Questions tagged [gpl]
Gnu General Public License
78
questions
11
votes
2answers
477 views
Relicensing software under GPLv2+ without all contributors
I have software licensed under GPLv2, which I would like to relicense under GPLv2+. Unfortunately, I an unable to contact some of the contributors. Can I proceed, or am I stuck?
10
votes
2answers
306 views
At what point and how should I change the license/Copyright notice when I create a derivative?
If I take a piece of software that is licensed as MIT (quoted at the end), and use it as a scaffold to create for my own thing, do I need to keep including the old license perpetually? This would seem ...
7
votes
2answers
3k views
Copyright in copyleft licence?
Is the copyright mentioned in GPL v3 used just for the sake of defining the word? (It's not copyrighted, but the word encompasses the same actions that would violate the copyright if it was ...
7
votes
1answer
210 views
Advantage in being first to copyleft a new algorithm?
Say I have created a new (DSP) algorithm. Will I have some advantage if I open source the algorithm under copyleft licence (GPL etc.)? From what I know about licensing this should lock people out from ...
7
votes
1answer
895 views
Can I bundle Apache 2.0 licensed components in a GPL 3 licensed project?
I am creating a project that I would like to open source and license under the GPL 3 License. The project will come with a bundled version of an open source component which is licensed under the ...
4
votes
1answer
209 views
Enforcing GPL without copyright
From what I understand the GPL license can only be enforced by the copyright holder.
Therefore, given a scenario like this:
A developer finds an abandoned software project licensed under GPL.
S/he ...
4
votes
1answer
114 views
How to enforce GPL if the copyright holder doesn't have access to the source code of violating software?
I'd like to publish a C library project that I have written on GitHub and license it under GPL, so I am doing some research on open source licenses and some confusion comes to mind.
Let's say Evil ...
4
votes
1answer
270 views
What are the rules for selling my own software that includes other GPLv2 software
I've programmed some software that i wish to sell. BUT i want to sell it "complete" by which i mean as a complete image to be written onto a SD Card (for Raspberry Pi). This means that with my ...
4
votes
1answer
139 views
GPL v3 - Do I need to show passwords and secure keys in source
I'm developing in Python using Qt5 (PyQt5), which uses GPL v3 (http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.txt).
I understand I need to make the source available, but if I create a separate file secret.py ...
3
votes
2answers
93 views
Can I use GPLv3 license in my project even if I am below 18 years old
My question is can I license my Game project with GPLv3 and have my name right of the copyright notice even if I am below 18?
3
votes
2answers
202 views
Does Github's License Grant clause in the ToS make one legally liable?
The popular Git Repository hosting service used by many open-source projects Github recently adopted a new Terms of Service.
I am puzzled by the implications of the License Grant Section. Which is ...
3
votes
1answer
104 views
What are the potential legal consequences for a company that has GPL violations?
In the news recently was that the smartphone company Xiaomi has not released the kernel source code for its Android phone that has been on the market for over 3 months. Since Android is based on the ...
3
votes
1answer
72 views
GPL: Does changing makefiles and configurations considered as “modifications”?
I know that editing GPL source code is considered as a "modification", which means all the copyleft rules apply.
However, most software includes configuration files and makefiles which you can tweak ...
3
votes
2answers
326 views
Is it legal for manufacturers to lock bootloaders on Android phones?
Some backgroud :
A bootloader is a very low level piece of software that runs first and loads an operating system of some other tool. On a lot of new Android devices the bootloader is "locked", that ...
3
votes
2answers
200 views
Howto correctly attribute GPL material in GPL software?
If one integrates content (code, fonts, etc.) that is published under GPL in a software application that is published under GPL as well, how to correctly attribute the authors of the integrated parts?
...
3
votes
2answers
157 views
How does GPL v3 work?
I want to use the GPL v3 version of EXT JS for a project, but I'm very confused about how it should be used and whether or not I should get the paid version. I'm seeing different answers on the net so ...
2
votes
2answers
846 views
Are all GPL Licensed projects free to use for commercial use even if they appear to be paid content?
I having a few issues understanding how sites like gpldl.com can call themselves legal. This is basically a site where they purchase themes/plugins from developers such as:
WooThemes
iThemes
Gravity ...
