignee will receive, explain the duration of the copyright, outline the rights retained by the assignor, describe the potential risks involved in a copyright assignment, explain the risks of infringement, describe the risks of misattribution, explain the potential financial risks, explain the requirements for a valid copyright assignment agreement, outline the necessary elements, explain the need for consideration, describe the requirements for execution, provide best practices for the drafting and execution of a copyright assignment agreement, explain the importance of clarity, describe the importance of precision, outline the importance of accuracy, explain the importance of review and due diligence, offer suggestions for alternatives to a copyright assignment agreement, explain the concept of a licensing agreement, describe the concept of a work-for-hire agreement, explain the concept of an “implied license”, outline the concept of a co-ownership agreement, get started.

• Understand what a copyright assignment agreement is
• Learn the purpose of a copyright assignment agreement
• Identify the benefits of a copyright assignment agreement

When you can check this off your list and move on to the next step:

• When you have a good understanding of the purpose of a copyright assignment agreement
• When you understand the benefits of a copyright assignment agreement
• Understand why copyright assignments are important in protecting a creator’s rights to their work
• Understand that copyright assignments are used to transfer all or part of a creator’s rights of ownership to another party, such as a publisher, production company, or record label
• Understand that copyright assignments are legally binding and enforceable
• Understand that copyright assignments provide the assignee with exclusive rights to the work, such as the right to reproduce, distribute, modify, and perform it
• Understand that without a copyright assignment, the original creator is the only one who has the right to use their work in any way
• Understand that copyright assignments guarantee that the assignee will be paid for their use of the work
• When you can explain why copyright assignments are important, you can move on to the next step.
• A copyright assignment agreement allows the assignee to obtain exclusive rights to the work, including the right to reproduce, distribute, and adapt the work.
• An assignment of copyright also allows the assignee to obtain the right to receive royalties for the work, as well as the right to license the work to third parties.
• Copyright assignments can help ensure that the author is compensated for their work and that their rights are protected.
• With a copyright assignment, authors can also be sure that their work is not used without their permission or for any unauthorized purpose.

Once you have described the benefits of assigning copyright, you can check this step off your list and move on to the next step.

• Transferring copyright involves giving up all rights to the copyrighted material and transferring them to another party.
• Assigning copyright involves transferring some or all of the rights to the copyrighted material to another party.
• Transferring copyright is often permanent, while assigning copyright may be temporary.
• Transferring copyright requires the original owner to give up all rights to the material, while assigning copyright allows the original owner to retain some rights.
• When you have a clear understanding of the differences between transferring and assigning copyright.
• Transferring copyright means the originator of the work keeps all rights to the work, but allows another party to use the work under certain conditions
• Assigning copyright means the originator of the work transfers all rights to the work to another party, and no longer retains any rights to the work
• Transferring copyright is less permanent than assigning copyright, since the originator has the option of terminating the agreement and reclaiming the rights to their work
• Assigning copyright is more permanent and involves the originator giving up all rights to their work in exchange for a specified payment

Once you understand the differences between transferring and assigning copyright, you can move on to outlining the key terms in a copyright assignment agreement.

• Understand the definition of a “copyright assignment agreement.” A copyright assignment agreement is a legally binding contract in which the copyright owner of a work transfers the rights and ownership of the work to another party. • Learn about exclusive vs. non-exclusive assignments. An exclusive assignment is when the copyright owner transfers all rights to the work to the other party. A non-exclusive assignment is when the copyright owner transfers some rights to the work to the other party. • Identify the rights granted in the agreement. These rights can include reproduction, distribution, modification, and public display of the work, as well as the rights to create derivative works based on the original. • Understand the term of the agreement. This is typically the period of time for which the rights are being assigned. • Learn about the payment terms. This is the amount of money that is being paid for the assignment of the copyright. • Make sure to include a warranty and indemnification clause. This clause states that the copyright owner is warranting that they have the right to transfer the rights in the work and that they will indemnify the other party if they are sued for infringement of copyright due to the assignment. • Know that any document that transfers copyright must be in writing and signed by both parties.

When you have read and understood the above points, you can check this off your list and move on to the next step.

• Understand what a “work made for hire” is and its implications for copyright assignment agreements
• Learn when a “work made for hire” applies to a copyright assignment agreement
• Familiarize yourself with the different types of works that can qualify as a “work made for hire”
• Understand how authorship is determined in a “work made for hire”

Once you understand the concept of the “work made for hire” and its implications for copyright assignment agreements, you can move on to the next step of describing the rights the assignee will receive.

• Understand the scope of the rights being transferred - what types of uses are being authorized by the transfer?
• Determine if the assignee is receiving exclusive or non-exclusive rights
• Identify whether the assignee has the right to sublicense or transfer the rights to another
• Determine if the assignee has the right to modify or make derivative works of the copyrighted content

Once you have a clear understanding of the rights the assignee will receive, you can move on to the next step, which is to explain the duration of the copyright.

