CODEWITHSUNDEEP
javascripthtmlcanvas
noobie
noobie

Reputation: 43

is game made with html 5 canvas (javascript API) open source?

I'm planning to build a 3d game using html5 canvas, which is javascipt API. I'm a noob who doesn't know anything about Javascript. From what I heard, every javascript code line will be visible to users like html. Does it mean the entire game that is built using Javascript API such as html5 canvas will necessarily become open source by its nature? I'm worried if someone can copy and paste the core mechanics of my game.

Upvotes: 2

Views: 212

Answers (2)

Jason Winnebeck
Jason Winnebeck

Reputation: 1274

Copyright still applies even if you can see the code. Just as you can read the text of a book doesn't mean you can (legally) photocopy it and sell it to everyone.

Normally, Javascript is somewhat obfuscated via minification anyway, which makes it much harder to study. But it doesn't offer much protection against others duplicating and using the code. Minification does make it much harder for someone to reuse portions of the code, or modify the code to do what they want, which limits people to just wholesale copying of your site. Copying of the whole site is usually rendered useless by the fact that the frontend (JS) talks to some backend. So for example I could copy Gmail's JavaScript but that won't help me make another GMail since I don't have 1 million servers implementing GMail's database and APIs for it to talk to.

If your game runs entirely client-side and doesn't contact a server at all, then it could be copied whole.

So to summarize:

  1. Copyright still means it's illegal for someone to do it without your permission.
  2. Technically, your best defense is minification/obfuscation and ties to a backend.

Upvotes: 5

Sleep Deprived Bulbasaur
Sleep Deprived Bulbasaur

Reputation: 2458

No, just because someone sees your code doesn't mean it is "open-source." Open-source code requires a license that states that others may study, change and distribute the software to anyone and for any purpose.

This may guide you a bit more: http://opensource.com/resources/what-open-source

Edit: but they will be able to see your code. (Well as much of it is HTML/CSS/JavaScript)

Edit: This site may help you learn more about different software license https://tldrlegal.com/

Upvotes: 0

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