Orphan Plugins

[terrydew]

If a person submits a plugin for use and then abandons it through lack of response, what is the legal use situation? Can someone else modify such a plugin and resubmit for use without any further contact or agreement with the original developer. There have been a couple of these (nest Vera) so far and I am sure there will be more.

[matt (support)]

Good question. It all depends on the copyright/license the original author includes with the plugin or in the plugin source. Some may restrict the use of the source.

That said, I imagine most authors will consider open sourcing if they no longer have time to continue the work on the plugin. That is the case with the Vera plugin -- the developer explicitly told us we could make the plugin available for free and that others could modify it.

If there is a particular plugin you would like to modify that isn't being maintained anymore, then try to contact the developer. If you cannot get a response through the forum messaging system from the developer, then let us know and we'll try to contact the developer via email.