• Understand what duration of the copyright means - Duration of the copyright is the length of time that the copyright will be assigned to the assignee. It’s important to understand the duration of the copyright as it determines how long the assignee will be able to exercise the rights granted to them.
• Read the copyright assignment agreement to determine the duration - When reading the copyright assignment agreement, look for any language that specifies the duration of the copyright. This may include the length of time the rights are being assigned for, the date the agreement begins and ends, or other references to the duration of the copyright.
• Make sure the agreement clearly specifies the duration of the copyright - Make sure that the agreement clearly states the duration of the copyright as this will help to avoid any confusion or misunderstandings between the assignor and assignee.
• Check off this step when you’ve read the agreement and understand the duration of the copyright - Once you have read the agreement and understand the duration of the copyright, you can check this step off your list and move on to the next step, which is outlining the rights retained by the assignor.
• Research the rights reserved by the assignor by reading the Copyright Assignment Agreement
• Note the rights retained by the assignor, such as the right to use the copyright material for personal use, the right to modify the copyright material, and the right to use the copyright material in future works
• Check that the Copyright Assignment Agreement does not give the assignee exclusive rights to the copyright material
• Make sure the assignor has preserved the right to be credited for their work
• Ensure the assignee does not have the right to transfer the copyright to another person or entity
• When you have outlined the rights retained by the assignor, you can move on to the next step.
• Understand the potential risks if the assignor fails to follow the terms of the copyright assignment agreement
• Be aware of the possibility of copyright infringement if the assignor does not have the right to transfer the copyright
• Consider the legal risks if the assignor does not get the permission of any other parties who may have rights to the copyright
• Recognize the potential for damages if the copyright assignment agreement is breached
• Understand that copyright assignments are a form of contract and can be enforced in court

Once you have a complete understanding of the potential risks involved in a copyright assignment agreement, you can move on to the next step.

• Understand the difference between copyright infringement and misattribution of a copyrighted work
• Know the legal consequences of infringement, including the potential for liability and damages
• Understand the different types of infringement and the legal consequences of each
• Learn about the potential remedies for copyright infringement, such as injunctions and damages
• Be aware of the potential risks associated with the unauthorized use of another’s copyrighted work
• Know how to identify infringing works and how to protect yourself from potential infringement claims
• Be aware of the relevant copyright laws and related regulations in your jurisdiction

Once you have a solid understanding of the risks of infringement, you can move on to the next step of describing the risks of misattribution.

• Understand the importance of accurately attributing authorship or ownership of works
• Learn the risks of misattribution, such as potential reputational damage and legal liability
• Identify potential scenarios where misattribution could take place, such as when two or more parties are involved in the creation of a work
• Read through copyright assignment agreements thoroughly to ensure that all authors or owners are accurately attributed
• Ensure that the proper names, contact information, and other important details are included in the agreement

Once you have reviewed the risks of misattribution, you can check this off your list and move on to the next step: Explaining the potential financial risks.

• Understand how assigning a copyright could negatively affect the creator’s income.
• Research how the creator will be compensated for their work.
• Determine if the creator will receive royalties for future income or will be paid a one-time fee.
• Consider the potential legal costs associated with copyright infringement.
• Identify any other financial risks that could arise from the copyright assignment agreement.

Once you have a comprehensive understanding of the financial risks associated with a copyright assignment agreement, you can move on to the next step.

• A valid copyright assignment agreement must be in writing and signed by both parties
• It must include the title of the work being assigned, the date the assignment is effective, and the names of the assignor and assignee
• The agreement must clearly state the assignor’s intent to transfer the copyright to the assignee
• The agreement must include language that grants the assignee exclusive rights to use, reproduce, and distribute the work
• The agreement should also include language that requires the assignee to provide proper attribution to the assignor

Once you have these elements outlined in the agreement, you can check this step off your list and move on to the next step.

• Identify the parties involved, including the assignor and assignee
• Specify what is being assigned, typically the copyright or copyright ownership
• Include a description of the work, such as its title or specific details
• Establish a timeline, including when the agreement begins and ends
• Include a clause that states the assignor has full rights to the work and is authorized to make the assignment
• Explain the need for consideration and how it is to be paid
• Include a termination clause that outlines how the agreement can be ended
• Specify the governing law for the agreement
• Signatures of both parties, with a witness if necessary

You will know that you can check this step off your list and move on to the next step when you have identified and outlined all the necessary elements of a copyright assignment agreement.

