This does not mean tjhat you cannot sell the product, but it does mean that you must provide your licensees, on request, with its source code. Html, plain text, odf, docbook v4 or v5, texinfo, latex, markdown, and rtf. Conditions on distributing ghostscript in a commercial context. Verwendung gpllizenzierter komponenten in kommerziellen. This license lets the user of the software use a program in many of the same ways as if it were public domain. Please notify us of any bad advert you see rightclick on them, copy the destination link address, and send it to us. For a list of licenses not specifically intended for software, see list of free content licenses. Gpl is the acronym for gnus general public license, and its one of the. Pengertian gnu atau gpl general public license dans. Id also like to make it clear that it cant be used for military andor commercial uses. Both filezilla and filezilla server as downloadable from are free opensource software distributed under the terms and conditions of the gnu general public license gpl version 2 or at your option any later version. Gnu general public license software as part of commercial. 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. This can be further shortened to gpl, when it is understood that the gnu gpl is the one intended.
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. If you use gpl code, your code becomes covered by the gpl and you cannot provide a license for it that removes the stritures of the gnu license. It is a freely distributed program for such tasks as photo retouching, image composition and image authoring. Advocates of the gnu general public license gnu gpl like to perpetuate the idea that programs released under it are free as in speech, not free as in beer. 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 of the free software definition. Preamble the gnu general public license is a free, copyleft license for. Gnu general public license v3 gpl3 explained in plain english. Gnu linux atau sering disingkat linux, adalah sistem operasi yang bersifat open source. The gnu general public license gpl is a computer software copyleft license.
The free software foundation may publish revised andor new versions. Jun 09, 2016 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. The gnu general public license is often called the gnu gpl for short. 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. Software licensed with any gnu license can be used and even modified everywhere, including in a corporate environment, without any. Legal issues are a constant source of questions and confusion. 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. Busybox is licensed under the gnu general public license. Dozens of software vendors already license nmap technology such as host discovery, port scanning, os detection, version detection. Is there any software license that does this for non commercial uses, and prevents any commercial use including using the software in order to.
Feb 25, 2006 advocates of the gnu general public license gnu gpl like to perpetuate the idea that programs released under it are free as in speech, not free as in beer. The implication is that gpled software is not necessarily free from cost, and therefore you can in fact license your programs under the gpl and still sell them for money. Sflc continues to conduct gpl enforcement and compliance efforts for many of its clients who release their software under the gpl, the gnu lesser public license lgpl and other copyleft licenses. Nov 12, 2014 gnu lesser general public license lgpl merupakan versi lain gpl, ditujukan untuk penggunaan beberapa software library.
Explaining and understanding the gnu general public license. Gnu general public license simple english wikipedia, the. I am looking for a software license that only allows non commercial uses copy, modify, link to. Some modules we make are using more permissive licenses, though, for example, the blender cycles rendering engine is available as apache 2. 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 definition. Gnu general public license software as part of commercial product. Gnu lesser general public license lgpl merupakan versi lain gpl, ditujukan untuk penggunaan beberapa software library.
The gnu lesser general public license lgpl is a free software license published by the free software foundation fsf. If you should know, there are several other open source licenses too, some of which claim to offer even more freedom than the gpl such as mozilla public license, bsd licence, apache 2. 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. However, businesses using gnu software in commercial activity, and people doing. Since the gpl may be too restrictive for use in a proprietary application, a commercial license is also provided.
This software and derivatives may be used for commercial purposes. The terms of usage and rules about copying are clearly listed in the gnu general public license. This is a comparison of free and opensource software licenses. Unless otherwise indicated, the source code of the zotero project is released under the gnu affero general public license version 3. Both filezilla and filezilla server as downloadable from are free opensource software distributed under the terms and conditions of the gnu general public license gpl version 2 or at your option any later version for using filezilla and filezilla. The gnu general public license gpl is a free, copyleft license used primarily for software. What if i modify some software that my application uses. Then do i have to release my application under the gpl, or can i just supply the modified software under the gpls terms. This is an attempt to clarify the most important issues. The terms of usage and rules about copying are clearly listed in the gnu general.
