The terms of usage and rules about copying are clearly listed in the gnu general. The gnu general public license is often called the gnu gpl for short. Such new versions will be similar in spirit to the present version, but may differ in detail to address new problems or concerns. The gpl is an example of a copyleft license that requires derived works to be available under the same. 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. This gcc runtime library exception exception is an additional permission under section 7 of the gnu general public license, version 3 gplv3. The fsf recommends at least compatible with gpl and preferably copyleft. An effort that started with the free software foundation fsf in 1991, its now a popular choice for open source projects. The gnu general public license gnu gpl or gpl is a series of widely used free software licenses that guarantee end. This general public license applies to most of the free software foundations software and to. Under this philosophy, the gpl grants the recipients of a computer program the rights of the. The gnu gpl allows users to change and share all versions of a program. The emacs general public license, a february 1988 version, a direct predecessor of the gnu gpl. Learn more about this license, and discover what can and cannot be done under it.
Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies of this license document, but changing it is not allowed. When distributing derived works, the source code of the work must be made available under the same license. We, the free software foundation, use the gnu general public license for most of our software. Gnu regression, econometrics and timeseries library gretl. 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. Gpl is provided through the free software foundation, a nonprofit corporation that works to provide free software for the gnu project. There are multiple variants of the gnu gpl, each with different requirements. Fsf releases the gnu general public license, version 3. Jun 29, 2007 the gnu general public license is a free, copyleft license for software and other kinds of works. 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.
This general public license applies to most of the free software foundations software and to any other program whose authors commit to using it. You should have received a copy of the gnu general public license along with this program. You can watch fsf president richard stallman announce the official release. Most of these packages however are available under the gnu general public license gnu gpl. This is a comparison of free and opensource software licenses. The gnu lesser general public license lgpl is a freesoftware license published by the free software foundation fsf. It is a freely distributed program for such tasks as photo retouching, image composition and image authoring. Qgis is a user friendly open source geographic information system gis licensed under the gnu general public license. Gnu public license article about gnu public license by. The gnu general public license, often shortened to gnu gpl or simply gpl, lists terms and conditions for copying, modifying and distributing free software.
The gnu gpl is the most widely used free software license and has a strong copyleft requirement. Common to all is that they are free to use without restrictions, may be modified and that modifications may be distributed. Also called gpl and gnu gpl, it was created to distribute the software of the. The free software foundation may publish revised andor new versions of the gnu lesser general public license from time to time. Since its introduction in 1997, gnupg is free software meaning that it respects your freedom. To make it free software, you need to release it under a free software license. Also add information on how to contact you by electronic and paper mail. Plantuml distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but. Explaining and understanding the gnu general public license gpl. Introduction gimp is an acronym for gnu image manipulation program. For instance, a fsf approval means that the free software foundation fsf considers a license to be free software license. Explaining and understanding the gnu general public license. The gpl is an example of a copyleft license that requires derived works to be available under the same copyleft. Gnu general public license general public license gnu general public licensea software license from the free software foundation fsf that ensures every user receives the essential freedoms that define free software, which is free of restrictions see free software.
Gnu general public license a software license from the free software foundation fsf that ensures every user receives the essential freedoms that define free software, which is free of restrictions see free software. I am looking for a software license that only allows noncommercial uses copy, modify, link to. Open source licenses grant permission for anybody to use, modify, and share licensed software for any purpose, subject to conditions preserving the provenance and openness of the software. It can be freely used, modified and distributed under the terms of the gnu general public license. It seems to me that the chief difference between the mit license and gpl is that the mit doesnt require modifications be open sourced whereas the. In the event you distribute code or a binary that includes code with one of these license, your obligations differ. 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. Gnu general public license version 2 open source initiative. When distributing derived works, the source code of the work. Can gpl licenced software be used in corporate environments.
This license, the gnu lesser general public license, applies to certain designated libraries, and is quite different from the ordinary general public license. Gnu affero general public license gnu project free. Blender is released under the gnu general public license gpl, or free software. Revised versions of the gnu lesser general public license. One of the benefits of becoming a corporate patron of the fsf is that you receive two complimentary hours of licensing andor gpl consultation from the fsfs compliance team with a reduced rate for further consultation. Then do i have to release my application under the gpl, or can i just supply the modified software under the gpls terms. Is a crossplatform software package for econometric analysis, written in the c programming language. The gnu affero general public license is a free, copyleft license for software and other kinds of works, specifically designed to ensure cooperation with the community in the case of network server software. Gnu lgpl information this library is free software. What are the key differences between the gnu general. See the gnu general public license for more details. Gimp about gimp gimp gnu image manipulation program. The fsf is a charity with a worldwide mission to advance software freedom.