• Understand why a consideration is required in a copyright assignment agreement
• Consideration is an exchange of value in a contract, which is necessary to make the contract enforceable
• It is important to identify what is being exchanged between the parties and document it in the agreement
• Consideration can be monetary (e.g. an upfront payment) or non-monetary (e.g. the promise to render a service)
• When drafting a copyright assignment agreement, ensure that the consideration is adequately expressed in the agreement
• Once the need for consideration is established and its form is expressed in the agreement, you can move on to the next step of outlining the necessary elements of a copyright assignment agreement.
• Understand the requirements for a valid execution of a copyright assignment agreement
• Identify the parties involved: the assignor and the assignee
• Ensure that the assignor has the legal authority to transfer the copyright and that there is sufficient consideration for the transfer
• Confirm that the agreement is in writing and signed by the assignor
• Make sure that the agreement clearly states the copyright being assigned, the date of the assignment, and the duration of the assignment
• Verify that the assignor acknowledges the transfer of copyright in the agreement
• When all the requirements are met, you can feel confident that the copyright assignment agreement is valid and the transfer of rights has been secured.
• Refer to the Copyright Act and any state specific laws that may apply.
• Include a statement confirming the transfer of the copyright ownership.
• Ensure the parties involved are clearly identified.
• Make sure the agreement is in writing or is evidenced in writing.
• Specify the scope of the assignment and its duration/term.
• Include a warranty that the party transferring the copyright owns the copyright or has the authority to transfer it.
• Include a non-compete clause, if applicable.
• Make sure there is a dispute resolution clause.

Once all of these best practices have been implemented, you can check off this step and move on to the next.

• Understand why clarity is essential when drafting a copyright assignment agreement
• Make sure that all the terms of the agreement are clear and unambiguous
• Identify the parties to the agreement and the works to be assigned
• Establish the scope of rights being transferred and the payment for the assignment
• Determine the jurisdiction and governing law of the assignment agreement
• Outline the term of the agreement and the termination and/or renewal provisions
• When all the terms of the agreement are clear, you can move on to the next step in the guide: Describe the importance of precision.
• Precision is essential when drafting a copyright assignment agreement.
• If there are any vague or ambiguous terms in the agreement, it could lead to costly disputes or misunderstandings over what rights are being assigned.
• Review the agreement carefully to ensure that the scope of rights being assigned is clearly stated and that there is no room for misinterpretation.
• Make sure that the language is specific and that each element of the agreement is clearly stated.
• Once you are confident that the agreement is precise and unambiguous, you can check this step off your list and move on to the next step.
• Understand the importance of accuracy in a copyright assignment agreement to ensure that rights are correctly transferred and not lost
• Identify any potential inaccuracies in the agreement, such as incorrect names or dates, and ensure these are corrected before signing
• Check that the agreement accurately and precisely outlines the rights assigned and that they match the expectations of the parties involved
• Review and analyze the agreement to confirm that all relevant details are included, such as the scope of the assignment, the applicable duration, and applicable jurisdictions
• Ensure the agreement is correctly worded and that any ambiguities are avoided to ensure the parties have a clear understanding of their obligations and rights
• Once you have checked for accuracy and ensured any discrepancies are corrected, you can then move on to the next step.
• Understand the importance of review and due diligence when drafting a copyright assignment agreement
• Ensure that the agreement is clear and accurate in order to avoid any potential disputes
• Identify any potential risks that may arise as a result of the agreement
• Take the necessary steps to mitigate these risks and ensure the agreement provides adequate protection to both parties
• Have a qualified legal professional review the agreement before signing to ensure all terms are legally binding
• When you have finished reviewing the agreement and conducted the necessary due diligence, you can check this step off your list and move on to the next step.
• Explain the concept of a license agreement, in which the copyright owner grants the licensee a set of rights to use the copyrighted material.
• Research different types of licenses that could be used to grant specific rights to the licensee, such as exclusive licenses, nonexclusive licenses and statutory licenses.
• Consider potential benefits of using a license agreement instead of a copyright assignment agreement, such as the ability for the copyright owner to retain some of the rights to the work and the potential for the licensee to obtain the rights to use the work without making a large monetary payment.
• Contact a lawyer for more information on the legal implications of using a license agreement instead of a copyright assignment agreement.
• Understand what a licensing agreement is: a contractual agreement between the copyright holder (the licensor) and a third party (the licensee) that allows the licensee to use the copyrighted material in exchange for payment or other consideration.
• Research the types of licensing agreements available, such as exclusive and non-exclusive agreements, as well as the differences between them.
• Consider the specific rights that the licensee will be granted and the limitations of those rights.
• Review any other terms of the agreement, such as the duration of the agreement, the royalties that the licensor will receive from the licensee, any obligations of the licensee, and any restrictions on use or modification of the copyrighted material.
• Understand the implications of breaching the licensing agreement.

