How to apply GNU/GPL to an abandoned project?

[Thomas Charron]

On 4/16/07, Andrés Felipe Vargas Valencia <info at misucursalvirtual.com> wrote:
> Hello..
>
> My name is Andrés Felipe Vargas, I'm developer and I'm interested in
> continue the work in a project that seems abandoned, the project is a
> extension for Mambo called 404sef that ext is released under the GNU/GPL
> terms, the files of the project are hosted in www.sourceforge.net as the
> project seems abandoned i have requested a take over to SF and they have
> accepted.
> Now, of course I want still releasing the exp like GNU/GPL, but how i should
> write the copyright notes if i want to add my work to that project?
> should I mark any line of code that i change? or can I change the copyright
> notes?
> Thanks in advance for your help

  While IANAL, after a quick look at the source files themselves, the
original intent of the owner was that it be released t the GPL.  Most
files have this header:

* @copyright (C) 2004 - 2004 W.H.Welch
* @license http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html GNU/GPL
* Mambo is Free Software

  Based on this, the original code has already been released under the
GPL, unfortunatly, they didn't happen to add it to the source files.

  It should also be pointed out that the author seemed to have lifted
much of the PHP code directly from Mambo which is also released under
the GPL.  If you change the code, there is no issues so long as it
remains GPL.  Regardless of ownership rights to the original code, you
have within your rights to modify those works, and release them as
well.

-- 
-- Thomas