The vast majority of questions i get about combining gpl and proprietary software concern embedded systems, since linux is a component of so many consumer products these days. In fact, gpl can be the basis for making money with floss software, by offering nongpld commercial licenses. The most widespread such license is the gnu general public license, or gnu gpl for short. If you have licensed software youve written under gpl version 2, and you are the original licensor of that software, you may wish to relicense your software under gpl version 3. Question on importing a gpled python library in commercial code.
Gpl is the acronym for gnu s general public license, and its one of the most popular open source licenses. It is therefore often thought that gpllicensed software is unsuitable for proprietary projects. The gnu gpl is the most widely used free software license and has a strong copyleft requirement. The gnu general public license permits making a modified version and letting the public access it on a server without ever releasing its source code to the public. This is a guest post from exygys long time counsel joseph morris. The first version of the affero general public license agplv1, was published by affero, inc. Government computer software acquisition and the gnu. Gnu general public license, version 3 spdx short identifier. All the gpl ensures that if you want to make a proprietary fork of the software, its original author has to be made part of the equation. Contrast this with the licensing of most commercial software packages, where you are allowed to load the software on a single computer, are allowed to make no copies, and never see the source code. The gpl is tactically less free, but strategically more free. I again dont so much care about the ethics bsds just fine as i do about the commercial impact.
Aug 26, 2008 the license terms apply to anyone who distributes gpld software, regardless of whether they are the original distributor. 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. Free software or copyleft licensing seems to have got off on the wrong foot with business, which is surprising given its many commercial benefits. A copy of that license is included in this document on page x. We recently had a discussion about whether to recommend mit, apache, or gpl to one of our nonprofit clients for their open source project. Take the example of vendor v, who develops a software platform from gpld sources for use in embedded devices. It is a specific implementation of his copyleft concept. Wt may be used using either the gpl or a commercial license. The following licenses are in use for r or associated software such as packages. In fact, the fsf maintainers of the gpl have harsh words for licenses that try to restrict use of the software in any way. Jan 16, 2004 the answer to both questions is the gpl, or gnu general public license, the software license that governs the linux kernel and other opensource software. Clarification of answer by maniacga on 12 dec 2004 20.
But the gpl itself is compatible with a capitalist society. This has implications for proprietary andor commercial software developers, as many popular and important libraries are licensed under the gpl. What is the best free for noncommercial use license to use. The gnu general public license presents the gpls features, the di. Why should i use the gnu gpl rather than other free software licenses. Commercial systems are created and supported by forprofit companies e. You can distribute your application using a gpl library commercially, but you must also provide the source code. Ill aside put the argument that said definition is itself open source, though it is painful. If you want an example of including gpl d software as part of a commercial offering, look at os x. When distributing derived works, the source code of the work must be made available under the same license. When you start getting into themes and plugins to extend your wordpress site, you need to understand what gpl and open source means.
Qgis is a user friendly open source geographic information system gis. Among other things, were often asking joe about software licensing issues. Another point about the title of your question can i use gpl software binaries in commercial environment. 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.
You can support our efforts by making a donation to the fsf. Commercial software is any software or program that is designed and developed for licensing or sale to end users or that serves a commercial purpose. This is explained in subsections 6a and 6b of the gpl. What is the best free for noncommercial use license to. This article gives an overview of the gpl and important issues for developers who may wish to incorporate gpl licenced code in their own programs.
It restricts you from using software to build non gpl software including bsdlicensed free software, but it prevents software from being taken private by commercial developers. Its built with and comes with an awful lot of gpl d software. Ffmpeg is licensed under the gnu lesser general public license lgpl version 2. You can license your commercial application under the gplv3 license as long as you comply with the terms of the gplv3 license. So we will not distribute software that is licensed freely for non commercial use. Jul 24, 2018 in the absence of distribution, a user is merely using the software, and since the act of running the gpl code is not subject to the license, one does not have to share their modifications to the code.
Can gpl licenced software be used in corporate environments. Wordpress gpl commercial themes and plugins dummies. You may discover, however that these terms do not work so well in your favor, since one of the terms prevents you from a. If you wish to use the library using the gnu general public license gpl, you may build a web application with wt, and deploy it to your own intranet or internet web server, for any purpose, without the. Under the gnu general public license gpl, the most frequently used copyleft license, anyone who distributes that code or a. If you wish to use the library using the gnu general public license gpl, you may build a web application with wt, and deploy it to your own intranet or internet web server, for any purpose, without the requirement to make the source code freely available. Nov 10, 2005 the gnu general public license v2 gpl v2 for short is the most commonly used open source licence. The remainder of this white paper provides an overview of the gpls salient features and how those features relate to dfars software acquisitions. You may copy, distribute and modify the software as long as you track changesdates of in source files and keep modifications under gpl. Id also like to make it clear that it cant be used for military andor commercial uses. If software is licenced under a gpl license, can it be used without restriction in a corporatecommercial environment. The licence of software included in ubuntu can not discriminate against anyone or any group of users and cannot restrict users from using the software for a particular field of endeavour a business for example. The affero general public license affero gpl and informally affero license is a free software license.