You’ll know you can move on to the next step when you have a clear understanding of the concept of a licensing agreement, the types of licensing agreements, and the terms and implications of such an agreement.

• Understand what a work-for-hire agreement is: It is a contract between two parties in which one party (the “Hirer”) assigns the copyright of a work to the other party (the “Hired Party”) in exchange for a fee or other consideration.
• Determine what types of works are eligible for a work-for-hire agreement: Generally, the work must be specially commissioned and fall within certain categories of works, such as a contribution to a collective work, a translation, a supplementary work, a compilation, an instructional text, a test, answer material for a test, or an atlas.
• Identify the rights that the Hirer will have under a work-for-hire agreement: These rights typically include the exclusive right to use, reproduce, distribute, and create derivative works from the copyrighted work.
• Be aware of the key differences between a work-for-hire agreement and a licensing agreement: In a licensing agreement, the Hirer does not own the copyright but instead is merely granted a license to use the copyrighted work for a limited time and under certain conditions.

You will know you can check this off your list and move on to the next step once you have a general understanding of what a work-for-hire agreement is, the types of works that can be the subject of a work-for-hire agreement, the rights that the Hirer will have under a work-for-hire agreement, and the key differences between a work-for-hire agreement and a licensing agreement.

• Understand what an implied license is: it is a type of agreement between two parties where one party grants the other party the right to use their work, without the need for a written agreement.
• Know the different types of implied license, including perpetual, non-exclusive, and royalty-free.
• Identify the rights and limitations that come with each type of implied license.
• Be aware that implied licenses are often limited to one-time use, or may be limited to specific types of use.
• Understand that implied licenses are implied in the absence of a written agreement and may be subject to the jurisdiction of the courts.
• Be familiar with the concept of waiver of implied license.

You can check off this step when you have a clear understanding of the concept of an implied license, the different types of implied license, and the rights and limitations associated with each type.

• Understand the concept of a co-ownership agreement, which is when two or more parties own a work or interest in a work
• Know the key elements of a co-ownership agreement, including the ownership interests, rights granted, and the obligations and liabilities of each party
• Identify the rights and responsibilities of each party in regards to the agreement, such as the right to exploit the work, the right to license the work, and the right to transfer the ownership interests
• Understand the concept of “joint authorship”, which occurs when two or more authors contribute to a work in a way that makes them both authors
• Familiarize yourself with the concept of “work-made-for-hire”, which is when an employer hires an independent contractor to create a work and, under the law, the employer is considered the author
• Learn about the concept of “moral rights”, which give authors the right to the integrity of their work, including the right to be credited, the right to prevent distortion or modification, and the right to withdraw the work from the public

You will know you can check this off your list and move on to the next step when you have a thorough understanding of the concept of a co-ownership agreement, including the key elements, rights, and responsibilities of the parties involved.

John - What are the key elements of a copyright assignment agreement?

Asked by John on April 16th 2022. A: A copyright assignment agreement is an important legal document which assigns the rights of a copyright from one party, the copyright holder, to another, the assignee. The key elements of a copyright assignment agreement are:

• Identification of the parties – The agreement must include the names and contact details of both the copyright holder and assignee.
• Description of the work – The work being assigned must be described in detail, including any variations or modifications.
• Rights granted – This should include a clear description of what rights are being assigned and which jurisdiction they apply to (e.g. US, UK or EU).
• Term of the assignment – This should specify how long the assignment is valid for, or if it is an indefinite term.
• Consideration – This should outline what consideration is being provided by the assignee in exchange for the rights granted.
• Warranty – This should indicate that the copyright holder warrants that they have full power and authority to enter into the agreement and grant the rights specified in it.
• Indemnity – This should specify that the assignee will indemnify and hold harmless the copyright holder from any claims related to the copyright assignment agreement.
• Confidentiality – This should indicate that all information related to the agreement will remain confidential between both parties.
• Termination – This should describe how either party can terminate the agreement.
• Governing law – This should indicate which law governs any disputes related to the agreement.

Jane - How do I know if I need a copyright assignment agreement?

Asked by Jane on November 12th 2022. A: Whether or not you need a copyright assignment agreement depends on your particular situation and needs as a business or individual. Generally speaking, a copyright assignment agreement is necessary if you are transferring your copyright to another party for consideration (e.g. money). It’s also important to remember that different jurisdictions (e.g. USA, UK, EU) have different laws when it comes to copyrights and other intellectual property issues, so it’s essential to make sure you are familiar with those laws and how they may affect your specific situation before entering into any kind of agreement with another party. Additionally, if you are in an industry such as technology or software as a service (SaaS), you may need an additional layer of protection when it comes to intellectual property matters such as copyrights, so having a clear and detailed copyright assignment agreement is especially important in these cases.

