This post takes a look at the legal issues raised by both cases and what they mean for foss producers and users. Can i use a gplv2 module in my commercial application. In general, then, every program that is derived from gpl software exists under the terms of gpl. How open source licenses work and how to add them to your.
You may copy, distribute and modify the software as long as you track changesdates of in source files and keep modifications under gpl. A practical guide to gpl compliance software freedom law center. This article by jerry epplin sheds some light on the issues associated with using gpl software in. The license was originally written by richard stallman of the free software foundation fsf for the gnu project, and grants the recipients of a computer program the rights. The fsf argues that free software should not place restrictions on commercial use, and the gpl explicitly states that gpl works may be sold at any price.
The people to whom you sold copies of gpl software are just as free as. The gnu gpl is fine with you charging for your software. This general public license applies to most of the free software. Does using a gplv2 code generator force my project to be. Apr 14, 2008 drm software not drmcrack software written under gpl any drm system released under the gpl or containing gpl software can be circumvented by a program without constituting a dmca violation 5. Netacad chapter 2 exam questions open source applications. I again dont so much care about the ethics bsds just fine as i do about the commercial impact.
The commercial license allows oems, isvs and vars to distribute commercial binaries of mysql software with their own commercial software without subjecting that software to the gpl and its requirement to distribute source. Do the qt commercial licenses allow for easy publishing to the apple app store. Can i use the gplv3 license for my commercial application. Users can still deploy and run the open source software. This article by jerry epplin sheds some light on the issues associated with using gpl software in embedded applications, and attempts to dispel the. Haufig gestellte fragen zur gnu gplv2 gnuprojekt free. We are considering the idea of publishing translations which are officially valid only for one country. The public consultation process was coordinated by the free software foundation with assistance from software freedom law center, free software foundation europe, and other free software groups. Why should i use the gnu gpl rather than other free software licenses.
However, businesses using gnu software in commercial activity, and people doing public ftp distribution, should need to check the real english gpl to make sure of what it permits. Some corporate users want to pay for software, or actually, they want to pay for the possibility of having a contract with someone that they can sue if the software turns out to hurt their business in some way. The licenses were originally written by richard stallman, former head of the free software foundation fsf, for the gnu project, and grant the recipients of a computer program the rights of the free software. Top 10 apache license questions answered whitesource. A new code license the mit, this time with attribution required meta stack exchange. This is seldom something that developers of commercial products wish to do. A compiler generates your code, but it does not include any of its own code in the program it generates. Lets say that there is a company abc that releases software with a. If what youre asking is what licence should i use if i want to charge for my software and forbid my paying users from exercising the freedoms associated with free software, that would be offtopic for this site.
Frequently asked questions about the gnu licenses gnu project. Mit license vs gplv2 detailed comparison as of 2020 slant. I have a concern of using gpl v2 and gpl v3 licensed software in commercial production environment. Thus, the gpl gives permission to release the modified program in certain ways, and. The qt commercial licenses allow publishing to the apple appstore or other stores including those that require static linking. The gplv3 and gplv2 are incompatible and so cannot be used in the same software project. Oracle offers a commercial license for all of its mysql software that is embedded in or bundled with another application. The term free software is older, and is reflected in the name of the free software foundation fsf, an organization founded in 1985 to protect and promote free software. This means that code from a gplv2 program cannot be combined with code under another license in the same program.
Any license that provides the user certain specific freedoms is a free software license. When distributing derived works, the source code of the work must be made available under the same license. Gnu gplv2 the gnu gpl is the most widely used free software license and has a strong copyleft requirement. Frequently answered questions open source initiative. But the wording of both the license and the faq is misleading, and the suggestion that you can gpl your commercial software is disingenuous. However, free software is a real industry, and free software companies with a successful business model pays a competitive salary to its staff. In our experience, this confusion is not a major problem. Id also like to make it clear that it cant be used for military andor commercial uses. Its a widely held belief that you cant mix gpl code and code covered by other open source licenses. The gnu gpl is the most widely used free software license and has a strong copyleft requirement.
Free software has more restrictions than commercial, closed source software. While there are restrictions, it is actually possible in both gplv2 and gplv3. Understanding licenses, or, can i use this asset in my game. It is therefore often thought that gpllicensed software is unsuitable for proprietary projects. Ffmpeg is licensed under the gnu lesser general public license lgpl version 2. You may discover, however that these terms do not work so well in your favor, since one of the terms prevents you from a. Released by the free software foundation in 1991, the gplv2 accounts for approximately half of all foss licenses in use todayincluding, most famously, the linux operating system that powers much of the internet and underlies the android smartphone operating system deployed in approximately 1 billion mobile devices. Therefore your program is not a derivative of the compiler code.