2
votes
2answers
113 views
Can I use a GPL in a closed-source program by having a very large download file and a very small download speed?
Let's say I manage to expand (opposite of compress in this context) the source code of a GPL-derivative I made to an unusually large amount that is nearly impossible to download (let's say a ...
2
votes
1answer
338 views
Does AGPL 3 requeired to give free services
I found the following lines about AGPL3 and I am not sure about the correct way to interpret it.
Does AGPL3 oblige me to give my cloud services that connected to the app for free or is it only the ...
2
votes
3answers
344 views
Is there a loophole in the GPL allowing binary-only distribution?
I asked this question a long time ago here, which was the wrong place, and got a bunch of conflicting answers from a bunch of non-lawyers.
I'm hoping for a more definitive answer here, ideally from ...
2
votes
2answers
167 views
Is it a GPLv3 violation for a project to charge a fee for downloading binaries?
Is it a GPLv3 violation for a project to charge a fee for downloading binaries?
Concretely I am wondering about this case: http://moodeaudio.org/
The project is clearly licenced under GPLv3 as stated ...
2
votes
2answers
77 views
Does utilizing “copyleft” programs like git and gcc imply that the output has to be under the same license?
GPL v2.0 states the following as git's license:
b) You must cause any work that you distribute or publish, that in whole or in part contains or is derived from the Program or any part thereof, to ...
2
votes
2answers
180 views
GPL Licensed code as separate process
We are going to use a GPL licensed application as separate process inside a docker. So here's how it works:
Main app ships to client, it doesn't have any GPL code. Does have lots of things and ...
2
votes
1answer
129 views
Can I use my own Open Source code in commercial software I'm writing?
If I release some code that I wrote myself with an Open Source license (a WordPress plugin with the GPL2 license, https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.html), can I then use my own code in commercial ...
2
votes
1answer
68 views
Websites using GPL-licensed libraries
If a customer of yours pays you to develop a website (not to buy it, so he doesn't receive a copy of the software), the website uses GPL libraries or frameworks, and the site is installed in a server ...
2
votes
1answer
193 views
CopyFree, LGPL & GPL: is Closed Source Possible?
I am working on building an app for desktop deployment. I am using an open-source platform that, for the purposes of this question, can be considered to use a CopyFree license. That platform itself ...
2
votes
3answers
1k views
Use an image under GNU/GPL in a commercial application
We are currently developing a commercial application. We found some images(icons) which are under GNU/GPL license.
I'm not an expert in this kind of things, but I was wondering if it is legal to use ...
2
votes
1answer
151 views
Contribution terms for an LGPL Licensed Project
Background: I am making contributions to a certain project which is released under LGPL and also under a commercial license.
According to the terms of contribution in the project by doing so I am ...
2
votes
1answer
83 views
GPL and private sale
If a company sells a device containing GPL licensed code they need to provide the source code when asked.
Does this apply to private sales, e.g. if I sell an used device that I bought on ebay, would ...
2
votes
1answer
2k views
Using R packages for commercial use
I have produced a couple of wordclouds and charts using packages in R. Is it ok to use Wordcloud and ggplot2 packages (they are licenced under GPL and LGPL) commercially for producing documents and ...
2
votes
1answer
118 views
Problem About GPL Licence And WordPress Products
I copied following answer from this question.
Since WordPress is GPL code, all code publicly distributed must also
be licensed either as GPL, or GPL compatible.
The GPL states you cannot ...
2
votes
1answer
52 views
Usage of gplv3 software to deliver output
a little confused about something here.
Specifically I want to talk about Neo4j and it's licensing.
It's a dual license, GPLv3/AGPLv3, and I want to find out exactly what that's supposed to mean ...
2
votes
2answers
386 views
Does FFmpeg LGPL license apply in case if application is using FFmpeg via CLI
Does FFmpeg LGPL license applies when FFmpeg is being used from my application as an external tool, which is being called via command line interface? I do not compile, modify or even include FFmpeg ...
2
votes
1answer
86 views
Does the acceptance of a software licence constitute a contract? Can such a contract be closed without using said software?
