Questions tagged [open-source-definition]
Use this tag for questions about the definition of open source
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So the GPL doesn't restrict the creator of the software in any way?
In another thread I started (Red Hat buys Ansible), I am trying to figure out the economic value of a company transaction with respect to GPL'ed software. A few of the answers suggest that the owners ...
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Is the TeX typesetting system free and open source?
I recently opened the source code for the widely-used TeX typesetting system, and was surprised by the restrictive license I found:
This program is copyright (C) 1982 by D. E. Knuth; all rights are ...
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How to avoid being AWSed?
Elastic built the tool, AWS redistributed it and is dominating the market. Elastic is probably going to struggle and slowly die because they are bad at business. However, they built a great tool and ...
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SSPL and the Open Source Definition
MongoDB has decided to change the licensing of MongoDB Community Server, seemingly to prevent businesses from monetizing on their product without giving anything back: https://www.mongodb.com/press/...
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Can a software license meet one of the FSF's and OSI's definitions without meeting the other?
I know that Free Software (this means the concept of free as in freedom, not software that does not cost anything) and Open Source have two distinct definitions. In practice though, they turn out to ...
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If an employee modifies a copy of a GPLv3-licensed open source library, is the modified copy intellectual property of the company?
There is a GPLv3-licensed open source library on GitHub which is used by the company I work for in a central component of the business. The business does not sell software, but only a manipulation of ...
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Is the CC BY-ND an Open license?
CC BY-ND (Creative Commons Attribution No Derivatives) is a fairly restrictive license. It does not allow derivative works.
The Wikipedia article on Creative Commons licenses says that it is not a ...
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Is Open Source Software a subset of free software?
Is Open Source Software a subset of free software?
I was recently asked this and realized I was unsure the exact answer. I understand that free software is not a type of open source software, but I ...
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Can I remove payment requirement part of a MIT licensed library
A library I have used has recently introduced a payment requirement, i.e buy a license code and enter it to be able to use the library. The library is however still MIT licensed. Would it be legal to ...
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Why is the Non-Profit Open Software License (NPOSL) OSI-approved?
Recently I came across the Non-Profit Open Software License; tl;dr Legal says this about it:
A variant of the Open Software License 3.0, this license requires that the organization using it is a ...
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Which licenses give me a guarantee that a software I'm installing is completely open-source, free of closed-source dependencies or components?
I have a question about free vs open source software that's more about practical implications from the user's perspective. I'll explain the mindset first before the actual question, so you can ...
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Is there a way to only permit open-source mods for my video game to stop people from stealing code or at least enforce proper attribution?
I want to prevent mod developers from stealing code from other mod developers in my game. The best way that I know how is to only ever support mods that are open-source. I know about the SteamWorkshop ...
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Is a software open source if its source code is published by its copyright owner but cannot be used without a commercial license? [duplicate]
Suppose I wrote a commercial program, and I publish its complete source code on my website. I retain all rights to the source code. No one gets any distribution or usage rights. They only have the ...
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Does "open source" always mean "open access"?
I will frame my question with a concrete example:
HELYX is a software based on another software OpenFOAM. OpenFOAM is an open-source freely-accessible software distributed with GPLv3 licence.
HELYX ...
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Does a license needs to be approved by the OSI to be an open source license?
The Open Source Initiative has created the Open Source Definition to define what open source is. Also it has set up a formal process to approve licenses to be open source. Now, does a license need ...
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Can any Firefox add-on be free software now that add-on signing is required?
Since the release of Firefox 48 on 2016-08-02, Mozilla Firefox will not run any add-on that has not been signed and verified by Mozilla. This means, for example, that a user cannot modify an add-on ...
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Why is the Reciprocal Public License OSI-approved but not FSF-approved?
The Reciprocal Public License (RPL) is interesting in that it is the only license both OSI-approved and not FSF-approved. It is a copyleft license similar to GPL but with a "reciprocal" clause:
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Is "open software" the same as "open source" software?
A company sells a closed source software product - one that they actively also obfuscate - and market it as "open and flexible". Similarly there is no public issue tracking and when major exploits are ...
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Understanding 4th point (restriction to distribute modified source-code) of Open Source definition
The 4th point of Open Source Definition - Integrity of The Author's Source Code:
The license may restrict source-code from being distributed in modified form only if the license allows the ...
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How can I determine if some code I want to release as opensource is already licensed or proprietary?
Is there a way to analyze my code I want to release as opensource to see if it is / or has parts that are already licensed or proprietary?
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Telemetry in open source software?
Is it OK to embed some telemetry functions in an open source project or is it considered spying or privacy violating?
I would like to connect my open source app to Microsoft Application Insights to ...
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Are discriminatory free licenses still free?
With free licenses, one cannot restrict who or how the software is used.
Suppose that I construct a license that says:
If you are not Steve you are permitted to license under A; if you are Steve ...
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Is nopCommerce really open source?
I was very curious about the way this project was published, under an NPL license.
From what I understand, this license is similar to the GPL v3.0, except that it adds an additional restriction: "...
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Can we use a previous release of an open source project when it had Apache 2.0 license for commercial purpose?
If an open source project which had Apache 2.0 license, has now changed its license to non-commercial use license, can we use a previous release(when it was free for commercial use) of the project for ...
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Do non-discrimination clauses only count for my licensees, or also for me as a copyright holder?
