Questions tagged [license-compatibility]
License compatibility is the comparison of two or more licenses to determine if certain usages and actions can be made. Use this tag if the question would like to determine the compatibility of licenses, or their individual clauses.
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Can there be a copyright on negative code?
This is a hypothetical question, but I am curious. Feel free to ignore it, when it seems too theoretical for you.
Some people may know the situation that you implement a feature and in the end you ...
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Combining code written under different licenses (Eiffel Forum License, MIT and Apache), what are my options?
So I'm new to all this licensing jazz, and I've just started work on a project I'd like to one day publish as open source.
I've found a couple of projects so far that have code to accomplish stuff ...
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If I'm using a GPL 3 library in my project, can I license my project under MIT license?
If I'm using a library that is licensed under GPL v3 in my project, can I license my project under the MIT license? I tried to read the GPL v3 text but I cannot understand it without your assistance.
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Does a host application's license apply to plug-ins written for it?
This was prompted by another question which reminded of a past experience.
Consider the following:
An open-source project supports a plug-in architecture
The project is released under a copyleft ...
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64
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3
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How can I determine if two open source licenses are compatible with each other?
Given two open source projects, each with different licenses, are there metrics or resources I can use to determine if it is legitimate to copy code from one of the projects to the other?
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2
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Can I license Python project under 3-clause BSD while it has GPL-based dependencies
I'm working on an open source Python project and we have plans to use GPLv2-licensed library python3-xlib, but we will not distribute it with our library. So user can install it by pip install our-lib ...
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4
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Linking from LGPL 2.1 software to Apache 2.0 library
The FSF claims that GPL v2 is incompatible with Apache 2.0 and that linking to a library generally creates a derivative work of this library.
However, the linking exception of the LGPL allows ...
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36
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6
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Can I copy-paste a snippet from Stack Overflow into my GNU-GPL project?
I have found on Stack Overflow a 10-lines block of code that does exactly what I want.
There is no license information in the post nor on the answerer's profile page, so the CC BY-SA 3.0 license of ...
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18
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1
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GPL V3 with OpenSSL Exception
I've decided to license some code I have yet to release under the GPL v3. However, OpenSSL is used quite a bit in the software and I know that the two licenses are explicitly cited as being ...
user3570
11
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2
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What counts as adaptation for using code licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 in software licensed under GPLv3?
Since 2015-10-08, GPLv3 is listed as one-way compatible license for CC BY-SA 4.0:
[…] you may license your contributions to adaptations of BY-SA 4.0 materials under GPLv3, but you may not license ...
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Adding feature to an Apache v2 package
I'm working on one npm package based on another one but with another approach, this package is licenced under Apache v2 and I want to use MIT. After some use of my package I've noticed I need to use ...
6
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1
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Using CC-BY-SA images in a CC-BY-NC-SA document
I am creating a presentation that includes some unmodified images licensed under either CC-BY, CC-BY-SA version 2.0, 3.0 or 4.0 (no CC-BY-SA 4.0) and some public domain images. They are all attributed....
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GPL Application <-> LGPL Plugin <-> Properietary code
I would like to explicitly consider possibility of having either of
Fig.1:
(1-A) A GPL application with dlopen-based plugin system.
(1-B) LGPL plugin for application (1-A), that is linked to (1-C)
(...
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Must CC BY-SA be included for ideas and code taken from Stack Overflow?
I'm still unclear about licensing. If I have a project on Github that's licensed under GPL and found pseudocode on a Stack Overflow question, must I now dual license my code on Github and GPL as ...
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How could I copyleft a document that contains a substantial amount of both code and prose?
I am writing a document in LaTeX that contains large sections of Python code and output. Typically, I like to license my writing under CC BY-SA 4.0 and my code under GPLv3. I have already placed a CC ...
2
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BSD-3, third clause clarification
Neither the name of the [organization] nor the names of its contributors may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software without specific prior written permission.
What's this ...
2
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3
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Proprietary resources in GPLv3 project
Can a GPL project use proprietary resources (icons) as part of it? What I mean is that if it is possible that there is a repository covered by a GPL license that has a build script that downloads ...
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4
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Can I use my own GPL'ed code in my closed source program?
Let's say that program A was made by me, with me being the sole copyright holder. If I license this program under the GPL-3.0, can I use that program in program B that is closed source?
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9
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Can I modify an open source license to require that I be notified?
I often use the MIT license for my projects.
But recently I've had the thought that I really would like to be notified if someone forked my software, whether it's for personal use, released or not I ...
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Copyfree Open Innovation License compatibility
I'm interested in the Copyfree Open Innovation License as a simpler alternative to Apache 2.0 (it is a permissive license with an explicit patent grant). But because it's not so popular, not much ...
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Can I link a Apache 2.0 library into software under GPLv2?
The Apache 2.0 License has a built-in linking exception:
For the purposes of this License, Derivative Works shall not include works that remain separable from, or merely link (or bind by name) to ...
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Can I "upgrade" the version of CC BY-SA from 3.0 to 4.0 in my modification?
What I'm doing:
I'm adapting a work licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 Unported license to a different language.
I'm indicating the original work and its license.
I'm indicating that I have made changes to ...
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2
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How is the BSD GPL-compatible?
The BSD license says that derivative works may be distributed under the following conditions:
Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
modification, are permitted ...
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How to licence a project which includes MIT, BSD, Modified BSD, and New BSD libraries
I've been working on a project for a while, and I'm almost ready to release it, but I've been more concerned with getting it to build than legal considerations, and now I'm not at all sure where I ...
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Can I use GPL v3 for source code and CC BY-SA v3 for comments?