Gpl also does not limit commercial use, you just have to. This general public license applies to most of the free software foundations software and to any other program whose authors commit to using it. As richard stallman explains it, free software means free as in free speech, not free as in free beer. Apr 17, 2010 the gpl is tactically less free, but strategically more free. Weve compiled a list of your top 10 questions about the gpl license in the last post. By contrast, the gnu general public license is intended to guarantee your freedom to share and change free software to make sure the software is free for all its users. Jun 15, 2012 free software or copyleft licensing seems to have got off on the wrong foot with business, which is surprising given its many commercial benefits. The people to whom you sold copies of gpl software are just as free as you are to make copies and sell them for whatever price they feel is right, including a price equal to zero. Jun 07, 2007 its a widely held belief that you cant mix gpl code and code covered by other open source licenses. Comments were collected from the public via the gplv3. Nov 18, 2019 red hat gplv2based end user license agreement page 1 of 2 november 18, 2019 end user license agreement red hat gpl v2 base d please read this end user license agreement carefully before using software from red hat. Question about the gplv2 and commercial licensing opensource.
That will allow code from differently licensed free software projects to be combined with netbeans software, and will give our users the choice to pick a license that they feel more comfortable with. It restricts you from using software to build nongpl software including bsdlicensed free software, but it prevents software from being taken private by commercial developers. Mar 05, 2001 using gpl software in embedded applications. Using gpllicensed components in proprietary projects. Can i use gpl software binaries in commercial environment. When versata software sued ameriprise financial services for breaching its software license, it unwittingly unearthed a gpl violation of its own and touched off another lawsuit that could prove to be a leading case on free and open source software licensing. The osi list of licenses includes a reference to the nonprofit open software license that probably fits the bill for what you want but be cautious as other open source licenses, including the gpl may not be.
The apache license is an open source software license released by the apache software foundation asf. I wont modify anything from source code and the architecture of the system requires the use of a load balancer. In terms of exits, including both acquisition and ipo, gpl licensed projects dominate, having generated more than 6 billion in liquidity, compared to 2b. I would like to use haproxy as a load balancing solution. Question about the gplv2 and commercial licensing please help me through a legal question i have about the gplv2. Gplv2 licensing for commercial use open source stack. Why the gpl is incompatible with commercial software. The agpl makes straightforward commercial sense we use it. For software licenses, you will be subject to any number of software licenses, including these free licenses.
If your vendors costs seem too good to be true, you may ultimately bear the burden of the vendors inattention to gpl compliance. You can license your commercial application under the gplv3 license as long as you comply with the terms of the gplv3 license. The gpl is unclear and untested when it comes to linking restrictions. From here on, red hats new gplv2 software projects will. There are multiple variants of the gnu gpl, each with different requirements. Gnu public license is all but free and you should never use it.
Just because the gplv2 allows your users to redistribute the software doesnt mean they will. After the free 30day period, you need to either purchase a license or cease from using the free trial. Oct 17, 2017 the license of your source code must be compatible with the license of the open source code you are linking to. There is no field of use restriction in the gplv2 users are free to use if however they like, including for commercial purposes. The term open source was coined by christine peterson and adopted in 1998 by the founders of the open source initiative. In the case of netbeans software, were distributing the code under two licenses, cddl and gplv2 with classpath exception, for license compatibility. From here on, red hats new gplv2 software projects will have. Frequently asked questions about version 2 of the gnu gpl. Software licensed under the gnu gplv2 is incompatible with all other licenses, with the exception of gplv3 in most cases. For instance, if your code is proprietary, you wont be allowed to use a library under the gpl license. Some features, such as support for some external libraries libx264 and libx265 for example and various filters, are covered by the gnu general public license gpl version 2 or later see commercial x264 license exception below. Aug 26, 2008 consider the cost of potential violations in your acquisition process.
Lawsuit threatens to break new ground on the gpl and software. You can distribute your application using a gpl library commercially, but you must also provide the source code. Gpl is for freedom to the enduser of the software, not to the developer reusing the code. A techrepublic reader recently asked the following questions in the. Publishing translations valid for a single country only. In order to use the gplcovered plugins, the main program must be released under the gpl or a gplcompatible free software license, and that the terms of the gpl must be followed when the main program is distributed for use with these plugins. If you wish to use a gpl program as the basis for a commercial product, you must again make your own source code freely available, in the sense of gpl, with the changes made. The gnu general public license gnu gpl or gpl is a series of widely used free software licenses that guarantee end users the freedom to run, study, share, and modify the software. Describes the ability to use the software for commercial purposes. Gplv2 licensing for commercial use open source stack exchange. Frequently asked questions about the gnu licenses gnu.
Software licensed under the gnu general public license is free software, and all software that builds on gpllicensed components is also free and must also be licensed under the gpl. From here on, red hats new gplv2 software projects will have gplv3 cure for license violators well forgive you if you change your ways, says linux giant. Contrary to the beliefs of the free software foundation, industry and open source are not at odds. Jun 18, 2018 my feeling is that this is a good move and reduces the risk of incorporating gplv2 and lgplv2. The gpl has been written that way to offer some reasonable protection, no guarantee about what a judge will decide at the end though. If i use gpl software in my application, but dont modify or distribute it, do i have to release my application under the gpl. It can theoretically do so, it invariably does not. Free software or copyleft licensing seems to have got off on the wrong foot with business, which is surprising given its many commercial benefits. Top 10 gnu gpl license questions answered whitesource. Heres the second post in our open source software license faq series. Using foss allows software vendors to reduce costs significantly, but be wary of vendors who have done so without regard for the licenses.
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