This question revolves around the (unresolved) question in the open source community, whether "dynamic linking" against a GPL-licensed library requires your software to be GPL-licensed, as well. I ...
1
vote
2answers
32 views
Copyright holder and license of the output files produced by a libre software
Consider for example the libre software LAMMPS, which uses GNU General Public License. The user writes an input file. Then the software performs some calculations based on the instructions in the ...
1
vote
1answer
794 views
Is it legal to rewrite a Java (OpenJDK) library into another programming language under GPL?
Is it legal for me to re-implement a Java library in another programming language under the GNU General Public License (GPL) version 2 (text)?
I would mimic their exact API (package, class, and ...
1
vote
1answer
96 views
Stolen code in a GPL repo
Quite an odd thing has happened. A software author as released a repo under GPL 3.0 license
But inside that repo is code that the author doesn't own in any way and has no license. Now when people fork ...
1
vote
2answers
45 views
Ownership of sites and smart contracts
If I am an owner of a site, I can place restrictions on its usage even if the site software is licensed under an open source license such as GPL or AGPL, right? Which law allows me to place such ...
1
vote
2answers
77 views
Do I have to adhere to my own software licences for them to remain enforceable?
I have written a software application and an accompanying software library. When users use this application, they will write code externally to it which also makes use of the software library. The ...
1
vote
1answer
89 views
Is the output of a generator tool copyrighted? [GPL3 and CC BY-SA 3.0]
I am developing a game right now and wanted to use character sprites created by a generator under a GPL and CC BY-SA 3.0 license.
In my understanding the GPL license does not cover the output of the ...
1
vote
1answer
33 views
Implications of changing terms of a free license (LGPL, Apache, MIT, Eclipse, etc) after I started using software on old terms
While creating my software (as a developer / startup owner) I rely on the fact that I can use some (software) library for free. I also rely on the fact that I can use it for commercial purpose and ...
1
vote
3answers
96 views
GPL-3.0's “Open-Sourceness”, Images and Image Formats
I took an SVG image from a set which is distributed under GPL-3.0 and used it as (a large) part of an icon I made to a software of mine, which is also distributed under GPL-3.0. So far, everything is ...
1
vote
1answer
225 views
Can I distribute the vtd-xml Java JAR (uses a GPLv2 license) with my commercial product and keep my product closed-source?
Can I distribute vtd-xml with my commercial product without having to share my source code?
I came across this article and now I'm really confused: https://opensource.com/law/14/7/lawsuit-threatens-...
1
vote
1answer
182 views
Are user-space programs designed for modified Linux kernels considered derived works under GPLv2?
The Linux kernel is distributed under the GPLv2 and it seems generally accepted that "user-space programs that use the standard
system call interfaces aren't considered derived works" as stated by ...
1
vote
1answer
114 views
Would an automatic download for LGPL libraries be permittable under LGPLv3?
Disclaimer: I am not a native English speaker NOR am I versed in the law beyond the basics you learn in highschool-/uni-courses.
I am writing a software which uses LGPL licensed libraries. From ...
1
vote
1answer
956 views
MySQL Open Source License
I plan to develop and sell a commercial, closed source application and I want to use MySQL to store data.
The application will be written in C++ and the MySQL server will be installed on end user's ...
1
vote
1answer
140 views
GPL - Do I have to distribute the source of my changes?
I will be creating a piece of (probably) commercial closed source software. It will be a web game. I hope to use some software that is GPL licensed, like nodejs or express(js). If I make minor changes ...
1
vote
0answers
63 views
Asking for the unencrypted version of a file in an open-source project?
Let's say that an open-source project, such as a GNU GPL one, uses git-crypt and has added private, encrypted files, such as ssh private keys to the committed git repository.
Wouldn't John Doe be in ...
1
vote
0answers
36 views
GNU application in work other than software
As we know, GPL is intended especially for software products, but it may be used for any work if the creator thinks it is OK.
If the original work and a modified work are both software, I see no ...
1
vote
0answers
82 views
Does the GNU Affero GPL help to protect against closed source if the application is run on a remote server?
Edit
The point is that my application does not involve network interaction and so won't do any modifications to it. Instead it provides an interface for receiving local input (e.g. a file) and ...
