Freeware is free to use and does not require any payment from the user. Qt contains some code that is not provided under the gnu lesser general public license lgpl or the qt commercial license, but rather under specific licenses from the original authors the qt company gratefully acknowledges these and other contributions to qt. How can i legally use lgpl javascript in a commercial web. Lgpl allows you to have a binary application, as long as it is dynamically in the sense of at runtime linked. If a program p is released under the gpl that means any and every part of it can be used under the gpl.
The only big restriction is that you must keep the library open source, including any modifications you make to it, and allow your users to obtain the source, licence and information for the library. Why the gpl is incompatible with commercial software. The main difference between the gpl and the lgpl is that the latter allows the work to be linked with in the case of a library, used by a nonlgpled program, regardless of whether it is free software or proprietary software. A lesser general public license lgpl is a license for opensource software that allows for provisions for including elements of free software in either free or proprietary software. See how to choose a license for your own work for general recommendations about choosing a license for your work the gnu project has two principal licenses to use for libraries. Also, because the development of this software was largely funded by the tax paying american public, i feel obligated to prevent situations where my software is used but can not be inspected, understood, or altered at the level of source code. The boilerplate can be found at the end of the gnu gplv3 license. The gnu lesser general public license lgpl is a freesoftware license published by the free software foundation fsf. Insert the word lesser before general in all three places in the boilerplate notice to make sure that you refer to the gnu lgplv3 and not the gnu gplv3. If you receive software under an open source license, you can always use that software for commercial purposes, but. But one important thing to take care of is that the gnu lgpl covered library is dynamically linked, not statically mixed with the main application. Not starting a flamewar, i know mitbsdapache libs are generally more reassuring and popular in commercial software, but gpl code keeps being used by commercial software under the basic well mention usage of the gpl lib in the docs, and will either leave the lib untouched or publish our modifications promise. The lgpl basically requires read the full license and faq for details you mention that it is licensed under the lgpl, with reference to the full. 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.
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. The lgpl was developed as a compromise between the strong copyleft of the gnu general public license gpl and more permissive licenses such as the bsd licenses and the mit license. You can get to it all, use it all, do anything you want with it. But you can not escape the obligation to make your own source code available. The section builtin qt quick compiler clarifies how the qml compiler can be used under lgplv3 or commercial license. Can open source software be used for commercial purposes. Related question i know that 7zip can be used in commercial applications provided that to specify in your documentation 1 that you used parts of the 7zip program, 2 that 7zip is licensed under the gnu lgpl license and 3 you must give a link to. Ffmpeg is licensed under the gnu lesser general public license lgpl version 2. I worked for trolltech, and then later nokia who bought t. Why you shouldnt use the lesser gpl for your next library. Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files the software, to deal in the software without restriction, including wit. How can i legally use lgpl javascript in a commercial web site. However you must license qt under the lgpl and discharge your responsibilities under that license.
Differences between gpl and lgpl when using licensed software. Any modifications to the core and libraries must be released under the lgpl. User mode although the linux kernel is under the gpl, applications that run on top of it do not themselves need to be under the gpl, and they can be under any license. When, for example, the software was only for internal use in the company, then there is no obligation to do anything.
Apple isnt impeding or restricting your use of the gpld parts. Using jasperreports in a commercial software jaspersoft. From version 5, we have changed the license from lgpl to polyform noncommercial 1. Computer software comes in three different flavors. This page is maintained by the free software foundations licensing and compliance lab. Using the ordinary gpl for a library gives free software developers an advantage over proprietary developers. It is important to understand the difference between the lgpl and the gnu general public license gpl. You can use and distribute lgpl libraries on your website and use them in combination with commercial code.
Gnu gpl, lgpl, apache licence types and differences. We recommend that programs that use qt also acknowledge these contributions, and quote these license statements in an appendix to the. 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. Then do i have to release my application under the gpl, or can i just supply the modified software under the gpls terms.
Can you use software under mit licence for commercial use. What if i modify some software that my application uses. Can gnu licensed software be used for commercial gain. Epplus 5 uses a dual license model, with polyform noncommercial as the community license and a commercial license for commercial businesses. The free software foundation recommends taking the additional step of adding a boilerplate notice to the top of each file. If you have any further questions or need further clarification please indicate the lgpl library libraries you intend to use so i can get a more definitive answer for that those specific products.