Government computer software acquisition and the gnu general. This page is maintained by the free software foundations licensing and compliance lab. This latter point distinguishes the gpl from software licenses that prohibit commercial redistribution. Gnu general public license, version 2 spdx short identifier. The licenses for most software and other practical works are designed to take away your freedom to share and change the works. Comparison of free and opensource software licenses. Describes the ability to use the software for commercial purposes. The gpl license grants the users irrevocable rights to use, modify and redistribute software even commercially under the condition that software or its derivatives retain the gpl license and that the source code is included or. The most widespread such license is the gnu general public license, or gnu gpl for short. If you are interested in using content for commercial purposes. Craig mundie, microsoft senior vice president, the commercial software model the new york university stern school of. Boston, massachusetts, usamonday, november 19, 2007the free software foundation fsf today published the gnu affero general public license version 3 gnu agplv3.
The gnu gpl allows users to change and share all versions of a program. The gnu lesser general public license lgpl is a freesoftware license published by the free software foundation fsf. Can gpl licenced software be used in corporate environments. Why should i use the gnu gpl rather than other free software licenses. Frequently asked questions about the gnu licenses gnu project. Gplcompatible software is software whose conditions of propagation, modification and use would permit combination with gcc in accord with the license of gcc. For example, type the following command to find a copy of that file in your linux system for various items. Blender is released under the gnu general public license gpl, or free software this license grants people a number of freedoms. The gnu general public license is a free, copyleft license for software and.
Where indicated, each software product available from. 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. Some versions of ghostscript are distributed freely under the name gpl ghostscript or for older versions gnu ghostscript. You can support our efforts by making a donation to the fsf. The gnu general public license is available in these formats. Open source licenses are licenses that comply with the open source definition in brief, they allow software to be freely used, modified, and shared. If i use gpl software in my application, but dont modify or distribute it, do i 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. Busybox is licensed under the gnu general public license version 2, which is often abbreviated as gplv2. Frequently asked questions about the gnu licenses gnu. Im not clear on how that affects your products licensing. The gnu general public license gives permission to release a modified version without this exception.
Blender is released under the gnu general public license gpl, or free software. Revised versions of the gnu lesser general public license. This general public license applies to most of the free software. You might also granting the free licenses on demand, e. Richard stallman created the gpl to protect the gnu software from. Gpl is provided through the free software foundation, a nonprofit corporation that works to provide free software for the gnu project. Aug 26, 2008 sflc continues to conduct gpl enforcement and compliance efforts for many of its clients who release their software under the gpl, the gnu lesser public license lgpl and other copyleft licenses. Gnu lgpl information this library is free software. Ffmpeg is licensed under the gnu lesser general public license lgpl version 2. We, the free software foundation, use the gnu general public license for most of our software. A complete copy of the license text is included in the file license in the busybox source code.
Top 10 gnu gpl license questions answered whitesource. The emacs general public license, a february 1988 version, a direct predecessor of the gnu gpl. The gnu general public license gnu gpl or gpl is a widely used free software license, which guarantees end users the freedom to run, study, share and modify the software. The following licenses are in use for r or associated software such as packages. Gimp about gimp gimp gnu image manipulation program. Version 2 gpl, but only with all of the clarifications and exceptions described herein. 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. Why the gpl is incompatible with commercial software. This allows you to choose between the gnu general public license gpl and the.
A practical guide to gpl compliance software freedom law. The usual disclaimers apply, this is not legal advice. If i use gpl software in my application, but dont modify or distribute it, do i have to release my application under the gpl. Nov 02, 2016 the gnu general public license exists to protect the liberties of software creators and users alike. If you releasedistribute software using lgpld libraries, your software doesnt need to be covered by the gpl, but the libraries must retain the lgpl. Can i use gpl software in a commercial application software. The comparison only covers software licenses with a linked article for details, approved by at least one expert group at the fsf, the osi, the debian project or the fedora project. Gnu general public license wikipedia, a enciclopedia livre. Introduction gimp is an acronym for gnu image manipulation program. Free software foundation releases gnu affero general. The text of the gnu general public license gpl is in a file named copying in various directories in your linux system.
137 397 1314 549 1384 421 673 169 1126 1421 1364 471 1167 552 1078 1353 258 648 13 1460 450 229 1540 221 1053 971 822 1139 1143 703 6 118 736 418 1018 543 384 933 431 810 134 478