Questions tagged [license]
This tag is used for concerns about licenses to software and what rights one grants.
152
questions
0
votes
1answer
12 views
I previously released a work under GPL, can I release the same work under another license?
Some time ago, I wrote a small program to automate a simple task. At the time, I released the program under the GPL license. I'm the sole author of the work and it was not created for hire (I was not ...
1
vote
1answer
31 views
Do I have to ship a LGPL library as a whole?
I plan on using a LGPL licenced library for my work (my projecte will be MIT). I only use a subset of the library files though, since I plan on statically linking the library.
Do I have to provide the ...
2
votes
1answer
36 views
Package that includes a library file with non-commercial license
We are trying to use a package released by a commercial entity for use with one of their reporting software. I think it was closed source at one point then they converted it to a "Community" ...
2
votes
2answers
37 views
Using GNU General Public Licensed code in an MIT Licensed application
I am developing a GUI Java-based application using swing and am thinking of using the MIT license, though when reading the licenses stated in the components of java swing I see that they are licensed ...
1
vote
0answers
27 views
What are the restrictions for software licenses if I use source code from the Java documentation?
I plan to use source code from Oracles Java documentation, which contains the following license information. Since I'm not used to publishing my code, but I have to this time, I have no idea of the ...
3
votes
2answers
61 views
What is the appropriate license that I should pick for my software?
We are making use of the following tools in our software, and not modified any of these tools. Tools 1-3 are used directly in my software. Tool 4 is used for reference, but included as part of our ...
3
votes
1answer
71 views
How do I pick the best suited license for my software?
I own a new software development company, and I developed some software that I want to sell in the future, but for now, I want to give it out free but still want my company accredited in some type of ...
3
votes
1answer
61 views
Licensing a library under the MPL
The Mozilla Public License 2.0 is a license that specifically allows you to include source code licensed under it, in any program without restrictions, provided users are given a copy of the MPL-...
6
votes
3answers
2k views
Which licence(s) is Automotive Grade Linux (AGL) using?
I found Automotive Grade Linux , which is an open-source project based on Linux for automotive applications. This (German) news article says that you have to pay money to be a member of AGL. However, ...
0
votes
2answers
68 views
What are the *restrictions* in permissive licenses like MIT or Apache 2.0?
If I (or a company where I work) use a source code part from an open source project licensed under a permissive license like MIT or Apache 2.0 it is clear I can modify, edit etc it.
What is not clear ...
2
votes
2answers
71 views
Change of version of Dependency: Does it constitute a Derivative Work?
We are building a product with 100s of OSS dependencies. We want to fully comply with the OSS license terms.
Let's assume our product has a direct dependency "DDep_v1" under MPL-2.0 license, ...
0
votes
1answer
23 views
License for R Package in GitHub [duplicate]
I would like to ask a question about package licenses in R. I have a package in R (in GitHub), and I offer a course on how to use it, as well as other topics in my professional field, which have been ...
0
votes
0answers
15 views
Distribute Nexus OSS with custom software
Nexus OSS is distributed using the Eclipse Public License.
The Sencha Ext JS component belonging to Nexus OSS is licensed under GPL v3.
Nexus Repository OSS is distributed with Sencha Ext JS pursuant ...
2
votes
2answers
40 views
CC BY-NC-SA "ShareAlike" (source vs binaries)
If I use and adapt a part from the source code of an open-source (Java) project Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA (3.0) into my project :
I know the "ShareAlike" requirement means I'll have to ...
3
votes
2answers
374 views
Is GPL copyleft triggered by distribution alone?
Would distributing a commercial closed source application along with a GPLd standalone binary, which the closed source application calls trigger the requirement to license whole app under GPL? (For ...
1
vote
0answers
16 views
Setup file installs DLLs
I have a Windows Forms Project written in C++ CLI with MySQL Database integration. I have created a Setup File using INNO Setup but I need to include MySQL.Data.dll to deploy the application, so ...
2
votes
1answer
51 views
Can I redistribute to public domain a contribution I made to an MPL 2.0 licensed project?
I made a contribution to an MPL 2.0-licensed project a while ago. I am not the maintainer of this project, I don't own it and I'm not affiliated to it in any way (apart from this specific benevolent ...
