The license was originally written by richard stallman of the free software foundation fsf for the gnu project. An example of a copyleft free software license is the often used gnu general public license gpl, also the first copyleft license. An author must consciously recast, transform, or adapt the gpl licensed software all of which are forms of modification before the gpl applies to the new software. The gpl family now accounts for about 57% of all open source software, compared to 61% in june. So, when you look at software and you see that the license is gpl, this means the software is open source. I can take program a and use it, read the source, modify it e. The gnu general public license gnu gpl or gpl is a widelyused free software license, which guarantees end users the freedom to run, study, share and modify the software. The gpl is viral in nature so if you use or extend gpled software then you are required to gpl your derived work. You can distribute it as a closed app where the code is encrypted or is a binary.
First, this post covers almost exclusively gpl licensed software, but there are other freeopen source software foss licenses that work in different ways. Handbrake is an opensource, gpl licensed, multiplatform, multithreaded video transcoder. The obligations associated with distributing gpl licensed software are not especially onerous, so companies are generally inclined to take the necessary steps when they are properly. A practical guide to gpl compliance software freedom law. The choice of licence comes down to personal preference, and both approaches can have. You may copy, distribute and modify the software as long as you track changesdates of in source files and keep modifications under gpl. Google itself uses many gpl licensed software, but does not release the source, because.
With the byod trend accelerating, wifi connectivity is now widely provided everywhere in offices, hotels and even schools. By contrast, the gnu general public license is intended to guarantee your freedom to share and change free softwareto make sure the software is free for all its users. If you wish to submit your creation to the free theme repository on, it must be 100% gpl compliant, including css and image files. What is the difference between gpl, agpl and lgpl licenses. Modifications to the software can be release under any license. While the gpl is an open source license, it is fundamentally a free software license. Declining adoption of gpl license popularity of open. Gpl, also known as copyleft, grants permission to reuse or modify the source code to make derivative works, but if you distribute your program to others, it requires you to license your. If the answer is yes, you have to abide by the gpls rules on distribution. The gnu general public license gpl represents one familial branch of the oss license tree that is explicitly designed to promote software distribution for the purposes of inspection, modi. That is why there is the lgpl or lesser gnu public. Gnu general public license, version 3 spdx short identifier. The most widely used example of a copyleft license is the gnu public license, or gpl. Hardware with gpl firmware open source stack exchange.
Cisco settles fsf gpl lawsuit, appoints compliance officer. It offers the same patent usage protection as gplv3. Weve just received a few new aps, running software 8. Handbrake is a tool for converting video from nearly any format to a selection of modern, widely supported codecs. If software is licenced under a gpl license, can it be used without restriction in a corporatecommercial environment. Here are a few issues concerning gpl licensed software in combination with closed source software. You should have received a copy of the gnu general public license along with this program. Pages in category software using the gpl license the following 150 pages are in this. This end user license agreement this eula governs your access and use of the software software that is embedded on any ubiquiti inc.
The software that i am refering to is qgis which provides this description. The licenses for most software and other practical works are designed to take away your freedom to share and change the works. Short for general public license, the license that accompanies some open source software that details how the software and its accompany source code can be freely copied, distributed and modified. The chemdoodle web components library is a pure javascript chemical graphics and cheminformatics library derived from the chemdoodle application and produced by ichemlabs.
Frequently asked questions about the gnu licenses gnu. If you intend to use the gpld software strictly within the company, you can make whatever changes you want. If people were to distribute gplcovered software calling it part of a system that users know is partly proprietary, users might be uncertain of their rights regarding the gplcovered software. The gnu general public license gnu gpl or simply gpl is a widely used open source software license, originally written by richard stallman for the gnu project.
Government computer software acquisition and the gnu. This license is aimed at giving and protecting all users unlimited freedom to. The gnu gpl is the most widely used free software license and has a strong copyleft requirement. When distributing derived works, the source code of the work must be made available under the same. Because the freedoms spelled out in the gpl are at the heart. Agpl the affero gnu general public license is, effectively, the gplv3 with one significant additional clausein addition to offering gpl freedoms to those who receive copies of agpllicensed. Linux magazines article the gpl has no networked future recognizes a point that ive been making for years. Can gnu licensed software be used for commercial gain. The term you, your, you or your as used in this eula, means any person or entity who accesses or uses the software and accepts the terms of this. We, the free software foundation, use the gnu general public. This significantly and quickly increases demand for wifi access points, which in. 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. Gpl software can be used anywhere, without restrictions.
By contrast, the gnu general public license is intended to guarantee your freedom to share and change all versions of a programto make sure it remains free software for all its users. This question is specifically addressed in the gpl faq, and it says youre allowed to use gpled software inside a company without legally distributing it. Open source licenses grant permission for anybody to use, modify, and share licensed software for any purpose, subject to conditions preserving the provenance and openness of the software. How open source licenses work and how to add them to your. This product or the software offered for download contains thirdparty software, including software licensed under the gnu general public. The source code doesnt need to be public when a distribution of the software is made. I hardwire one of the aps into port 3 poe port and it doesnt receive. Using gpllicensed components in proprietary projects. Manufacturer m contracts with v to install the software as firmware in m s device. You can distribute your application using a gpl library commercially, but you must also provide the source code. The mere fact that a piece of userspace software makes system calls to the gpl licensed kernel does not impose gpl requirements on that software. Qgis is a user friendly open source geographic information system gis licensed under the gnu general public.
Take the example of vendor v, who develops a software platform from gpl d sources for use in embedded devices. Gpl software can also be modified without restrictions, as long as the modified software is kept private. The gpls legal requirements come before your products needs, your users security or whatever. You have no obligation to release either source or. The difference with mit is that even if you actually distribute your proprietary code that is using the mit licensed code, you do not have to make the code open source. Changes made to the source code must be documented. This product contains some software licensed under the gnu general public license, version 2 provided with absolutely no warranty under the terms of gnu general public. Part of the devices firmware use gpl licensed code. If the answer is no, gpl does not restrict your activities in any way agpl does. As a free software license, much of the stewardship and support for the gpl has been driven by the free software foundation. The gnu general public license is a free, copyleft license for software and other kinds of works. However, most libraries are intended to be reused and the gpl license doesnt make sense. The gpl in combination with closed source software github.
In fact, the fsf maintainers of the gpl have harsh words for licenses that try to restrict use of the software in any way. See the gnu general public license for more details. Drupal, and all contributed files that are derivative works of drupal hosted on, are licensed under the gnu general public license, version 2 or later. Une licence a base gpl pour les services web silicon.
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