Example dispute

Suing for breach of copyright assignment agreement.

• A plaintiff can raise a lawsuit for breach of a copyright assignment agreement if they can prove that the defendant has violated the agreement in some way.
• The plaintiff must be able to demonstrate that they have been harmed in some way due to the defendant’s breach of the agreement.
• The plaintiff must provide evidence of copyright ownership, such as a written assignment agreement, to prove that the copyright infringement occurred.
• The plaintiff may be able to recover damages related to the breach, including monetary damages, injunctive relief, or both.
• The plaintiff may also be able to seek punitive damages if they can show that the defendant’s actions were particularly egregious.
• Settlement may be reached through negotiation or mediation, or the court may decide the case.
• In some cases, a jury may be used to decide the case and determine the amount of damages to be awarded.

Templates available (free to use)

Copyright Assignment Agreement Copyright Assignment Contract Simple Copyright Assignment Pro Assignee

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Many LLM/AI services will generate computer code and some, such as GitHub Copilot , are designed specifically for code generation. 

While these services can be valuable for writing code, concerns related to copyright and licenses have led to lawsuits from programmers, countries creating laws specifically regarding these services, and companies forbidding the use of code generation services.

Before you use these services for your own code, there are several things you should consider.

Will the code work? There is no guarantee that the code generated from these services will work! While frequently called “AI” there is no “intelligence” behind them and they may generate incorrect, poorly optimized, or insecure code. Make sure to test any code they generate for you.

Where did the code come from? Open Source code is generally released under licenses that state how the code can be used. Those contributing code to existing projects or expanding upon existing code must follow these license requirements. The services generating code have been “trained” on datasets of code that is publicly available online and released under many different licenses (though some, like Tabnine , are trained only on code with permissive licenses).

While stolen (or uncredited) code has been an issue for years, code generation is expanding this issue as LLMs have generated identical (or “ nearly verbatim ”) code without crediting the authors or following the terms of the licenses .    Some licenses now have specific guidelines for the use of AI-generated code. For example, the Apache Software Foundation has released a Generative Tooling Guidance document that provides information about how and when code generated by AI can be used in Apache-2.0 licensed projects. Other open-source developers have gone so far as to ask not to have derivative code uploaded to GitHub due to the way GitHub Copilot works. 

What are you using the code for?

• Personal use : If you’re working on something for yourself and don’t intend to ever share it or make it public, there shouldn’t be any issues.
• Assignments : If you’re writing code for an assignment make sure you know what your instructor’s guidelines are. Some instructors have rules against using generative AI for assignments and will consider its use plagiarism or academic misconduct
• Research projects : If you’re planning on publishing something that uses your code you may need to freely and openly release your code and this could cause problems if you do not know if the AI-generated code you're using meets the original license terms. Make sure you read the license terms before you use someone else's code!

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About assignments

You can use individual or group assignments in GitHub Classroom to teach students and grade their work.

In this article

Note: In January 2024, GitHub Classroom will change the way student repositories are created from starter code repositories. Currently, the process requires starter code repositories to be templates, and GitHub Classroom creates a new repository for each student based on that template. With the upcoming change, student repositories will be created by forking the starter code repository.

This change addresses a frequently requested feature from teachers: the ability to change starter code after an assignment has been accepted by students.

You can read more about this change on the GitHub blog .

This feature is in public beta and subject to change.

About assignments in GitHub Classroom

Assignments are coursework created for students in GitHub Classroom. You can use assignments to test and grade your students, or to help your students practice their learnings.

With GitHub Classroom, you can create individual assignments, to be completed by a single student, or group assignments, to be completed in teams. For more information, see " Types of assignments ."

Each assignment has a title and an optional deadline. You can choose the visibility of repositories that GitHub Classroom creates and choose access permissions. You can also automatically grade assignments and create a dedicated space to discuss the assignment with the student.

Optionally, you can enable feedback pull requests on assignments. If you enable this feature for an assignment, GitHub Classroom creates a special pull request titled Feedback in the assignment repository for each student or group. For more information, see " Leave feedback with pull requests ."

You can integrate a classroom with an IDE. Students can make changes to their assignment repositories through the IDE, or by checking out and running code locally with the appropriate software. For more information, see " Integrate GitHub Classroom with an IDE ."

You can reuse existing assignments in any other classroom you have admin access to, including classrooms in a different organization. For more information, see " Reuse an assignment ."

Note: You must create a classroom before you can create an assignment. For more information, see " Manage classrooms ."

Types of assignments

You can create both individual assignments and group assignments with GitHub Classroom.

Individual assignments

An individual assignment is coursework for each student who participates in a course on GitHub Classroom. The student is intended to complete an individual assignment without help from other students.

