Frequently asked questions about the gnu licenses gnu. And that is why companies who make money on software will stop using anything relying on gplv3. What about linking from a software program, as you might do when linking your device driver into a gpl or osllicensed program like linux. Open source license compatibility gplv3 and apache 2. What is the difference between gpl and lgpl in terms of. What about linking from a software program, such as when linking your device driver into a gpl or osllicensed program like linux. So to answer the derivative work question, we need to examine whether combining two works together would infringe unless permission to create the combined work was granted by the gpl. When it comes to determining whether two pieces of software form a single work, does the fact that the code is in one or.
The vouchers have no expiration date so if just one voucher is redeemed after suse releases any gplv3ed software then all recipients of that gplv3ed software are safe from any microsoft patent attacks. This licensing incompatibility applies only when some apache project software becomes a derivative work of some gplv3 software, because then the apache software would have to be distributed under gplv3. 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. May 24, 2017 the gplv3 user terms are not met when using the apache 2. Nimmer defines a derivative work as consisting of a contribution of original material to a preexisting work so as to recast, transform or adapt the preexisting work. In version 3 of the gnu general public license gplv3, the term the program means one particular work that is licensed under gplv3 and is received by a particular licensee from an upstream licensor or distributor.
This article requires that readers have more than a passing familiarity with computer software system. More generally, a license that limits who can use a program, or for what, is not a free software license. Unfortunately, what constitutes a distribution or a derivative work under the gpl is uncertain terrain. Jun 29, 2007 you may not convey a covered work if you are a party to an arrangement with a third party that is in the business of distributing software, under which you make payment to the third party based on the extent of your activity of conveying the work, and under which the third party grants, to any of the parties who would receive the covered work. Jul 14, 2017 so according to gplv3 a derivative work or modified version is everything that uses the source code in anyway possible. The gnu general public license gnu gpl or gpl is a series of widely used free software. A little background will help you understand how and why the licenses work the way they do. Jul 27, 2011 gary is correct there are no differences with respect to ownership. Is this system call of a gpllicensed program sufficient to assume derivative work of the application and must the application, therefore, also be licensed under. In programming, as well as in the arts, a derivative work is a new edition of a. Software freedom law center guide to gpl compliance 2nd edition. They essentially say if you make a derivative work of this, and distribute it to others under certain circumstances, then you have to provide the source code under this license.
This licensing incompatibility applies only when some apache project software becomes a derivative work of some gplv3. Then you talk about having one application to interact with the vlc or not. A derivative work is a work based upon one or more preexisting works, such as a translation, musical arrangement, dramatization, fictionalization, motion picture version, sound recording, art reproduction, abridgment, condensation, or any other form in which a work may be recast, transformed, or adapted. Technologists today, having grown up in the age of microsoft windows and proprietary software, may believe that open source licensing is a recent trend that began in the 1990s. If it does end up in court, lawyers and judges will be the ones to decide, not programmers. Jan 18, 2017 ohhhh, now i get itthis is an attempt to make modify in the agpl mean something different from modify in the gpl itself, such that you can do things that would be considered modifying in the gpl and hence trigger copyleft and claim they dont constitute modifying for purposes of the extra proviso in the agpl and hence wont trigger copyleft, so you can incorporate agpl code into. Derivative works under the gpl university of washington. In my opinion, it is free for noncommericial use, and gnu gplv3 is. You are distributing the gplv3 code, so you need to make it publicbe it by a web link or including the source. The gpl does not forbid that, vlc is free software and it is explicitly allowed to use the software for anything you like no fields of endeavor. It tries to clarify what is meant by distribution and derivative work, revoking the immediate termination of a license clause in favor of license opportunities, and the additional terms which permit users to choose from a fixed set of alternative terms to modify the standard gplv3. License compatibility is a legal framework that allows for pieces of software with different software licenses to be distributed together. Well, this assumes that you are either selfemployed, or not employed under a contract such that your company owns your code. This community of software developers uses legal methodologies to enforce rights and induce others to.
We aim in gplv3 to minimize these differences, without weakening the gpl as a protection for users freedom. You have to include the license and notice with each and every distribution. Combining open source software licenses the final chapter. The program is the particular work of software that you received in a given instance of gplv3 licensing, as you received it. Frequently asked questions about the gnu licenses gnu project. It doesnt say you cant use it commercially, but it does say you have to give up rights to patents, derivative work, and derivative source code, s, hardware control, etc. Gplv3 therefore internationalizes on this issue by removing gplv2s references to derivative works and by providing.
Within the category of free software, there are several subcategories, which are distinguished by what is allowed when making derivative software. License gpl, the most popular free and open source software license in. 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. No except for software licensed under gplv3 compatible licenses website. Derivative work is, in general, broader than modification. However, gplv3 software cannot be included in apache projects. If you dare build your business solely from this code, you risk opensourcing the whole code base. The program cannot mean all the works ever licensed under gplv3. Gplv3 and software as a service free software foundation. You cant mix gpl software with other software its a widely held belief that you cant mix gpl code and code covered by other open source licenses. A practical guide to gpl compliance software freedom law. Mar 29, 2007 gplv3 and software as a service by brett smith contributions published on mar 29, 2007 09.
