Questions tagged [licensing]
Licensing refers to applying a license to an area of software. Only use this tag if your question concerns the application of a license to an area of interest. If your question concerns a specific license, use the tag that corresponds to your license. For more general questions, use this tag.
855
questions
4
votes
1answer
665 views
Do packages listed in a package.json file need to be documented individually?
I am trying to understand the general clause contained in most licenses that reads as follows
The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all
copies or substantial ...
7
votes
1answer
756 views
Do I need to license a Jupyter Notebook that uses a forked AGPL library?
I used an AGPL-licensed library for a data study, and am hoping to release and link to a Jupyter Notebook with my methodology. I was hoping to learn what license, if any, I would need to include with ...
4
votes
1answer
682 views
Licensing of configuration files that are technically code
I have created a piece of software that I have chosen to license under the GPL. Its configuration is technically also code. Are any run-time configuration files also licensed under GPL? Do I have to ...
2
votes
1answer
60 views
Can I license a program containing data from a video game?
Let's say I want to release a program, written in Java, that is a sort of encyclopedia containing data about a game. This program would contain images from the game, obtained via screenshot, and some ...
4
votes
2answers
1k views
Of the differences between the GPLv3 and the AGPLv3 texts: what to make of them?
When I review a side-by-side diff of the GPLv3 and the AGPLv3 the only significant change seems to me to be this addition in the section 13 of the AGPLv3:
Notwithstanding any other provision of ...
1
vote
1answer
214 views
Am I allowed to modify CameraSource.Builder of Android vision package?
I am trying to build my custom library for eye detection, tracking, blinking, smile etc. I am using below open samples instead of reinventing the wheel.
GooglyEyesActivity
CameraSource
The ...
-3
votes
1answer
221 views
Linux Licensing Questions
How do some real time vendors license Linux when it is already open source?
I have had a hard time finding licensing models for companies/distributions like Wind River Linux and RedHawk Linux.
4
votes
1answer
94 views
What is the proper etiquette for modifying a repo, then publishing it for an unrelated use?
I have cloned electron-quick-start, which is licensed as CC0 1.0 (Public Domain). It's purpose is to help new users to learn Electron. I used it as a scaffolding to make a utility app that I'm using ...
2
votes
1answer
78 views
Does an OpenSaaS company need to mention which software they are using for it?
I want to start an OpenSaaS software company for a software say WordPress. Something like Wordpress.com. Do I need to mention which software is being used behind the site, and what are the other ...
3
votes
1answer
125 views
Licensing a wrapper library
For the current open source I'm working on I need to create a Python package (that I'll be using as dependency) that wrap an existing C++ library released using Boost license.
I'll be shipping this ...
11
votes
3answers
5k views
AGPLv3 source redistribution: when does it apply to my code for a server-side Java app using an AGPL-licensed library?
I have written a Java program designed to run server-side with a plain HTML web interface:
My app is based based on Apache Tomcat and I wrote a bunch of servlets.
I am reusing and I have integrated ...
6
votes
1answer
207 views
GitHub with temporary code under 'GNU General Public License'
I am writing a software project, and have created a repository for it on GitHub for backup reasons (I don't actually want to publish it).
I began doing a little refactoring, and as an experiment ...
6
votes
1answer
218 views
Can XenServer really be treated as open source software?
I was wondering whether or not XenServer is truly open source. The project has seen quite some back and forth in its history. It was first released in 2006 as a proprietary extension of the Xen ...
2
votes
4answers
127 views
Is there an open source/free license that allows for restrictions on academic usage?
I study CS at university and obviously do a lot of programming for my course. I'd like to be able to release my source code to show employers and such, but the university is understandably concerned ...
1
vote
1answer
1k views
OSL v3.0 - Can I sell my software based on OSL v3.0 code source?
Can I sell my software based on OSL v3.0 code source?
Can I open the source code only for my customers?
Can I limit the my changes to original source code, that is, a customer can't sell, modify or ...
8
votes
1answer
2k views
Do programmers use licenses properly?
