Questions tagged [gpl]
GNU General Public License
114
questions
0
votes
2
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236
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I believe [program] violates GPL, do I need to sue the author before using its source code?
Let's say there's a program ("ABC") which is licensed under GPL. There's a similar program ("CAD") on the market, which I believe is a modified ABC. It is therefore in violation of ...
- 2,953
2
votes
2
answers
254
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 ...
- 121
3
votes
2
answers
310
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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 ...
- 289
7
votes
2
answers
3k
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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 ...
- 79
0
votes
1
answer
69
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Can I get benefits of others' contributions to my GPL licensed software to use these contributions in my proprietary software?
I have my own code of a software, purely coded by me. I am intending to open source it, GPLv3 or Apache 2.0. Then I will add them to Github to let others get benefits of source code and contribute ...
- 11
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2
answers
87
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Can a company modify and use the source code of a GPLed library without selling it or releasing the modification?
I have a specific case here for which I could not find a clear answer here or on other pages. I am working for a company that is interested in using an open source code licensed under GPL v2.1. The ...
- 1
1
vote
1
answer
106
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"GPL version N or later"-licensed code and publishing an EULA as GPL v4
Oftentimes source code is licensed as "GPL version N or later". But what stops some company from taking their EULA, publishing it as GPL version 4 and happily using whatever code they want to use in a ...
- 121
-1
votes
1
answer
58
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Selling second hand and copyright
If I sell a bit of GPL'ed software I am required to provide source code, or an offer of same. This is based on the "distribution" clause of the GPL. According to this question, if I sell GPL'ed ...
- 827
2
votes
1
answer
121
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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 ...
- 318
2
votes
1
answer
66
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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 ...
- 121
1
vote
0
answers
70
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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 ...
- 111
3
votes
1
answer
397
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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 ...
- 131
1
vote
3
answers
226
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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 ...
- 111
1
vote
2
answers
57
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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 ...
- 161
0
votes
1
answer
81
views
Enforce GPL v3.0 with software modules
I develop a software that consists of a core application and several optional modules. I would like to license the core and all modules that were developed by me under the GPL v3.0. In addition to ...
- 111