When a student accepts an assignment, GitHub Classroom automatically creates a new repository for the student. The repositories can be empty, or you can create the repositories from a template repository with starter code, documentation, tests, and other resources. Each assignment repository belongs to your organization account on GitHub.

For more information, see " Create an individual assignment ."

Group assignments

A group assignment is collaborative coursework for groups of students on GitHub Classroom. Students can work together on a group assignment in a shared repository, like a team of professional developers.

When a student accepts a group assignment, the student can create a new team or join an existing team. GitHub Classroom saves the teams for an assignment as a set. You can name the set of teams for a specific assignment when you create the assignment, and you can reuse that set of teams for a later assignment.

For more information, see " Create a group assignment ."

Further reading

• " Use the Git and GitHub starter assignment "
• " Create an individual assignment "
• " Create a group assignment "

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Ieee spectrum, follow ieee spectrum, support ieee spectrum, enjoy more free content and benefits by creating an account, saving articles to read later requires an ieee spectrum account, the institute content is only available for members, downloading full pdf issues is exclusive for ieee members, downloading this e-book is exclusive for ieee members, access to spectrum 's digital edition is exclusive for ieee members, following topics is a feature exclusive for ieee members, adding your response to an article requires an ieee spectrum account, create an account to access more content and features on ieee spectrum , including the ability to save articles to read later, download spectrum collections, and participate in conversations with readers and editors. for more exclusive content and features, consider joining ieee ., join the world’s largest professional organization devoted to engineering and applied sciences and get access to all of spectrum’s articles, archives, pdf downloads, and other benefits. learn more →, join the world’s largest professional organization devoted to engineering and applied sciences and get access to this e-book plus all of ieee spectrum’s articles, archives, pdf downloads, and other benefits. learn more →, access thousands of articles — completely free, create an account and get exclusive content and features: save articles, download collections, and talk to tech insiders — all free for full access and benefits, join ieee as a paying member., ownership of ai-generated code hotly disputed, a copyright storm may be brewing for github copilot.

GitHub Copilot dubs itself as an “AI pair programmer” for software developers, automatically suggesting code in real time. According to GitHub, Copilot is “powered by Codex , a generative pretrained AI model created by OpenAI ” and has been trained on “natural language text and source code from publicly available sources, including code in public repositories on GitHub.”

However, a class-action lawsuit filed against GitHub Copilot, its parent company Microsoft , and OpenAI   claims open-source software piracy and violations of open-source licenses . Specifically, the lawsuit states that code generated by Copilot does not include any attribution to the original author of the code, copyright notices, or a copy of the license, which most open-source licenses require.

“The spirit of open source is not just a space where people want to keep it open,” says Sal Kimmich , an open-source developer advocate at Sonatype , machine-learning engineer, and open-source contributor and maintainer. “We have developed processes in order to keep open source secure, and that requires traceability, observability, and verification. Copilot is obscuring the original provenance of those [code] snippets.”

“I very much hope that what comes out of this lawsuit will be something I can rely on when making decisions about training models in the future.” —Stella Biderman, EleutherAI

In an attempt to address the issues with open-source licensing, GitHub plans to introduce a new Copilot feature that will “provide a reference for suggestions that resemble public code on GitHub so that you can make a more informed decision about whether and how to use that code,” including “providing attribution where appropriate.” GitHub also has a configurable filter to block suggestions matching public code .

The onus, however, still falls on developers, as GitHub states in Copilot’s terms and conditions : “GitHub does not claim any rights in Suggestions, and you retain ownership of and responsibility for Your Code, including Suggestions you include in Your Code.”

In addition to open-source licensing issues, Copilot raises concerns in terms of the legality of training the system on publicly available code, as well as whether generated code could result in copyright infringement.

Kimmich points to the Google v. Oracle case , wherein “taking the names of methods, but not the functional implementation, is OK. You’re replacing the functional content but still keeping some of the template.” In the case of Copilot, it might generate copyrighted code verbatim. (See the related tweet below from Tim Davis , computer science professor at Texas A&M University, as an illustration of Copilot generating copyrighted code.)

\u201c@github copilot, with "public code" blocked, emits large chunks of my copyrighted code, with no attribution, no LGPL license. For example, the simple prompt "sparse matrix transpose, cs_" produces my cs_transpose in CSparse. My code on left, github on right. Not OK.\u201d — Tim Davis (@Tim Davis) 1665884834

Kit Walsh , a senior staff attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation , argues that training Copilot on public repositories is fair use. “Fair use protects analytical uses of copyrighted work. Copilot is ingesting code and creating associations in its own neural net about what tends to follow and appear in what contexts, and that factual analysis of the underlying works is the kind of fair use that cases involving video-game consoles, search engines, and APIs have supported.”

