Questions tagged [freedoms]

For questions that deals with freedoms normally provided and/or guaranteed by Free and Open Software.

Filter by
Sorted by
Tagged with
-1 votes
1 answer
88 views

If I make extensive changes to open source software and open source my changes, can I charge for commercial use of the derived work?

Many of my original nonderived projects are on GitHub and some projects are licenced under BSD, MIT or GPL. They use languages like Python, C and Java. If I wanted to create a new product that was ...
Samuel Squire's user avatar
-2 votes
1 answer
109 views

Is this license compatible with LGPL? [duplicate]

https://github.com/asianirish/common-potato/blob/master/LICENSE.txt The text of the license: You can use this code freely as long as you completely agree with the text of this license and include this ...
asianirish's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
128 views

What does Richard Stallman refer to when he talks about a PS3 compelled update?

I am watching this address by Richard Stallman at TEDxGeneva 2014. At minute 5:04, it talks about a compelled PS3 update. Sony, he said, compelled the users to update their PS3 system, threatening ...
robertspierre's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
130 views

Is there a more radical approach against copyright than copyleft?

Up until recently I thought that copyleft supporters totally reject the concepts of copyright and content licensing but now I know that they don't totally reject these and their main goal is to ...
Guestoshmesto's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
226 views

Is it a violation of the GPL (or any other license) for Linux images on Azure to have 'plans' associated with them in all future copies?

Some images on Azure are 'supported' via a 'plan' (see for example https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-machines/windows/cli-ps-findimage). See for example: https://azuremarketplace....
Bruce Adams's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
197 views

Are there examples of the free software which are available to run and copy as gratis but source code is being sold?

Think of the software which is being distributed in following way: Available to download gratis and giving the freedom to run the software for any purpose as you wish, the freedom to redistribute ...
Pandya's user avatar
  • 2,062
1 vote
1 answer
87 views

Do the GNU Rules about Nonfree Javascript apply to Server-Side JS?

The page The Javascript Trap describes guidelines for making JS code free/libre. I know that this is considered mandatory in web pages, but do the same rules apply to server-side JS? For example, do I ...
sugarfi's user avatar
  • 330
10 votes
7 answers
8k views

Is my software still "free" if I charge for its commercial use and not for non-commercial use?

"If you plan to use [some software] on a commercial basis, you must separately purchase a commercial-use license" [1] Assuming the commercial-use and non-commercial use licenses for my software both ...
Amelia's user avatar
  • 211
2 votes
1 answer
1k views

Why is the ath10k driver nonfree if it ships with Linux?

I was recently attempting to install Debian, and I noticed it said that my wifi card (a Qualcomm Atheros QCA6174) required nonfree drivers. I was able to find the firmware for these, which turned out ...
sugarfi's user avatar
  • 330
1 vote
1 answer
120 views

Does GPLv2 allow for prohibiting misrepresentation of the origin

I am a maintainer of dosbox-staging project, which is licensed using GPLv2+. I am considering bundling DOS/32A with my project (as it greatly helps with the emulation of old DOS software). DOS32/A is ...
Patryk Obara's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
171 views

Is declaring something one made as "free software" legally binding?

I used an unfree license, but I made a copy paste mistake, declaring that the licnesed stuff is "free software". Is that legally binding = does it grant the licensee the three fos freedoms? Here the ...
KGM's user avatar
  • 197
-2 votes
1 answer
81 views

if I include source code with my commercial software, how much will that hurt the height of its sales?

i have an unreleased product i believe to be of great commercial value due to its algorithms. in the future, i intend to do four things in this order: release the source of the software to customers ...
user avatar
8 votes
3 answers
498 views

Can a free software (as in free speech) be not free (as in free beer)?

I was a bit puzzled when I read the description of Notepad++: Notepad++ is a free (as in "free speech" and also as in "free beer") source code editor It seems to give room to the possibility that ...
luchonacho's user avatar
-1 votes
3 answers
207 views

Free like free to do what I know and like best - write software? [closed]

Preamble Since this question is behind each second question concerning 'free software', please don't vote to close it. I don't want to discuss it with philosophers or economists or ask it on Yahoo. I ...
staeppvargen's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
289 views

AGPL-like license for datasets

Is anyone aware of (work towards) a license with similar freedom-preserving restrictions as the AGPL, which can be applied to datasets? Some background: The GPL puts restrictions on the legally ...
wires's user avatar
  • 141
5 votes
2 answers
200 views

Are there consequences of publishing software under a free or open source license?

When you publish software under a free or open source license, you are granting users certain freedoms. With that, it stands within reason there are certain consequences and liabilities, just as there ...
kdopen's user avatar
  • 6,917
19 votes
4 answers
7k views

What is the difference between free as in beer and free as in speech?

In open source the term "free" is often used, sometimes with a qualifier, "free as in beer" or "free as in speech". What is meant with these qualifications?
Martijn's user avatar
  • 9,286
10 votes
1 answer
322 views

How can I make a customer understand that free software involves some costs? [closed]

A common misunderstanding is that free software (replace the terms with "open source software" as you wish) will never involve costs. While this might be indeed true regarding you don't need to pay ...
Jens Erat's user avatar
  • 289