We have a javascript codebase that we want to opensource in an incremental fashion. For example, if you write some software and release it under the gnu general public license a widelyused copyleft license, and then someone else modifies that software and distributes their modified version, the modified version must be licensed under the gnu gpl too including any new code written specifically to go into the modified. Distribution of programs released under the gnu licenses. Im going to be releasing a python script for blender and decided that i wanted to license it with a gpl license. Top 10 gnu gpl license questions answered whitesource. Its often believed that the code covered by the gpl license cannot be mixed with code covered by other open source software licenses. Understanding open source and free software licensing. Just like you belive the gpl to be superior, they believe the bsd license to be superior. In tandem im working on a commercial piece of software, and id like to use this library in it. However you must make available the sources to the software. If you are the owner then you always have complete freedom at any time to change the license to anything you want. Can i release a modified version of a gplcovered program in binary form only.
According to the free software movements leader, richard stallman, the main difference is that by choosing one term over the other i. Under gplv2, you are obligated to distribute all source code when you publish the work. It is possible to do something like this, by releasing the software under two different licenses, but qgis doesnt do that. Licensing is a major part of what open source and free software are all about, but its still one of the most complicated areas of law. Opensourcing is the act of propagating the open source movement, most often referring to releasing previously proprietary software under an open sourcefree software license, but it may also refer programming open source software or installing open source software. Opensource community welcomes staroffice release under gpl. As discussed above, users and modifiers of gpld software have at least an implied license to use patented inventions included in the gpld software. In 2007, the third version of the license gplv3 was released to address some perceived problems. To publish software made for a company under the gpl, you need the companys permission because the company owns any software that it pays developers to create. Also the original bsd code always stays under bsd and the gpl disallows you to create a work that is not 100% under. Can i release sourcecode of a software developed in. How is that different than you releasing your proprietary whatever, and conditioning use on paying you money and agreeing not to share it.
For example, a derivative work comprising mit license, gpl 2. If you are releasing software under a gpl license, it is also necessary to determine what the sharing criteria are, which vary between the different gpl licenses and can affect when downstream users have to release their source code. The gpl granted recipients unfettered rights to redistribute software with the condition that the source code could not be kept secret. 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. If you grab some software i released with a gpl or similar license. Sun begins releasing java under the gpl free software. Frequently asked questions about the gnu licenses gnu. Nov, 2006 in a development that could shake up the software industry, sun is releasing the java programming language under the general public license gpl. While restrictions exist, it is actually possible under both gplv2 and gplv3. Even if you rerelease software under another license later, the gpl version will. Univates, in brazil, and the international institute of information technology in hyderabad, india, both have policies in favor of releasing software under the gpl. What is the limit of an implied license under the gpl. Some software on the internet doesnt contain licensing. If you have some code you are thinking of releasing under an open source license, and you want a quick overview of the broadstrokes differences between these licenses, you have come to the right place.
That is, we want to release the full code to some of our core modules first, keeping the rest of the application. The foundation said that 15 gnu software components will be released under gpl 3 on friday, and the rest of the gnu software will follow in coming months. On selling exceptions to the gnu gpl free software. Gpl and lgpl open source licensing restrictions stack. The university of texas has a policy that makes it easy to release software developed there as free software under the gnu general public license. Nothing forbids you to write software that runs under linux regardless of the licence of your software. Qtopia pda edition released under gpl license osnews. The article talks about the government releasing software under the gpl, and not about government intervention in gnugpl projects. This involves releasing your software under a strong copyleft licence such as the gnu gpl, and also making available a version under an alternative licence, thus allowing users who do not wish to be bound by the gnu gpl to pay for the noncopyleft version. The contract can require the contractor to release it under the gnu gpl.