But when it comes to generated code, Walsh says it boils down to “how much [Copilot] is reproducing from any given element of the training data” and if it encompasses creative expression that is copyrightable. “If so, there could be infringement happening,” she says.

The lawsuit against GitHub Copilot is the first of its kind to challenge generative AI. “It’s setting a legal precedent that has implications for other generative tools,” Walsh says. “It’s the type of work that if a person authored [it, they] could qualify for copyright protection, and it could embody someone else’s copyrighted work, like snippets of code.”

“If I as an engineer would like to use Copilot, I will need to be able to restrict what it provides me to code that’s attributed to the license.” —Sal Kimmich, Sonatype

For Stella Biderman , an AI researcher at Booz Allen Hamilton and EleutherAI , the lawsuit is a welcome development. “It’s going to, I hope, provide clarity and guidance as to what is actually legal, which is one of the big issues for those working on open-source AI,” she says. “I very much hope that what comes out of this lawsuit will be something I can rely on when making decisions about training models in the future.”

The open-source community seems divided on the lawsuit and GitHub Copilot itself. For instance, the Software Freedom Conservancy has been vocal about its concerns with Copilot —even calling for a boycott of GitHub—but is cautious about joining the class-action lawsuit . Kimmich says they know of open-source developers taking an ethical stance in choosing not to use Copilot, but also others who are enjoying it: “They’re learning while developing and executing code on the fly.”

Kimmich is on a waitlist for Copilot and recognizes the benefits it offers developers. “The neural network behind it is using more than just code to help you—it’s providing much more contextual information,” they said. “It means I as a developer now have an extended intelligence, which is giving me a contextualized recommendation. I think that’s excellent. It’s the most powerful generative intelligence that we’ve had so far for this application.”

Yet unless the open-source licensing issue is solved, Kimmich envisions using GitHub Copilot only for pet projects and exploring new packages. “It stops short of production code because of the licensing issue,” they said. “If I as an engineer would like to use Copilot, I will need to be able to restrict what it provides me to code that’s attributed to the license, or have a license which states that it was codeveloped. If I can’t locate the provenance of the original licenses or the original intellectual property, then I need to be able to know if I want to avoid it.”

Another solution would be for GitHub Copilot to modify its AI model so that it traces attribution and gives credit to the original authors of the code, adding the associated copyright notices and license terms in the process, which Biderman says is technologically feasible. “The position that OpenAI and Microsoft seem to have taken is that it is unduly onerous on them to filter by license when other models successfully do it.” She points to academic models such as InCoder as an example, which is trained on code that it has a license for . “There are other options and other models that are both more ethical and more likely to be legal,” Biderman says.

This article appears in the January 2023 print issue as “Do You Own the Code AI Helps You Create?.”

• Programming Without Code: The Rise of No-Code Software Development ›
• Coding Made AI—Now, How Will AI Unmake Coding? ›
• Explainer: Why No-Code Software Isn't Just For Developers - IEEE Spectrum ›
• Generative AI's Intellectual Property Problem Heats Up - IEEE Spectrum ›
• AI Coding Is Going From Copilot to Autopilot - IEEE Spectrum ›
• OpenAI Codex ›
• GitHub Copilot · Your AI pair programmer · GitHub ›

Rina Diane Caballar is a journalist and former software engineer based in Wellington, New Zealand.

Open Source Software (OSS) is suitable for individual home use but governments/militaries/companies/organizations should/must absolutely stay-away from it!

Because anybody in the world can modify it & it is not really hard for an expert programmer to create/insert new bugs into commonly used OSS, while pretending providing great fixes for known bugs!

Not to mention, software development is one of the most complicated/hard jobs & experienced programmers providing their time/labor for free would be really bad example causing lower wages/benefits for all professional programmers!

Ukraine Is the First “Hackers’ War”

Esa satellites to test razor-sharp formation flying, enhance your tech and business skills during ieee education week, related stories, intel’s gaudi 3 goes after nvidia, ai coding is going from copilot to autopilot, software sucks, but it doesn’t have to.

Upcoming Changes to Assignment Repositories and Starter Code in GitHub Classroom

In January, GitHub Classroom will begin a public beta that will change the way student repositories are created from starter code repositories. Currently, starter code repositories must be template repositories, and GitHub Classroom creates a repository from a template for each student repository. After the change, student repositories will be created by forking the starter code repository.

This change allows us to enable one of our most-requested features from teachers: the ability to change starter code after an assignment has been accepted by students. Students will be able to sync their assignment repository with the upstream starter code, allowing teachers to correct starter code mistakes or add additional content after the assignment has gone live to students.

Because there are important differences between creating a repository from a template and forking a repository, there will be important changes in behavior for both new and existing assignments in GitHub Classroom. We recommend reviewing the following new behaviors and making adjustments to your assignments if necessary.

