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There is a project on GitHub I would like to use. There is no license posted, and the author has not responded to a request for clarification. As per the GitHub terms of service, under License Grant to Other Users, it says (emphasis mine):

If you set your pages and repositories to be viewed publicly, you grant each User of GitHub a nonexclusive, worldwide license to use, display, and perform Your Content through the GitHub Service and to reproduce Your Content solely on GitHub as permitted through GitHub's functionality (for example, through forking).

As I read this, I couldn't legally clone the repository. When I do git clone, I am reproducing the content outside of GitHub and making a copy or my local computer. Am I allowed to make a copy for myself, or is git clone a copyright violation when no license is posted?

I merely want to use the code. I do not intend to make any changes, do any redistribution, or incorporate it in any other code.

gerrit
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  • Could you take a look at this question and either confirm it answers your question also, or let us know what in your question remains unanswered? – MadHatter Nov 07 '23 at 13:20
  • @MadHatter Ah yes, the second answer from Allon Guralnek does. I cannot use it in any way. – gerrit Nov 07 '23 at 13:22
  • Precisely so; thank you! – MadHatter Nov 07 '23 at 13:29
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    As for whether doing 'git clone' to a private copy on your computer constitutes a copyright violation is up to the legal interpretation of the scope of the implied license in this case. Just because git GitHub TOS do not explicitly say that you're allowed to "git clone" does not mean that doing so is a copyright violation. It's similar for Web pages -- most of them do not give you a license to print out a private copy for yourself, but in that case, is using Ctrl+P then a copyright violation? See also: https://law.stackexchange.com/questions/56935/legal-status-of-js-code-on-web-site – Brandin Nov 07 '23 at 14:43

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