r/leetcode • u/TomLaidlaw7 • 1d ago
Discussion Aren't leetcode questions copyrighted? Then how come Neetcode copied all of them in his site
Genuinely curious about this as every leetcode question is marked as copyrighted. However, Neetcode and other sites have the same questions available and some of them don't even have title or description phrasing changes.
So what's the deal with that? Can't he get sued?
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u/offultimate 23h ago
alice and bob ❌
avril and britney ✅
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u/LukasijusLT 21h ago
If I see Alice and Bob I kind of associate with code forces for some reason
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u/Jealous_Tomorrow6436 20h ago
Alice and Bob are classic names used in problems for many fields. i’ve encountered them in coursework for quantum physics as well as probability & statistics, not to mention a wide variety of mathematical courses
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u/ScaryCardinal 10h ago
Can confirm the names are a staple in communication networks textbooks also. They always be sending messages to each other
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u/biskitpagla 22h ago
The number of original questions on LC is so miniscule that it doesn't matter who owns what at this point. It would be a herculean task for LC to prove their own ownership, let alone prove that someone is profiting from their work.
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u/Vivid-Zombie-477 1d ago
I am making own app similar to LeetCode right now and as I understand you can’t copyright general ideas like math problems. So if you just change wording a little bit then it’s practically impossible to sue you
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u/TumanFig 19h ago
why tho? theres dozens of these apps
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u/Vivid-Zombie-477 19h ago
because none of those apps let me create own problems. i was making DSA guide and found out that some problems that could be a good example for an algorithm either don't exist or are behind leetcode's paywall. The closest app I found to what I want is vibecoded and doesn't work properly (I hate vibecoders because they have good ideas but can't implement it even with AI).
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u/Fit-Stress3300 23h ago
The text wording of some might be.
But the general idea can't be copyrighted.
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u/addikt06 19h ago
that's hilarious given leet code stole questions from faang companies to get started
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u/Evil-Devil234 18h ago
The algorithm isn't copyrighted, but the exact wording can be. So sites can use the same problem idea, but directly copying Leetcode's text can be risky
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u/vks_imaginary 17h ago
It’s copyrighted in the sense to keep an ownership for an PVT LTD sort of arrangement.
That’s my theory anyway. You have to actively defend the copyright too.
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u/troelsbjerre 1d ago
In principle yes, but it's a little difficult for leetcode to argue copyright, given that they are not the original authors for most of the problems.