First of all you need to know, that I've made a research on Internet and I've read dozens of topics. Moreover I asked another programmers about this issue. I still don't know what to do.
The problem ...
1
vote
3answers
108 views
A licence that lets anyone do anything! Except patent
I have been searching for an open source license to use for my project. There are many little things i would like to have but only one thing that truly matters - I don't want anyone to use my projects ...
1
vote
2answers
63 views
How to manage source code if there are doubts about the licence?
Even if the subject involves the MIT licence, my question is not strictly limited to that license.
Working for a private company, I found in their private repository some projects apparently licensed ...
13
votes
4answers
585 views
Can Apple require users to accept the Xcode/iOS license to use git?
After launching an upgrade of XCode on a MacOS Sierra, calling git in a
terminal suprisingly results in:
$ git
Agreeing to the Xcode/iOS license requires admin privileges,
please re-run as root via ...
8
votes
3answers
367 views
Why use licenses? Why not release open source code to public domain?
Why do most open source projects use licenses instead of simply releasing the code into the public domain?
1
vote
2answers
140 views
GNU Lesser GPL with additional requirement for customer reference
I am planning to release a software under GNU Lesser GPL (not sure yet if v2 or v3 should be used). But I would also like to state a requirement that whenever my software is used commercially the ...
1
vote
0answers
27 views
Plagiarism? What are the requirements to Modeling/adapting published research for software development? [closed]
I would like to create a suite of software tools (for commercial use) to be used by medical professionals in their daily practice. This will require that I utilize information published in medical ...
6
votes
1answer
75 views
Open sourcing code derived from a book
I decided to write a compiler as a learning experiment.
I first started by following some random tutorials here and there and built something that I called by naive implementation. (Since there's a ...
6
votes
1answer
212 views
Who is responsible for code being in the public domain?
Recently, I wanted a certain functionality that can be difficult to implement due to many special cases and subtle details in technical specifications. So I did a websearch and quickly found existing ...
6
votes
1answer
135 views
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 ...
2
votes
1answer
40 views
Can I sell my primitive material which is intended to be processed in a factory software under GPL?
If I develop a parametric 3D mesh creation tool and license it under GPL (because it is dependent on some geometry libraries also under GPL), can I sell 3D mesh data for use with the tool and would ...
0
votes
1answer
815 views
Distributing App for free which uses GPL'ed code
Here is the one of the many (confusing) cases related to GPLv2/3 licensing:
My company is developing an application for mobiles which will connect to servers and provide services to users.
So, here'...
5
votes
2answers
848 views
How to apply the MIT License to a program including its embedded resource data?
I would like to apply the MIT License to all artifacts of an open source software project, i.e. its full source code, but also its resource data such as graphics or localized string lists that are ...
17
votes
3answers
764 views
Obtaining MIT licence for own plugin
I wrote a simple plugin in JavaScript and I want to put it on GitHub for people to download and use it freely. I saw many people include MIT licence in a file.
How can I obtain the MIT licence? Do I ...
2
votes
1answer
85 views
How open or proprietary are the various PBX systems?
Is the following situation with FreePBX standard for VoIP?
Why Not Use FreePBX 13? Glad you asked. Despite the freepbx.org
facelift1 and the eternal message that “The ‘Free’ Stands for
Freedom,”...
0
votes
1answer
84 views
Licence issues using ContentTools WYSIWYG editor
We have been searching for a Html editor for couple of days, we have visited some editors too, but nothing fits our requirement, and then someone suggested us to use ContentTools WYSIWYG editor, which ...
9
votes
2answers
2k views
How can I use an MIT license for code but protect the copyright of photos in my repository?
My project is a fork of a project that comes with the MIT license and nobody wants to change the license that applies to the software. However, some of the content that is also stored on GitHub is not ...
1
vote
1answer
820 views
Is it appropriate to use open source license with Matlab code?
Since Matlab itself is not open source (commercial software and Matlab language can only be used within the Matlab environment), is it OK to put my Matlab code on github under open source license, e.g....
5
votes
2answers
624 views
Copyright until the present year in BSD license?
