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. Qt is available under lgpl, gpl or with a commercial license. Users choosing to use cgal under the freeofcharge open source license have to comply to its terms, otherwise they have to buy a commercial license. The free software foundation may publish revised andor new versions of the gnu lesser general public license from time to time. The software included in this product contains ed software that is licensed under the gpl. Can i use an lgpl licenced library in my commercial app. The gnu lesser general public license gnu lgpl was designed as a solution for such situations. That it is dynamically linked in to your application in such a way that the user can replace it with their own. The gnu lesser general public license gnu lgpl was designed as a. Can gpl licenced software be used in corporate environments. Lesser gpl, and that means we are using only one of these two strategies, neglecting the other.
Qgis is an official project of the open source geospatial foundation osgeo. Can i dynamically call a lgplgpl software in my closedsource application. It was clear that the existence of proprietary applications for gnulinux was. Lesser general public license is sometimes referred to as library gpl or gnu libraries, and some associate it with the idea of. Differences between gpl and lgpl when using licensed software. The gnu affero general public license version 3 agplv3 is a copyleft license nearly identical to the gplv3. Can i use the opensource qt license in a commercial project. Support to any codecs using gpl licensed software was disabled, so it can be used to create proprietary software without gpl restrictions. Describes the ability to use the software for commercial purposes. Most gnu software, including some libraries, is covered by the ordinary gnu general public license. I am planning to develop a commercial software using a lgpl software.
Gpl licensed code cant be used for paid and proprietary software. The lgpl and gpl licenses differ with one major exception. This exception does not exist under the gpl license. To understand the difference between gpl and lgpl you have to understand the basic idea of open source software. The lgpl provides an alternative license that preserves many of the benefits of the gpl model for such librariesin fact, the lesser general public license was in its first incarnation known as the library general public license. Looking for online definition of lgpl or what lgpl stands for.
This license, the gnu lesser general public license, applies to certain designated libraries, and is quite different from the ordinary general public license. 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. If software is licenced under a gpl license, can it be used without restriction in a corporatecommercial environment. Lgplv3 or gplv2 or pay for a commercial license lgpl version 3 differs from version 2. Such new versions will be similar in spirit to the present version, but may differ in detail to address new problems or concerns. License, other than an application or a combined work as defined below. The licenses used by gnu are the free software foundation family of licenses. That does not mean the new library must be all lgpl software, just that you comply with the lgpl license terms to be able to distribute the lgpl software in the new library. You can also combine gpl software with other software as long as the combined work is licensed and distributed under gpl. You can support our efforts by making a donation to the fsf. A practical guide to gpl compliance software freedom law.
Gpl is basically the legal terminology that makes open source software what it is. The gnu lesser general public license lgpl is a free software license published by the free software foundation fsf. Frequently asked questions about the gnu licenses gnu. Ffmpeg is licensed under the gnu lesser general public license lgpl version 2. This license, the lesser general public license, applies to some specially designated software packagestypically librariesof the free software foundation and other authors who decide to use it. Difference between different types of open sources licenses.
Many of our customers use qt, which is a great product for embedded gui creation, and indeed we supply qtready arm linux builds to help them. The agpl makes straightforward commercial sense we use it. For proprietary software, code under the lgpl is usually used in the form of a shared library, so that there is a clear separation between the proprietary and lgpl. So do take all these answers with a grain of salt, because otherwise you may be exposing yourself to lawsuits. Lgpl basically means your users have the right to modify the qt part of your application. A lesser general public license is used to license free software so that it can be incorporated into both free software and proprietary software, and is often.
Lgpl is listed in the worlds largest and most authoritative dictionary database of abbreviations and acronyms the free dictionary. Some other free software foundation software is covered by the gnu library general public license instead. 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. The lgpl license allows an application that references the binaries to remain closedsource. Well, this assumes that you are either selfemployed, or not employed under a contract such that your company owns your code. A copy of that license is included in this document on page x.
