GPL Question

  • Thread starter Thread starter george
  • Start date Start date
If a software is distributed under GPL, can you use it for commercial
Yes, that is allowed.
Click to expand...

My understanding is that you can't distribute your own work that uses
GPL stuff unless you also put it under GPL.

This pretty much rules it out for commercial usage.
 
Bernd said:
It is free software, you can use, copy, distribute (sell) and modify it
freely as long as you don't change the licence (and credits).
Click to expand...

True, but there still appears to be a sting in the tail, taken from:
http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/msg00011.html

which has implications in http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html:

6. Each time you redistribute the Program (or any work based on the
Program), the recipient automatically receives a license from the
original licensor to copy, distribute or modify the Program subject to
these [GPL] terms and conditions. You may not impose any further
restrictions on the recipients' exercise of the rights granted herein.
You are not responsible for enforcing compliance by third parties to
this License.


So my interpretation is (and feel free to disagree, I'm not a lawyer),
if you write something that uses GPL software, then you are creating a
work based on GPL software. This being the case, your software must be
licensed under GPL.

I think that most commercial software suppliers would find this
unacceptable.
 
george said:
If a software is distributed under GPL, can you use it for commercial
purposes?
Click to expand...

It is free software, you can use, copy, distribute (sell) and modify it
freely as long as you don't change the licence (and credits).


Ciao,
Bernd
 
Mark Carter scribebat:
My understanding is that you can't distribute your own work that uses
GPL stuff unless you also put it under GPL.
Click to expand...
If you are creating a *software* by using source code that is put under
the GPL, than you are forced to put it under the GPL yourself.

But that does not forbid you to use GPLed software in a commercial
environment, you can even make money with it, as can be seen by MySQL or
the diverse linux-distributors.
This pretty much rules it out for commercial usage.
Click to expand...

That is not completely true. If you want to write a program and sell it
the traditional way, that becomes difficult. In that case your statement
is true. But, when paid for the programming itself or support you can
make money with GPLed software.

Not to forget that most people using software are not programmers. And
you definitely can use GPLed software for commercial purposes; for
example, a company could use AbiWord as its primary word processor and
create its data backups using GNU tar.
 
My understanding is that you can't distribute your own work that
uses GPL stuff unless you also put it under GPL.
Click to expand...

That's true, part of the "copyleft" stuff in the GPL. You can sell
it, but when you give it to someone (as part of a sale or not) you
have to give it to them with source and under the GPL. As you said,
most commercial software suppliers find it unacceptable, but others
build their business models on it, usually by selling support
contracts for the software.

As of now, anyone can let people use modified GPLed software via a
'net interface without giving them the source or granting them the
GPL licence for it. (I imagine Google does this, though I don't
know.) That may not be permissible under the ever-elusive GPL 3.
 
Mark said:
True, but there still appears to be a sting in the tail, taken from:
http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/msg00011.html


which has implications in http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html:
Click to expand...

That is obvious and not a sting in the tail - it is fair. I give my code
for you to use only if you will do it the same way.
So my interpretation is (and feel free to disagree, I'm not a lawyer),
if you write something that uses GPL software, then you are creating a
work based on GPL software. This being the case, your software must be
licensed under GPL.
Click to expand...
I wrote so (similiar to modifying). But IMHO your term "uses" is not
correct. You can create non GPL programs using gcc.
I think that most commercial software suppliers would find this
unacceptable.
Click to expand...
Sometimes yes (Microsoft), sometimes not (Novell, IBM ...). I try to use
only free software and for me it works.

OP was asking, if GPL software _can_ be used for commercial purposes -
the answer is YES.

Ciao,
Bernd
 
Mark Carter wrote (in bad citation style):
My understanding is that you can't distribute your own work that uses
GPL stuff unless you also put it under GPL.
Click to expand...
Right, that is only fair - you can use others code if you allow the same
for your code - normally modifications are less complex than the code
they base on.

This pretty much rules it out for commercial usage.
Click to expand...
No, it does not.
There are many GPLed programs sold for money although the code is
available (e.g. pdf2html, winex ... last not least linux distributions).

Commercial use of GPL-software is possible, so the right answer is YES.

Ciao,
Bernd
 
6. Each time you redistribute the Program (or any work based on the
Program), the recipient automatically receives a license from the
original licensor to copy, distribute or modify the Program subject to
these [GPL] terms and conditions. You may not impose any further
restrictions on the recipients' exercise of the rights granted herein.
You are not responsible for enforcing compliance by third parties to
this License.


So my interpretation is (and feel free to disagree, I'm not a lawyer),
if you write something that uses GPL software, then you are creating a
work based on GPL software. This being the case, your software must be
licensed under GPL.
Click to expand...

If you mingle GPL code with yours, you must distribute the co-mingled
code under the GPL. If you link libraries that are GPL, your
application must be distributed under GPL. If you link libraries that
are LGPL, you do not have to distribute your code under GPL. If you do
not distribute the application, but only use it internally, you don't
have to worry about GPL.

But no matter how you use it, if you find any bugs, please notify the
maintainers so they can be fixed.
I think that most commercial software suppliers would find this
unacceptable.
Click to expand...

Only those that expect to get something for nothing, as Microsoft did
with the BSD network code and applications. (A search on C: for the
copyright text "Regents of the University" shows several instances
where they "borrowed" that code.) As mentioned elsewhere in this
thread, many companies are quite happily using GPL components with
their applications.

Bob McConnell
N2SPP
 
It is free software, you can use, copy, distribute (sell) and modify it
freely as long as you don't change the licence (and credits).
Click to expand...

I think you are right. There might be a misunderstanding about "use it for
commercial purposes," here.

Can you use MySQL in your business? Yes.

Can you rip the code and sell that? Not likely, but one is born every minute, so
the saying goes. I think the OP was referring to using open license softwares in
a private business, rather that manipulating the code.
 
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