How is that different than you releasing your proprietary whatever, and conditioning use. When you approach people in your company regarding oss and explain how companies benefit from releasing software as open source, you are asked what benefits the company will receive. Releasing source code snippets created by others under the gpl. Understanding opensource and free software licensing. Can the us government release improvements to a gplcovered program. Univates in brazil, and the international institute of information technology in hyderabad, india, both have policies in favor of releasing software under the gpl. Selling exceptions depends fundamentally on using a copyleft license, such as the gnu gpl, for the free software release. May 04, 2019 in most cases when open source code is licensed under two licenses, the licensee gets to select which one applies to their use. As a software developer working for a large clothing. The result is that any software that uses any gpl open source component regardless of its percentage in the entire code is required to release. Oct 24, 2019 releasing software under the copyleft open source license and free software, in general, were revolutionary concepts, and since the release of the first gnu gpl, copyleft has received criticism from all sides. Nov, 2009 releasing software under an opensource license is not entirely new to microsoft, although microsoft typically doesnt do so under the gpl, which it sees as one of the more restrictive of the open.
If i release software under the gnu gpl v3, and a new version of. Nov 04, 2010 you create a derived work when you mingle your proprietary source code with the gpl code. Furthermore, specifically with gpl versions, the fsf recommends that programs say version 3 of the gpl or any later version, and in that case you can effectively even relicense other peoples code under a new version. If you only use source code provided in that release, and you can use this. It is because gpl it was written to give following rights. The honest answer is that people releasing software under the gpl dont want you using their code in your proprietary whatever. One example is mozillas trilicense, which states that the software is released under the mpl, but the user can also choose gpl or lgpl instead of mpl i think this is because the mpl license is incompatible with the gpl license. Frequently answered questions open source initiative. Aug 23, 20 jonathan westhues released solvespace, his parametric 2d3d cad software, under terms of gplv3. In 2000, the makers of interbase 6 released its source code under a license. Consider releasing under the agpl instead of gpl issue. Its wonderful, said opensource advocate eric raymond, who has been a vocal critic of the sun community source license. One example is mozillas trilicense, which states that the software is released under the mpl, but the user can also choose gpl or lgpl instead of mpl i think this is because the mpl license is incompatible with the gpl license however, i came across projects released under both the gpl license and the mit license.
Bsd is under the license that it is under because the authors believed that that license was the one it should be under. Releasing free software if you work at a university gnu. You can see why this requirement doesnt go over well with everybody. There are lots of projects released under more than one license. However, i came across projects released under both the gpl license and the mit license. Usually when a project does this, it releases the software under the gpl or something very like.
The project was started in 2008 and is based on a an earlier application called sketchflat which was a twodimensional technical drawing program. Releasing source code snippets created by others under the gpl i started this topic to discuss the finer details of distributing source code under the gpl that was gathered from public sources on the internet. The most widespread such license is the gnu general public license, or gnu gpl for short. Nevertheless, there is significant overlap between open source software and free software. 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. How to use gnu licenses for your own software gnu project free. Usually when a project does this, it releases the software under the gpl or something very like it for free, but people can pay to get an alternate. If a developer modifies a program released under the gpl, he is expected to release the modified program under the same license. If someone releases a software with gpl or with a similar open. This can be further shortened to gpl, when it is understood that the gnu gpl is the one intended. 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. Can one take bsd licensed code and distribute it under gpl. First, like every other sensible person here i think its terrific that carmack and id have this strategy for releasing older code under the gpl. Nov 09, 2019 the gpl is very restrictive in the sense it forces any derivative work to be released opensource under the same terms.