I have the following line in my BSD (new, 2 clause) open-source code:
// Copyright (c) 2003-present, Jodd Team (http://jodd.org)
Previously, I've used a real year (e.g. 2003-2014). However, updating ...
2
votes
2answers
1k views
how did Elastix move from GPL to proprietary?
I'm just scratching the surface for VoIP with Elastix. I notice that Elastix 2.x is "open source" but 5.x is proprietary?
Looking into licensing from the manual on Elastix brings:
http://www.3cx....
2
votes
1answer
757 views
Can I sell my project using GNU GPL v3?
At first, I always developed commercial projects only, so I bad know GNU licenses. Now, I want to make my library available for other developers. And maybe to find co-developers. So, I chosen GNU GPL ...
29
votes
3answers
27k views
Open-source license to prevent commercial use? [duplicate]
I could really use some help picking the right license for my project. The project is already released on github under the GPLv3 license but I have been made aware that this prevents uses that I want ...
1
vote
1answer
37 views
Can we use principles from a book to create an application? [closed]
I've read this book that has tips on how to live healthy. Forget the fact that there are many like it out there, that's not the point, and it's not about specific book. Now I am just curious how does ...
4
votes
1answer
2k views
Is Java for server runtimes like JBoss EAP / Wildfly still free to use?
With Oracle starting to collect license fees from different customers for using Java SE I've asked myself if the usage with a server runtime is still free. I'm no lawyer and all these licenses are ...
-1
votes
1answer
16 views
What kind of license to issue for themes development? [closed]
We are a team of Web Developer and Graphics designer and work on Website themes for Ragnarok Online.
Our designer use characters, backgrounds from other sources eg;google etc like other graphics ...
8
votes
1answer
180 views
GPL library in an open source plugin in an open source application using a commercial plugin
I have developed an application, a commercial plugin, and an open source plugin, each part distributed separately. The application dynamically loads each plugin, and function calls are bidirectional. ...
2
votes
1answer
71 views
Can I edit software under GNU Lesser GPL for my paid app [duplicate]
I'm building a chat bot based on Alice AIML set providing here: https://code.google.com/archive/p/aiml-en-us-foundation-alice/
I'm planning to edit this AIML set and expand it by adding new phrases.
...
5
votes
1answer
637 views
BSD-3 Closed Source Attribution
I'm having some confusion with the BSD-3 license language. I am going to close source a bsd-3 project and make modifications to it. I will not be redistributing the code. It will be used as a SaaS. ...
0
votes
1answer
276 views
GNU GPL Licensing
We are planning to use an Open Source GNU GPL License software for distribution also with the hardware we sell. We will make several changes to GP, software to make it work with our device and are ok ...
3
votes
1answer
358 views
License information included with distributable PyInstaller binary
I'm trying to find information on which license information I should include in the About section of my application that I build with PyInstaller and distribute in binary form. I've already included ...
1
vote
2answers
125 views
For applications using the paid/community model, why not just fork?
Some applications made by commercial companies employ a paid/community model for their software, meaning that you can use the open-source "community" version with less features, or you can purchase a ...
1
vote
2answers
58 views
Creating Public Domain CC0 project that uses plugins/libraries with different licenses
I work for a city and want to start releasing our projects with CC0 Public Domain license.
However, if we use other bits of code (dc.js, jquery, plugins for leaflet.js, etc) that are not CC0, is that ...
0
votes
1answer
2k views
How to disclose source of a software with mozilla public licence?
I am distributing the binary of a software that I derived from a MPL-licensed source. I only reskinned the software. How do I conform to my obligations regarding redistribution of source code?
Can I ...
7
votes
2answers
318 views
Is it legal to use code from Microsoft Knowledge Base Article in an open source software?
In an open-source software project, GPL2 or 3, is it legal to use code snippets from Microsoft Knowledge Base articles - the ones that used to be called something like Q1234567, nowadays called just ...
-4
votes
1answer
55 views
Common licencing types [closed]
I'm an independent software developer and thus have little to no knowledge about licenses or general software law.
Could someone list the most common licenses and what they mean in layman's therms.