I have some source code for which I am the copyright holder. I want to release it under the GPL, but when it was closed source, I copied a bunch of a stuff from Wikipedia for a couple of classes and ...
user3570
11
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3
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Can I use a proprietary library in my GPL'd program?
The case of proprietary programs linking to GPL'd libraries has been discussed thoroughly. However the inverse case - a GPL'd program is linking to a proprietary library - is rarely mentioned.
...
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3
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Which license can protect a software to be distribute without changes under a different name?
I'm looking for a license that fit in the following points:
Software source code will be public so anyone can read it or use it.
Anyone can contribute or add modifications to the source code (pull ...
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8
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1
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347
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Dual license compatibility
Suppose I place work I publish under two licenses.
If the two have conflicting attributes which property should be used.
Can you specify which properties you want two be applied from the two licenses?...
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Can your MIT library use an LGPL library?
If you use a library with LGPL 2.1 license (e.g., PHPMailer) in your also open source library, can you release your library as MIT license if you didn't actually modify PHPMailer?
E.g., All you did ...
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Can an interpreted program be under any license without restricted by its GPL'ed run-time environment?
If I write a run-time environment based on some GPL'ed libraries
and separately write an program interpreter which is passively used by the run-time environment, can a program (which is intended to be ...
user7109
5
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1
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953
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Release code with MIT dependencies under GPL
I am creating a game and want to release the code under a copyleft license (GPL 2 or 3).
So far, so good, but there are multiple MIT-licensed library dependencies.
Can I still release my code under ...
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Meaning of "and" and "additionally" connectors with two Open Source licenses
[This question is an expansion of the question "Meaning of OFL and GPL" because of
limits on the number of characters in comment-responses].
I am unsure of the meaning of the terms "and" and "...
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Am I allowed to use QtCreator while working for a company, if I'm using LGPL?
On Qt Modules and Tools for Designers and Developers
if I choose LGPL then under Development Tools I see QtCreator is disabled.
And
LGPL v3: With LGPLv3 license option you can use the essential ...
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Can I use a library that is dual licensed GPL + LGPL as if it was only LGPL?
PaGMO 2 includes both GPL and LGPL in their copyright notices:
Copyright 2017-2018 PaGMO development team
This file is part of the PaGMO library.
The PaGMO library is free software; you can ...
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1
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Incorporating GPL patches into commercial version of our software
If we distribute our software both GPL and under a commercial license, do we have the right to incorporate third party patches into the commercial version of our software?
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1
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Publishing an application on play store....licenses and royalties doubts
I've built an Android application in Kotlin, and it uses these libraries :
...
implementation "androidx.camera:camera-core:${camerax_version}"
implementation "androidx.camera:...
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Are permissive licenses (MIT/BSD/zlib) compatible with CC-BY?
Permissive licenses like MIT only require that you include the license text if you redistribute.
CC licenses that have the BY part require that the original authors are attributed, but in flexible ...
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Why is GPLv2 incompatible with GPLv3?
As I understood in this wonderful answer, GPLv3 and GPLv2 code can't be used simultanously in the same product.
Why?
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5
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Are CDDL and GPL really incompatible?
Wikipedia seems to suggest that CDDL and GPL are incompatible, yet no one knows for sure why or how.
Why and how are the CDDL and GPL are incompatible?
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Is Stack Exchange's CC-BY-SA v3.0 content compatible with the GPL?
Currently, all user submitted content is licensed under "cc by-sa 3.0 with attribution required". This shows up at the bottom of each page:
user contributions licensed under cc by-sa 3.0 ...
user756
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4
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Are licenses affected if the author adds conflicting clauses alongside?
I see this one quite a lot: an author releases something under a standard free/open license (i.e. not a crayon license), but on the same release page adds a clause that conflicts with the license. I.e....
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Can I have one license cover part of a software and another covering the other half?
Scenario:
Lets say I have a software I have been developing. I am about to release it but I first have to apply some licenses.
Question:
Suppose I want to release part of the software (the code) ...
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11
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Can software licenced in Eclipse Public Licence be used in a project with GPL?
JUnit is licenced under Eclipse Public Licence which, according to Wikipedia, is incompatible with GPL. So does this mean if you’re working on a project licenced with GPL you can’t use JUnit? It's too ...
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Remove BSD LICENSE file while importing code into GPL project
Can LICENSE file be removed from 3rd party BSD project that is merged with GPLed code? There are license headers in each file, but files will be modified, so BSD license in them will no longer be ...
10
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3
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Can I use CodeProject code in a GPL project?
I have an open-source project that I originally wanted to license under MIT, but since I'm using a GPLv3 component that I can't quite get rid of (namely, the .g4 ANTLR grammar file that I'm using to ...
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Including untouched LGPL library in a MIT-licenced project
Can I include a library licenced under LGPL 2.1 in an MIT-licenced project without any legal problems?
Since it's not a compiled language, I would provide the full untouched source code of the ...
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Shipping GPL'd binaries in commercial product
I've read lots of discussion on shipping commercial products that link against GPLv2/3 libraries, and products that include code from GPLv2/3 software. But I haven't been able to satisfactorily answer ...
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Can I copy code licensed under Apache 2 to a project licensed under MIT? [duplicate]
I found a useful class in a project that is licensed under Apache 2.0. Can I copy it to a project licensed under MIT license? Add the library as dependency is not an option.
Ideally the answer should ...
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Compatibility between EPL and LGPL
I'm using LGPL binaries, as well as EPL binaries for my open source project. Is this OK? And if yes, does that mean I should license my project under LGPL?
The binaries are being used as dependencies ...
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Why does the clause 3 of 4-clause BSD makes it incompatible with GPL?
As explained on the GNU GPL site, the 4-clause BSD is incompatible with GPL because of the clause 3 which states:
All advertising materials mentioning features or use of this software
must ...
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