If i modify code that is dual licensed under the gpl and. You should also include a copy of the license itself somewhere in the distribution of your program. Claiming that incorporating some gpl code into a bsd work is the same as incorporating bsd code into a gpld work tries to hide the fact that you always start with a smaller piece of new code and that this causes the new code to get accumulated from the original code. A copyleft license permits embedding in a larger program only if the whole combined program is released under that license. Initially, i thought that it would make sense to just license it the same way blender is licensed. Can software that modifies a library under gnu gpl be sold. Jun 21, 2016 ive also seen startups avoid incorporating gpl software in their products because potential acquirers avoid it. Prominent free software programs licensed under the gpl include the linux kernel and the gnu compiler collection gcc. Most surveys indicate that the vast majority of open source projects use the mit license, the apache license, and the gpl or their variants. This is especially a concern for libraries which are building blocks for larger software. Jul 09, 20 linux software is licensed under the gpl, so if someone modifies it and releases changes to the community, the license passes along with the modified software, so it must be open source too. Univates in brazil, and the international institute of information technology in hyderabad, india, both have policies.
Gnu public license is all but free and you should never use it dev. Find answers to releasing application under gnu gpl. Since i made the library in the first place even though i made it gpl, is it safe to assume i can use it in the commerical app. After releasing java under the open source gpl license yesterday, suns senior vice president of software, rich green, hinted that the company might make the source code of the companys unix. What kind of source code do i have to publish under the gnu gpl. Ive noticed that a lot of comments have argued that this is a strategy that many or all software firms should adopt with the gpl develop commercially and profit in the short run, release source. As curiousdannii said you can always release your own code under another license, even if its incompatible with a license you used earlier. Univates, in brazil, and the international institute of information technology in hyderabad, india, both have policies. If i modify code that is dual licensed under the gpl and an. This page is maintained by the free software foundations licensing and compliance lab. All programs, whether they are released under the gpl or. They explicitly said they dont want you to do that. Gpl and lgpl open source licensing restrictions stack overflow. Potential defenses of implied patent license under the gpl.
Novell releases connector for exchange under gpl releasing it as opensource software is designed to spread its use. Understanding open source and free software licensing bridges the gap between the open source vision and the practical implications of its legal underpinnings. Early on, it rubbed many software development organizations in the public sector the wrong way. You can support our efforts by making a donation to the fsf. Or the contract can assign the to the government agency, which can then release the software under the gnu gpl. The gnu general public license gnu gpl or gpl is a series of widely used free software. Making your code available under an open source licence.
Frequently asked questions about the gnu licenses gnu project. Open source primer technology transfer office umass. Quake 2 source code released under the gpl slashdot. Solvespace 2d3d cad software released under terms of gpl. Ive seen rare cases where the licensor explicitly stipulates a dual license to mean both apply simultaneously. Qtopia pda edition released under gpl license eugenia loli 20041227 qt 37 comments mobile news qtopa 2. The combined operating systemmost commonly called linuxwas released under the gnu general public license gpl, a licensing model that was created by richard stallman of the gnu project. The article talks about the government releasing software under the gpl, and not about government intervention in gnu gpl projects. Nov 15, 2006 sun begins releasing java under the gpl by matt lee contributions published on nov 15, 2006 12. I dont care if you want to use it in proprietary software, on the contrary i. Mar 05, 2001 the gpl allows you to modify, copy, and distribute software licensed under it, provided you also license the derived work under the gpl, and make available the source code.
A plugface framework released under gpl would have never been. The question of usage is a little more complicated. The gnu gpl demands that as soon as you distribute gpl licensed software in. Why dont you release your software under the bsd license instead of the gpl if you have any, which i. However, when a us federal government agency uses contractors to develop software, that is a different situation. The main restriction imposed by the gpl is that any source code derived from it or that uses it must also be released under the gpl, but if they arent modifying or distributing the original gpl code, then they can use the gpled program. In many cases, assuming the software is not proprietary, the work is available to the whole government for unlimited use and it falls under the public domain. Gpl, by contrast, is used by such opensource projects as linux. This is explained in subsections 6a and 6b of the gpl.
1324 1130 1241 984 1402 447 722 197 48 1427 98 911 151 260 1115 52 1365 865 905 792 1300 1088 134 924 1004 339 1637 1629 1338 1662 696 794 39 593 963 1177 65 468 149 139 892 375 56 553 518 737 1442 1287