Sony mobile offers to provide source code of software licensed under the gpl or lgpl or some other open source licenses allowing source code distribution to you on a cdrom for a charge covering. If you used gpl sw, then you must make your source code available. The lgpl is a common opensource license for libraries. Frequently answered questions open source initiative. Anything statically linked to the library can only be redistributed under lgpl, but applications that use the library. One was using the gnu lesser general public license lgpl. You can support our efforts by making a donation to the fsf. You may copy, distribute and modify the software provided that modifications are described and licensed for free under lgpl. Besides the lgpl license for pyside2, youll have to make sure that you comply with the qt licensing terms.
You can even sell open source software however, note that commercial is not the same as proprietary. If you distribute the lgpl library itself, you still have to provide your customers with the source code for that. The lesser general public license lgpl is a software license that is based on the gpl, but is more permissive i have seen the gpl software license described as a cancer before, and this analogy does indeed hold, even though it misses the point. Track in fossa gnu lesser general public license v2. Its built with and comes with an awful lot of gpld software. The wording of a license can make a difference in how it can be used, and some general characterizations fail to provide a full understanding of what an lgpl license allows and covers. From arduinos faq yes, with the following conditions. Lesser general public license is sometimes referred to as library gpl or gnu libraries, and some associate it with the idea of. Gnu lesser general public license, version 3, 29 june 2007. So im remaking a product and was approaching qt about the. You may copy, distribute and modify the software provided that you state modifications and license them under lgpl2.
Youve already got the answer that lgpl libraries can be used in commercial software. For the gnu people to claim or imply that the gpl can be used for commercial software is disingenuous. Shareware is also free to use, but typically limits the programs features or the amount of time the software can be used unless the user purchases the. Moving to the issue of source publication, that is specifically, deliberately removed under lgpl lesser gpl, providing certain conditions are met. Can library under gpllgpl be used in the commercial software. The gpl was intended to make sure that anyone could use the software but not. They preach about openness and freedom, which sounds like a lot of bs considering that gpld code is neither open nor free for commercial developers, which is a. Software licensed with any gnu license can be used and modified everywhere, without any restrictions in private and even in corporate environments.
Support to any codecs using gpl licensed software was disabled, so it can be used. Using jasperreports in a commercial softw 20051204 20. Here are some frequently asked questions regarding our licenses. Its not permitted to mix qt commercial licenses with qt lgpl licenses in one project. The thing is, pyside2 is for using the qt framework with python programs. Works licensed under the lgpl are usually built as a library and can be linked with proprietary software packages. A practical guide to gpl compliance software freedom law. A copy of that license is included in this document on page x. I suspect that because lgpl allows making the source code of the library that you linked to available via a download, it must be ok to use an lgpllicensed lib in your app for microsofts marketplace. How to choose the best license for your open source. The answer is that while a strong copyleft license such as the gpl uses these distribution terms, a weak copyleft license such as the gnu lesser general public license lgpl uses.
Properly handled, this organization can even be used to host software under the newer gpl3 license alongside of software that is locked down and provides drm, things gpl3 eschews. Can i use an lgpllicenced library in my commercial app. Using the ordinary gpl is not advantageous for every library. The lgpl doesnt require you to distribute source code of programs that link with an lgpl library, so you can use them in a closedsource app. With that said, dear techrepublic reader, the short answer to your first question is. Hello sboisvert, lets go through your situation and describe the bounds by which you can cannot use an lgpl library to produce a commercial application. It does not prevent the sale of derivative software or. If you want an example of including gpld software as part of a commercial offering, look at os x. The software included in this product contains ed software that is licensed under the gpl. Derivatives works including modifications or anything statically linked to the library can only be redistributed under lgpl, but applications. One of the key point of the lgpl is the separation of the lgpllicensed library from the products using it. In combination with the polyform noncommercial license we sell licenses for customers who. If you intend to develop software using the qt framework, you will need a license commercial or open source. The lgpl is primarily used for software libraries, although it is also used by some standalone applications.
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. The source code for the arduino environment is covered by the gpl, which requires any modifications to be opensourced under the same license. If you dont or can t then buy a commercial license. Gnu general public license, version 3, 29 june 2007. My client has commercial reasons to avoid copyleftstyle licenses and so i flagged the library as unusable.
Frequently asked questions about the gnu licenses gnu. Describes the ability to use the software for commercial purposes. The word lesser in the title shows that the lgpl does not guarantee the end users complete freedom in the use of software. Can i develop with commercial qt and install qt creator to more than one of my computers. If you want to borrow any code released as gpl for use in your own source code, any of your own code that the gpl is mixed with will also.
Physically embedding an arduino board inside a commercial product does not require you to disclose or opensource any information about its design. All open source software can be used for commercial purpose. There are reasons that can make it better to use the lesser gpl in certain cases. It should also be possible to exchange that dynamically linked library for an independently compiled build. Fluendo includes ffmpeg libraries licensed under lgpl.