We normally use the gnu general public license gnu gpl, specifying version 3 or any later version, but occasionally we use other free software licenses. Sharing or selling blender addons python scripts blenders python api is an integral part of the software, used to define the user interface or develop tools for example. Most gnu software, including some libraries, is covered by the ordinary gnu general public license. Gpg4win is free software and consist of several independently developed packages, available under different license conditions.
Gnu is composed wholly of free software, most of which is licensed under the gnu projects own general public license. You may redistribute it andor modify it under the terms of the gnu general public license as published by the free software foundation. Boston, massachusetts, usafriday, june 29, 2007the free software foundation fsf today released version 3 of the gnu general public license gnu gpl, the worlds most popular free software license. The following licenses are sorted by the number of conditions, from most gnu agplv3 to none unlicense. What if i modify some software that my application uses. Gnu lesser general public license version 3, 29 june 2007 copyright c 2007 free software foundation, inc. This license, commonly known as the gpl, has two versions that are actively and widely used in many open source communities. 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.
The main criteria for opensource software is the availability of its source code under one of the open source licenses. This license is based on gplv3 with a new requirement to ensure that users who interact with the software over a network can receive the source for that program. Gpl, or the gnu general public license, is an open source license meant for software. Top 10 gnu gpl license questions answered whitesource. The free software foundation today released the second discussion draft of the gnu affero general public license gnu agpl. Blender is released under the gnu general public license gpl, or free software this license grants people a number of freedoms. The licenses for most software and other practical works are. Permission is granted to copy, distribute andor modify this document under the terms of the gnu free documentation license, version 1. Wordpress is an open source software project, and a fierce believer in the values of the open web. By contrast, our general public license is intended to give everyone the right to share gnu emacs. The gnu general public license gpl is a free, copyleft license used primarily for software. Front page free software foundation working together for free software skip to content, sitemap or skip to search. Agpl is the affero general public license, a variation of the gpl that caters to programs that run on a server.
Gplcompatible software is software whose conditions of propagation, modification and use would permit combination with gcc in accord with the license of gcc. The gnu general public license gnu gpl or simply gpl is a widely used free software license, originally written by richard stallman for the gnu project. I can include mitlicensed code in a gpllicensed product, but can i include gpllicensed code in a mitlicensed product. The gnu gpl license therefore requires that such scripts if published are being shared under a gpl compatible license. The following licenses are in use for r or associated software such as packages. Nov 02, 2016 the gnu general public license exists to protect the liberties of software creators and users alike. In the case of the mit license, you are obligated to provide attribution with your code or binary e. What is gnu general public license gnu gpl or simply gpl. 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 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. Sep 03, 2018 gnu regression, econometrics and timeseries library. The licenses for most software and other practical works are designed to take away your freedom to share and change the works. See the download page for other maintained versions.
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. The gnu affero general public license is a free, copyleft license published by the free software foundation in november 2007, and based on the gnu general public license, version 3 and the affero general public license. The terms of usage and rules about copying are clearly listed in the gnu general public license. If software is licenced under a gpl license, can it be used without restriction in a corporatecommercial environment. Gnu general public license, version 2 spdx short identifier.
The gpl was created by richard stallman in order to protect gnu software from being made proprietary. The gnu, or general public license, is a free software license that offers users freedom to operate, study, share, and modify the software. The software that i am refering to is qgis which provides this description. Wordpress uses the gnu public license, which provides a platform for technical expansion and encourages adaptation and innovation. The gnu lesser general public license lgpl is a free software license published by the free software foundation fsf. Gnu general public license unofficial ubuntu wiki fandom. Gnu regression, econometrics and timeseries library. Historically, the gpl license family has been one of the most popular software licenses in the free and opensource software domain. If i use gpl software in my application, but dont modify or distribute it, do i have to release my application under the gpl. Comparison of free and opensource software licenses wikipedia. 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. 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.
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