1
vote
0answers
41 views
MIT license alternative with explicit trademark use protection [closed]
Do you know a license, if possible approved by the Open Source Initiative, that's very similar to the MIT license but has explicit trademark use protection like the MLP 2.0 license?
3
votes
1answer
39 views
Am I licensing this code correctly?
I am using icons from here for my web project.
This is the file I used for one of the icons:
<!--
This file was licenced under the following license:
MIT License
Copyright (c) 2020 Paweł Kuna
...
4
votes
1answer
411 views
If I use a lot of libraries with the exact same license, can I condense the required attributions and notices?
I'm developing a project that happens to use a lot of open-source third-party libraries by different authors. Most of these libraries use the same license (mostly MIT, with the occasional Apache or ...
0
votes
1answer
178 views
Commercial license required to build Python packages with Microsoft C++ build tools?
The developer life becomes incredibly complicated once you work in commercial companies. Recently, I ran into the problem that I wanted to install the Python packages turbodbc, sktime, and tslearn. ...
1
vote
1answer
42 views
Should the license header be preceded by the copyright holder?
I'm open sourcing a proprietary codebase (license TBD, probably Apache) were all files have the header:
Copyright <company name>. All rights reserved.
Should this line be preserved in addition ...
0
votes
1answer
27 views
Separately licensing source code and website content
I am fairly new to actual open source licensing, since I usually just add the Unlicense to all my Github repositories, just to have it completely permissive for everyone.
I recently started a small ...
1
vote
1answer
39 views
MIT License for a translation
There's a software called vnpy on github that's in chinese.
We have a translated copy to english. The goal is to keep their MIT license but just for that code.
We're wondering: Should we make a ...
-1
votes
1answer
91 views
Can I distribute my program under LGPL if it has a password identification mechanism?
So I'm making an application which uses the python module PySide2 which is under LGPL. What I'm planning is to sell my program and make it non-distributable by making a unique password-identification ...
0
votes
1answer
76 views
Open Source license which allows only me for commercial use [duplicate]
I'm developing an application. I want to open source my application for non-commercial use in Github(I guess GPL v3). And I want to retain the rights to redistribute the same software with some ...
26
votes
4answers
5k views
Can an NDA block GPL freedom number 4?
Let's say a company modifies a GPLv3 software. All it's employees can use the modified software and have access to the modified source code.
The company's employees don't have the right to distribute ...
1
vote
1answer
59 views
Where can I find a final, authoritative, clear list of how to handle "license snippets" for common licenses?
I am looking for an authoritative, clear and up-to-date document on what exactly a person or an institution has to do for the so-called "license snippets"/"license notice" for ...
3
votes
1answer
49 views
MOZILLA PUBLIC LICENSE 1.1: Do I have to update all my source code files in a proprietary software project if I include a lib with MPL v1.1?
I am planning to use Hunspell lib which is under MOZILLA PUBLIC LICENSE 1.1 for proprietary software.
Here https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/MPL/1.1/ it says in 3.5. Required Notices: "You must ...
2
votes
1answer
43 views
GoogleSignIn license in my app's licenses list view
I made an app for iOS and before publication I have to make view, where I list all used 3rd party libraries licenses. Unfortunately, I cannot find license for GoogleSignIn SDK for iOS. This package is ...
1
vote
1answer
134 views
MongoDB's SSPL license: what does "offering as a service" actually mean?
I actually find MongoDB's SSPL license quite hard to understand, especially when thinking about what might constitute „offering MongoDB as a service“.
While I do understand that the primary intention ...
1
vote
0answers
94 views
Repository with no license declaration and a single contributor, who isn't the owner [closed]
I am in touch with the one contributor of this project. The owner seems to be absent and there is no license. The only contributor is the developer I am in touch with. Would all of the copyright go to ...
1
vote
1answer
28 views
How to manage multi-licensed components in a project
I am working on a commercial application that leverages several available components (spring, hibernate, etc.).
There are certain components that have multiple licenses associated with them.
All these ...