Gpl requires you to release the source code of your application if you choose to use and distribute the gpl licensed open source software with your application. The gnu lesser general public license lgpl version 2. The lgpl basically requires read the full license and faq for details. 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. If you modify qt itself, your users have to be able to get that modified code, so they can modify it further. Both licenses have the same copyleft scope, but materially differ in one important way. Why you shouldnt use the lesser gpl for your next library. Oracle elects to use only the gnu lesser general public license version 2. Some customers use commercial qt and thus pay the qt company per runtime license, and some use the opensource version and dont pay. To understand what opensource software means to you, it makes sense to. Gary is correct there are no differences with respect to ownership. In particular, you either provide all the source code or your object files and the lgpl source code. 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.
Lgpl allows you to use and distribute the open source software with your application without releasing the source code for your application. Lgpl licenses are not viral in the sense that you can dynamically link software programs to lgpl licensed libraries without licensing the software under the lgpl license, but as soon as you create a derivative of the lgpl licensed library or program you must use the lgpl license. When, for example, the software was only for internal use in the company, then. The agplv3s section states an additional condition not present in gplv2 or gplv3. Difference between gpl and lgpl difference between. Also, theres nothing preventing you from selling an open source. This page is maintained by the free software foundations licensing and compliance lab. This general public license applies to most of the free software foundations software and to any other program whose authors commit to using it.
The library refers to a covered work governed by this license, other than an application or a. Gpl and lgpl open source licensing restrictions stack. These licenses are very suitable for use in a corporate environment. Asf 3rd party license policy apache software foundation. A lesser general public license is used to license free software so that it can be incorporated into both free software and proprietary software, and is often referred to as the weaker sibling of gpl. Since all applications on a unixlike system depend on the c library, it means that. My software, teem, is released under the gnu lesser general public license lgpl, for a variety of reasons. You can use it too, but we suggest you first think carefully about whether this license or the ordinary general public license is the better. Qgis is a user friendly open source geographic information system gis licensed under the gnu general public license. Since you have access to the codes through open source software, you are permitted to make changes, improve it, and create your own twist.
How can i legally use lgpl javascript in a commercial web site. The software that i am refering to is qgis which provides this description. Can i use an lgpllicenced library in my commercial app. The commercial qt license gives you the full rights to create and distribute software on your own terms without any open source license obligations. 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. 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 derivative work under the gpl too. Most importantly, this license best implements to the notion of share and share alike which is fundamental to academic research. The agpl makes straightforward commercial sense we use it for our open source product, flint.
It explicitly protects the right of the end user to not only compile their modifications, but also deploy and run them on the target device. What is the difference between gpl and lgpl in terms of. 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. As used herein, this license refers to version 3 of the gnu lesser general public license, and the gnu gpl refers to version 3 of the gnu general public license. Lgpllicensed libraries can be linked with nongpl licensed programs, including proprietary software. What is the difference between gpl, agpl and lgpl licenses. Revised versions of the gnu lesser general public license. Open source licenses are licenses that comply with the open source definition in brief, they allow software to be freely used, modified, and shared. It keeps your code bona fide open source, so people who want to use and extend it noncommercially can do so without worrying about you at all.
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. With the commercial license you also have access to the official qt support and close strategic relationship with the qt. Proprietary software developers have the advantage of money. Gnu librarylesser general public license lgpl the above copyleft license didnt work for many software libraries because no one who was releasing any type of software commercially or under an alternative license would use them, which was the whole purpose of releasing the libraries. The gnu project has two principal licenses to use for libraries. These licenses have the restriction that you are obliged to include the source code and release your software under the same license if you distribute the softeware. This part of the tutorial gives a comprehensive explanation of the most popular free software license, the gnu general public license \gnu gpl, or sometimes just \gpl both version 2 \gplv2 and version 3 \gplv3 and teaches lawyers, software developers, managers and businesspeo.
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