Q: I have a file on GitHub that says in the file "this is not to be shared or used". The file does not have legal copyright
Can they do that without a proper copyright and license?
A: It's unclear from your post whether you created this file or you're reusing a file that someone else created. The moment an author creates something new with some degree of creative input, that work is afforded copyright protection. While there are many benefits to registering work with the U.S. Copyright Office, it's not necessary for the work to be considered copyrighted. The author of new work has the ability to restrict the use or reuse of their work in a number of ways, requesting a license and payment for use is probably the most common way.
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