The open source definition has a non-discrimination clause. From the annotated Open Source Definition:
5. No Discrimination Against Persons or Groups
The license must not discriminate against any ...
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Could I run my own websites about projects I do not own?
I've found a few open-source software projects and I'd like to run my own websites regarding them, but not claiming to own them; just make a place where information and such can be found. I believe I ...
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Proper licensing of commercial SW including open-source by the same author
I have written from scratch some SW that I want to publish as open-source in Github while being the only contributor.
I want to publish it under AGPL license.
At the same time I want to use the ...
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Is there a free open source version of Android SDK available for use?
When I download Android SDK from https://developers.android.com, I am prompted to agree with Google's EULA.
What should I use in order to avoid agreeing on these terms?
I'm under impression that ...
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What kind of license is Redis' RSAL (Redis Source Available License)?
The name would suggest it's not FOSS, but source available, which is a pretty low bar.
But when I read about it, they seem to suggest that it's really only source available for specific use cases ...
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Can open source exist without copyright?
I was asked a question in my law class: is it possible for open source software to exist without copyright protection?
In the absence of copyright, could software still exist that satisfied the open ...
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Contradiction: Free "software" does not mean "noncommercial"
Citing the Philosophy of the GNU project:
Free "software" does not mean "noncommercial". A free program must be available for commercial use, commercial development, and commercial distribution. ...
user698
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Is it wrong to call a software Open Source if it is using a license based on GNU GPL?
As an example, the real time operating system FreeRTOS is licensed under the FreeRTOS Open Source License which is based on a modified GNU GPL, the modification taking the form of an exception. The ...
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License for my Framework
I'm looking for a good license-model. I am developing a framework.
These key points should be considered:
Can:
modify
distribute
commercial and private use
sell it in modified/extended state
...
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About of Apache 2.0 License
Hello everyone I'm going to use for my app ios the Google library "Tink" for cryptography End To End ... This library is released under an Apache 2.0 license, I wanted to know:
Can I easily use an **...
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Google voided Corporate Contributor License Agreements
So when I tried to signed the CLA for my company, it failed and Google told me that "Please have an authorized executive sign this document. ..."
To me it's not quite clear their definition of ...
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What's the best way to get started on open source projects [duplicate]
It's something I want to get started on and be able to contribute but I don't even know how or where to start. Many employers and recruiters ask if I have any experience with them, I just don't know ...
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Release a BSD-licensed but closed-source program?
The BSD/MIT license only mentions things about redistribution. But I don't see any restrictions on the initial release of a BSD-licensed program. Is it possible that I write a program, but only ...
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Can I contribute device driver to opensource when datasheet is under NDA/confidential?
Let's consider a scenario where when working on embedded software, I had to obtain datasheet related to some chip from X manufacturer. This datasheet is not publicly available, but can be obtained ...
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How to fill the "name of copyright owner" in the license, if there are multiple authors?
There is an open source project, licensed under Apache License 2.0. It is abandoned, so I would like to fork it, do some significant modifications, and publish it again as an open source project, ...
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Releasing the source code of a premium feature for another open program
If I use a compiled program/non compiled source code which is under a license that everyone has the rights do use and sell (Eg: GPL) and no one can deny any person to use or sell it and then I want to ...
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Using iText library with AGPL license to make application open sourced
I am working on a project to generate a 508 compliant annual PDF Publication from our database using iText 7 java library. This library works great for accessible PDFs. We are in the process of ...
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Some questions about LGPL v.3 (support, warranty…)
I participate in the development of a soft that will be distributed on a commercial basis.
Question: 1. If I take the open-source Library (under LGPL v.3), will there be any obligations to support ...
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Recreating assets from closed source projects
Recently I'm working on a game, where I have created some asset from closed source project.
To be honest I actually re-created assets similar identical to hill climb.
Now if I use those or I use ...
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Naming a software after a person or a brand
I have been wondering about the copyright issues faced by software named after people or brands. As a Python developer, I wonder if there was any issue in Guido Van Rossum naming Python after the ...
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Why did Richard Stallman recommend not to use passwords? [closed]
In a short interview, Richard Stallman recommends not to put passwords on your wireless network. In the OS Revolution documentary he also mentions how he's disliked passwords ever since his job at MIT ...
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What notice should Bob give when he takes a web app under Apache2, changes UI and the database, then hosts it?
Question asked here, but without much attention; posting here.
Please write a bit of detail steps on how to follow Apache2 requirements for a new beginner, (whose native language is not English,) ...
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Distributing GPL binary which has no source and unresponsive author
I was found in a situation where some author published a binary which was widely used. Unfortunately he never shared the source despite marking the program as GPL (version not specified). Despite ...
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How to distribute third-party open source components?
When using an open source component (say, licensed under CDDL), we are required to distribute the source code for any components directly derived from the component. Is it acceptable to just provide a ...
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Can I use a software published under AGPL as an unaltered webservice without either publishing my source code under AGPL or buying a licence?
My program is commercial, but the AGPL library would be a back end solution; only the output from that web service is being used. I was told that since I am not modifying the library I do not need to ...
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Does an FPGA design in Verilog / VHDL count as software or hardware in terms of copyright law?
If you have a programmable hardware device that incorporates hardware components (LEDs, switches, ADCs, DACs, batteries etc.) but is designed using Verilog or VHDL for the central FPGA design does the ...
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