2
votes
1answer
67 views
Sign and distribute unmodified GNU GPLv2, MIT and Apache2 Linux packages
Software component under a custom open-source license requires certain third-party GPLv2, Apache2, and MIT Linux packages:
GPLv2 package is not part of the component but is usually used to integrate ...
18
votes
3answers
3k views
Is it possible that a future GPL version removes copyleft? [duplicate]
Let's imagine that for a reason the FSF publishes a new version of the GPL (v4) that would basically be a BSD license.
What would that entail for the code licensed under GPL v2 or v3 ?
I refer to the ...
1
vote
1answer
116 views
Redistribution of BSD source code
If I can access a source code with a BSD license, who, if anybody, do I need to ask permission to use/modify/commercialize/redistribute the code (under BSD license conditions)?
The BSD license allows ...
-3
votes
1answer
62 views
Is there a license to make your code open source, but at the same time for people not to be able to use the code? [closed]
I'm trying to make an app, and I'm actually serious about it. I'm using electron, so I know my source code is guaranteed to be leaked. I was thinking of making my app open source, but at the same time ...
1
vote
0answers
39 views
What is the difference between GPL classpath exception and linking exception?
So I read that OpenJDK is under the GPLv2 with linking exception. What is a Classpath exception and a linking exception? The JDK that I'm using(Amazon Corretto which is a build of OpenJDK) is under ...
-3
votes
1answer
176 views
Can you use code on GitHub for commercial purposes?
so I want to use the code in GitHub to help with my project, I don't sell the code or others I only need the output for my project. in the readme file, the project is built upon A, and B (other GitHub ...
3
votes
1answer
88 views
MIT license change own name as copyright holder
If I am the copyright holder of a project licensed under the MIT license, can I change the name in the copyright notice? For example after a name change or changing to/from a pseudonym.
Note that (...
1
vote
2answers
69 views
Multi-Licensing with open source licenses
When a project on GitHub uses two OS licenses, Apache/EPL or Apache/AGPL, does one license govern over the other or do both govern equally and together? My main confusion is how the two licenses ...
-1
votes
2answers
145 views
How to include licenses of dependencies in commercial closed-source proprietary software?
Our company is developing an enterprise application that is essentially a set of different applications (microservices). Some of these microservices are based on node.js while others are based on ...
2
votes
0answers
44 views
Which license is final for google's android play-services? ASL2.0 or Android SDK?
My android application has some com.google.android.gms.play-services-* libraries as dependencies. Let's take play-services-ads-19.7.0 as an example.
Google's maven page states, that license of that ...
1
vote
1answer
223 views
Is org.json a free/open source library?
github link: https://github.com/stleary/JSON-java
The license reads, "..The Software shall be used for Good, not Evil. ..."
There is also a hyperlink in overview of github link to https://en....
1
vote
1answer
69 views
Software license for game consoles?
I'm thinking about making my own video games and want them to be open source and on game consoles as well. I know that GPL is not an option because companies like Nintendo and Microsoft don't allow ...
2
votes
1answer
339 views
Can Microsoft legally release a version of Windows with the Linux kernel as a proprietary operating system?
Over the past few years, Microsoft has been increasingly endorsing the Linux Kernel. They allow running a stripped down version of GNU/Linux distros in Windows, and Microsoft Azure uses Linux nowadays....
2
votes
0answers
49 views
Is JavaFX fully open-source?
It's unclear to me whether all components that comprise JavaFX are open-source. Statements on this that I found around the web seem to be unclear too.
The official OpenJFX website seems to imply that ...
-1
votes
1answer
36 views
Modern Alternatives for the Common Public Attribution License
I am looking for a modern alternative or similar license to the Common Public Attribution License.
Here are some of the specific license attributions that I am looking for:
A requirement that the ...
2
votes
1answer
74 views
Explicit linkage of GCC STL source code in end user's code - GPLv3 + GCC runtime exception
My question is related to GPLv3 and GCC runtime exception. I need to include GCC source code in my project.
I am an author of an embedded library that is intended to be built using GCC C++ compiler ...
2
votes
1answer
68 views
Do I have to open source my app if I use unmodified API data licensed under CC-BY-SA 4.0
I'm working on a little Quiz App. To get questions I use Open Trivia DB
All data provided by the API is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
I have ...