Important Changes starting in January

• All new accepted assignments will be forks, including existing assignments that were created with a template repository. Existing assignment repositories will not be changed, so they will not be able to sync changes from upstream.
• Starter code assignments cannot be empty . If you are using a starter code repository without any commits, students will not be able to accept your assignment. GitHub Classroom will enforce this requirement for new assignments, but you will need to manually create an initial commit to existing empty starter code repositories in order for students to accept assignments.
• Starter code commits will no longer be automatically squashed in student repos. A new fork includes the entire commit history of the parent repository, while a repository created from a template starts with a single commit. This can affect teachers who may have assignment solutions in the commit history of the starter code. We recommend using Git on the command line or GitHub Desktop to squash commits of starter code repositories prior to distributing assignments to students if you previously had solutions filled-in the starter code.
• Student repository visibility will be inherited from the starter code repository . Forks of public repositories cannot be made private on GitHub. As a result, if you wish to use a public template repository as starter code for an assignment where student repositories should remain private, we recommend creating a new repository from the public template and setting it to private prior to using it as starter code in a GitHub Classroom assignment.

Be on the lookout for another Changelog post when the public beta begins. Join the conversation in our Education community discussions for further clarifications.

Dependabot Grouped Security Updates Public Beta

• advanced-security
• security-and-compliance

Reduce pull request noise and fix multiple security alerts at once with Dependabot grouped security updates.

Starting today, you can enable grouped security updates for Dependabot at the repository or organization-level. When you click “Enable” for this feature, Dependabot will collect all available security updates in a repository and attempt to open one pull request with all of them, per ecosystem, across directories. There is no further configuration available at this time.

Known limitations

• Dependabot will NOT group across ecosystem (e.g. it will not group pip updates and npm updates together)
• Dependabot WILL group across directories (e.g. if you have multiple package.json’s in different directories in the same repository)
• If you have version updates enabled as well, Dependabot will NOT group security updates with version updates
• If you use grouping for version updates, your groups configuration in dependabot.yml will NOT apply to security updates

To enable this feature, go to your repository or organization settings page, then go to the Code security and analysis tab, and click "Enable" for grouped security updates (this also requires each affected repository to enable Dependency graph, Dependabot alerts, and Dependabot security updates). When you enable this feature, Dependabot will immediately attempt to create grouped security pull requests for any available security updates in your repository.

We'd love to hear your feedback as you try this feature! Join the discussion within GitHub Community .

Updates to repository pages

We are rolling out a few minor updates to the user experience for GitHub repositories starting today, in order to be more responsive, performant and more easily accessed by a broader range of users.

• Go to file: Quickly get to the file you want from the top of every repository using our existing code search and navigation experience.
• Special files: If you have Code of Conduct, License, or Security files in your repository, they are now shown in tabs alongside your README.

• Status checks: At a glance, see the status checks’ details on any branch.
• Stale Branches: The overview page for branches no longer defaults to showing stale branches to improve load times. You can still easily see stale branches by clicking the “Stale branches” tab.

• Filters: New commits filters allow you to sort by users or limit results to specific date ranges.

These changes have been in a feature preview for the past few months and thanks to community insights, we’ve made several improvements that allowed us to now exit the preview, and bring these enhancements to everyone on GitHub. Join the conversation about this release in the community discussion.

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GitHub Classroom

How your students submit their assignments.

After finishing the creation of an assignment, you have to share the invitation link of the assignment with your students. Simply copy the URL and provide it to your students via the Canvas page. After students have accepted the invitation to the classroom via mail, they can then directly accept the GitHub assignment through Canvas.

Accepting an assignment looks as follows:

Your students then have to clone the repository before they can start working on it. Once they are done they have to add, commit and push their assignments to the GitHub Classroom assignment repository. If you want the students to submit the assignment via Canvas, set the submission type for the Canvas assignment to “website”. This way, students can enter the URL of their GitHub repository and submit their work in Canvas. Also, students do not have to resubmit their assignments in Canvas. When they submit the link to their repositories, any changes they make in their repositories are directly accounted for.

Student workflow when using VScode as integrated IDE

First, they accept the assignment via the invite link on Canvas. There are two options how your students can get to their assignments in GitHub Classroom. They can either click on the ‘Open in Visual Studio Code’ badge or they click on the URL. Using the VScode badge will open their assignment on their computer in VSCode. It will install VScode and some extensions automatically.

Option 1: ‘Open in Visual Studio Code’ badge - looks as follows:

Option 2: using the URL - looks as follows:

When they are done with the exercises and want to submit or “push” their answers to GitHub they can do so by using the VScode interface. VScode provides buttons which handle staging, comitting and pushing to their GitHub Classroom repositories.