Can i use gpl software in a commercial application software. Gpl har reviderats med tiden och ar numera uppe i version 3. This can be further shortened to gpl, when it is understood that the gnu gpl is the one intended. Lgpl software your api would be considered a derivative work and the new library would then be subject to the same compliance terms as the original software. Can gnu licensed software be used for commercial gain. Not at allthere are many other free software licenses. This license, commonly known as the gpl, has two versions that are actively and widely used in many open source communities. The gnu affero general public license is designed specifically to ensure that, in such cases, the modified source. If youre just using a distributed multinode system inside your company, then youre entirely in the clear, as yan says.
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. For example, type the following command to find a copy of that file in your linux system for various items. The gpl wont infect your proprietary software unless you link to it. Jono bacon proposes the change is due to increased growth in open source in business, and a nervousness around the gpl in the commercial world. Before we compare the two more closely, it is important to understand the fundamental differences between open source and commercial software. Oracle offers a commercial license for all of its mysql software that is embedded in or bundled with another application. This article gives an overview of the gpl and important issues for developers who may wish to incorporate gpllicenced code in their own programs. But the wording of both the license and the faq is misleading, and the suggestion that you can gpl your commercial software is disingenuous. For now, gnu gpl is an enforceable contract, says us federal judge the software hippies minds are going to be blown over this one by kieren mccarthy in san francisco may 2017 at 09. The software that i am refering to is qgis which provides this description. Im not satisfied with the current answers because they focus on how this question doesnt fit the standard definition of open source. Apr 17, 2010 the gpl is tactically less free, but strategically more free. The software must not be incompatible with secondary licenses. Jun 21, 2016 this is a guest post from exygys long time counsel joseph morris.
Most commercial applications are developed on the premise that the source is closed. May 27, 2016 a huge amount of useful software is freely available under the gpl open source licence. Despite the critical role the gpl plays in the advance of linux, not many people understand its terms. 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. Frequently asked questions about the gnu licenses gnu. 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. In fact, gpl can be the basis for making money with floss software, by offering non gpl d commercial licenses. There are multiple variants of the gnu gpl, each with different requirements. What is the difference between commercial and open source.
Dec 06, 2004 clarification of answer by maniacga on 12 dec 2004 20. If that commercial application is what youre selling, then youre giving a copy of that software in exchange for money. A practical guide to gpl compliance software freedom law. This document attempts to draw together the main features of the gnu general public license v2 into a friendly and comprehensible digest and, in addition, to.
Its impressive, for instance, to look at sonys web site where they fulfill their gpl obligation, and see the dozens of tv models and many other products that contain linux. Gnu general public license, version 2 spdx short identifier. If you have structured your application so that it only works because it accesses gpled piece of software. Distributing in this sense means giving or selling to customers.
This page is maintained by the free software foundations licensing and compliance lab. The following licenses are sorted by the number of conditions, from most gnu agplv3 to none unlicense. 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. Third, the gpl prevents developers in commercial environments from contributing to the open source movement. Commercial software was once considered to be proprietary software, but now a number of free and opensource software applications are licensed or sold to end users. The more free software well have in commercial environments, the less hassle well have to fix issues in production. The text of the gnu general public license gpl is in a file named copying in various directories in your linux system. Jun 20, 2012 you can license your commercial application under the gplv3 license as long as you comply with the terms of the gplv3 license. Approximately 70% of the projects in the software repository sourceforge use the gpl v2. If you intend to use the gpld software strictly within the company, you can make whatever changes you want. A practical guide to gpl compliance software freedom law center. Gpl software can be used anywhere, without restrictions. The license was originally written by richard stallman, former head of the free software foundation fsf, for the gnu project, and grants the recipients of a computer. Free software in this sense is software which you are free to use, copy, modify, redistribute, with no limit.
If you want an example of including gpld software as part of a commercial offering, look at os x. Why the gpl is incompatible with commercial software. Gpl software can also be modified without restrictions, as long as the modified software is kept private. For now, gnu gpl is an enforceable contract, says us. Software can become incompatible with secondary licenses in one of two ways. The agpl makes straightforward commercial sense we use it. Can i use the gplv3 license for my commercial application. The gnu general public license gnu gpl or gpl is a widelyused free software license that guarantees end users the freedom to run, study, share, and modify the software. The fsf argues that free software should not place. For example, suppose an employed software developer in a commercial organization desperately wishes to contribute code to be released to the public as open source. The software included in this product contains ed software that is licensed under the gpl. It is therefore often thought that gpl licensed software is unsuitable for proprietary projects. Sep 01, 2017 im not satisfied with the current answers because they focus on how this question doesnt fit the standard definition of open source.
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