Why should i use the gnu gpl rather than other free software licenses. Software best practices and open source derivative works. The final text of gplv3 is accompanied with a rationale document explaining the few changes since the last call draft. The big news in free software land is the patent peace deal between microsoft and novell and the suse vouchers microsoft is planning to sell. The way that these gray areas typically work is, that you are open about it, talk to the original authors, maybe work out a deal. Software best practices and open source derivative works submitted by arthur bright on wed, 03022011 15. A challenge to the use of intellectual property in the software industry ph. We, the free software foundation, use the gnu general public license for most of our software. Gplv3 allows a very limited set of them, in section 7, but any other added restriction can be removed by the user. The free software directory lists nearly 2,000 gplv3 projects, with thousands more still to be added. A practical guide to gpl compliance software freedom law center. It considers free software permissive license group to be a reference implementation of a free software license. You may convey a covered work under sections 3 and 4 of.
After all, differentlylabeled concepts corresponding to the derivative work are recognized in all law systems. 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. Derivative work preparation is ultimately a small subset of the types of modified versions of the software a developer might create, thus, while an excessive focus on derivative works indulges us in the more exciting areas of copyleft, we must keep a sense of perspective regarding their relative importance. The gpl is clear in requiring that all derivative works of code under the gpl must themselves be under the gpl. Chern introduction richard stallman1 has always believed that sharing software is a moral obligation. It is very unlikely that such a case would end up in court, since neither party can gain very much from it. Everything a government attorney needs to know about open. A derivative work is a modified version of the original source code. At the time of this writing, almost all applications of the gpl were of gplv2, the revision that was made in 1991. Common operating systems are windows for pcs and tiger for apple computers.
For example, the fsf holds the s on many pieces of the gnu system, such as the gnu compiler collection. We avoid gplv3 software because merely linking to it is considered by the gplv3 authors to create a derivative work. When is my project a derivative work in an interpreted language. At first glance, such separate distribution, and, in particular, the acquisition of the addon module and the gpllicensed from different sources, suggests that the addon module in question is not a derivative work of the gpllicensed software. Anyone can copy, modify and distribute this software. Gpl covers the licensed work and all works based on the work, where based on the work is defined as any modification or combination with the licensed work that. The need for such a framework arises because the different licenses can contain contradictory requirements, rendering it impossible to legally combine source code from separatelylicensed software in order to create and publish a new program.
The broadest and most established definition of derivative work for software is the abstraction, filtration, and comparison test the afc test as created and developed by the second circuit. A derivative work is one that includes aspects of the original. Even though differentlylabeled concepts corresponding to the derivative work are recognized in all law systems, these counterpart concepts might differ to some degree in scope and breadth from the usa derivative work. The license allows developers and companies to use and integrate a software component released under the lgpl into their own even proprietary software without being required by the terms of a strong copyleft license to release the source code of their own components. Osi agrees with fsf on all widely used freesoftware licenses, but differ from fsfs list, as it approves against the open source definition rather than the free software definition. This seems to be supported by section 3 subsection 2 gpl2. The group open source initiative osi defines and maintains a list of approved opensource licenses.
Other than the license itself, which does not restrict commercial use, see this gpl faq answer q. This would be incompatible with asfs requirement that all apache software must be distributed under the apache license 2. The licenses are incompatible in one direction only, and it is a result of asfs licensing philosophy and the gplv3 authors interpretation of law. Top 10 gnu gpl license questions answered whitesource. Gplv3 allows for both commercial and noncommercial use. Whether to ensure the work always remains free, to protect against modern threats to software freedom, or simply to set an ethical compass for their project, maintainers of thousands of projects chose gplv3 over the past decade. Libraries are software packages utilized by calling their public interfaces. There are two basic ways of making a derivative work of a program or library. Difference between gplv2 and gplv3 difference between. For example, a tshirt with an image of an applications ui is a derivative work of the application. Next time we will expand on license compatibility when making adjustments to the source code of the original work. The analysis in this chapter sets forth the differing definitions of derivative work by the circuit courts. Is convey in gplv3 the same thing as what gplv2 means by distribute. That these counterpart concepts might differ to some degree in scope and breadth from the us derivative work was simply a consequence of varying national treatment of the right of altering a ed work.
Dec 30, 2014 the challenge in open source licenses comes from projects that mix different types. Jun 29, 2007 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. The gnu general public license gpl version 2 is the slightly modified successor the oldest reciprocal license the gplv1. Oct 31, 2014 so in gplv3, we and our clients at the free software foundation decided to drop all illustrative reference to us derivative works, returning to the base concept only.
Jul 02, 2015 the holders of the gpl software can choose to enforce the gpl on the distributed or derivative works of the software. The source code must be public whenever it is distributed. The gnu lesser general public license lgpl is a freesoftware license published by the free software foundation fsf. In software licenses, though, the term may be defined more specifically rather than less. The gpl requires that derivative work be released under the gpl or a morepermissive licence. Under the far, by default, the government receives unlimited rights in any software developed under contract, and thus is free to publish the code as they see fit. Like most free software licenses, gplv2 was drafted with specific attention to details of united states law. If i use a piece of software that has been obtained under the gnu gpl, am i allowed to modify the original code into a new program, then distribute and sell that new program commercially. The evolution of gplv3 and contributor agreements in open source software by george finney abstract innovation in the computer software industry over the past 15 years increased at a frantic pace thanks in part to the open source software movement. Is a program that forks a gpllicensed program via a system or vice. What are the major differences between gnu lgpl v3 and v2. The vouchers have no expiration date so if just one voucher is redeemed after suse releases any gplv3 ed software then all recipients of that gplv3 ed software are safe from any microsoft patent attacks. The answer to this question cannot be found by examining the software architecture of the composite work. Copyleft is triggered by distribution and creating a derivative work.
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