Questions tagged [proprietary-code]
For questions about works whose authors retain the ability to control derivates or distribution as given to them by copyright law
123
questions
4
votes
1answer
61 views
Understanding GPL & LGPL: Free Software with zero-cost, proprietary libraries
Background:
This question is derived from a previous question.
I am writing a Blender add-on which enables the use of Blender with a piece of hardware (i.e., a lightfield display). Blender and the ...
1
vote
3answers
63 views
Understanding GPL: Blender Add-on + System Library
Basic Information
I am writing a Blender add-on which enables the use of Blender with a piece of hardware (i.e., a lightfield display). Blender and the use of the specific Python API, which is ...
3
votes
1answer
24 views
Is it possible to license that header file to LGPL but implementation to proprietary license
Suppose someone is writing a proprietary software that uses a shared or dynamic library that is licensed under the GNU LGPL license. If he wants to change the LGPL library code, he make some functions ...
2
votes
1answer
38 views
Can I use the “pro” features found in open source code if it's GPL 2?
I am looking at including a library from Github on my next project that has different tiers. It claims that the lowest free tier is licensed under GPL 2, however to use advanced functions you need to ...
2
votes
2answers
63 views
What is a good license model for a game that I want to both sell and show publicly?
I'm currently developing a game. I want to publish its code online (i.e. GitLab, GitHub, etc.) in order for people to review it, learn and get ideas from it. But I also want to be able to sell it at a ...
1
vote
2answers
56 views
Can my paid WordPress plugin have a proprietary license?
WordPress is licensed under (GPLv2 or later). WordPress states that all plugins hosted under the WordPress Plugin Directory must be licensed under GPL.
We have a Free version of our plugin that is ...
1
vote
1answer
50 views
Linking GPL software with “indirection library” with both GPL-compatible and proprietary backends, in constrast with wrapper library
I'm about to publish a GPL3 piece of software I wrote. That software uses OpenCL, and in its normal use one typically links the software against the Khronos OpenCL ICD. The ICD lets the user then ...
4
votes
1answer
190 views
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 ...
4
votes
3answers
473 views
Do major electronic voting systems use closed-source software?
I have heard that some, if not all, widely used electronic voting systems (e.g., Diebold, Sequioa, Dominion) use closed-source software. If so, how can the public be sure that a closed system isn't ...
2
votes
1answer
54 views
Can I add a proprietary library to GPL software?
I'm considering developing a project based on a modified version of some GPLv3 code. But, I need to use some proprietary library. This is a for-profit endeavour, in which I plan to sell the modified ...
3
votes
1answer
34 views
LGPLv2.1: Distributing dynamically linked executable without the LGPL library
I am developing a proprietary (non-open source) commercial application that depends (both directly and indirectly through direct dependencies) on some LGPLv2.1+ libraries (specifically some MinGW64 ...
0
votes
1answer
139 views
If closed source software is distributed along with open source software, will the resulting code still be open-source?
Suppose there is an open source project (a collection of open-source repositories) on GitHub. Can we include closed-source software in the same open-source repository?
(Specifically I'm referring to ...
4
votes
1answer
130 views
Is Google's Chrome web browser truly open source?
I have been trying to understand if Google's Chrome web browser is truly open source. Some people claim that it is, while others claim that it integrates binary blobs for which the source is ...
5
votes
1answer
120 views
How do products like MongoDB not violate the GPL licenses?
I'm quite confused with MongoDB's licensing model. MongoDB at its core is an open-source project, licensed under the SSPL which is a small modification of the AGPLv3 license. Then how does it release ...
15
votes
1answer
3k views
What is the correct term for software whose source code is available only to read?
The software is distributed under these terms:
Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software&...
0
votes
0answers
15 views
Selling copy of GPL v3 app under another license [duplicate]
I want to create a library, that can be used for free in any open-source project, so I want to publish it under terms of GNU GPL v3. But, also I want to sell it, so it could be used in proprietary ...
1
vote
0answers
38 views
I want to build a new ISO based on official Ubuntu 18.04 ISO, plus some propietary software. What do I have to open-source to comply with GPL2?
What if I do not own the proprietary software but I have been given permission to distribute it (will being able to open-source the build automation help? This would mean only someone with the correct ...
3
votes
3answers
98 views
How to enforce CC-BY in data generated by a program, if I open-source that program as well?
I'm running a data journalism operation, and as part of our business, we generate a lot of datasets. We're fine with these datasets being used by just about everyone, as long as they give us credit. ...
4
votes
3answers
136 views
How to completely get rid of proprietary code in the library?
I made a small library which I decided to open-source under the Apache 2.0 License on Github.
Not long afterward I realized that some of the code in here makes use of proprietary information which ...
2
votes
1answer
43 views
Use of GPL software with proprietary network program
I am working on a distributed computing project. The client for this project uses Twisted (MIT licensed) to communicate with the server. The client will locally invoke a PARI/GP (GPL licensed) script ...
5
votes
2answers
71 views
Is Flameshot mislabeled on the Ubuntu Software Center?
Recently, I have seen Flameshot labeled as proprietary on the Ubuntu Software Center:
(german text, "Proprietär" means "proprietary")
Is Flameshot mislabeled on the Software Center, as it's official ...
12
votes
2answers
5k views
Can I sell a proprietary software with an LGPL library bundled along with it, without making my source code public?
I am making a commercial application for my own company.
I want to use PySide2 in it which comes under the LGPL license. I will be using PySide2 without any modification to it for designing the GUI.
...
1
vote
1answer
32 views
Is it possible to have a proprietary commercial plug-in in a GPL licensed app?
We are developing an automatic machine learning software for researchers under a GPL license. This will allow them to use different ML algorithms on their data. Is it possible to offer an additional ...
10
votes
2answers
362 views
Is it legal to remove a dependency with a copyleft license from a proprietary project?
Imagine you have a proprietary project (non open source), and by mistake you added a dependency to a library with a strong copyleft license. You have already distributed your code. And you realize ...
3
votes
3answers
272 views
Licensing software that uses a proprietary library under GPL-3.0 without linking exceptions: what are the implications?
NOTE: Changed the person in example from "I/me" to "PersonXYZ"
Given, hypothetically:
PersonXYZ wrote some software (will refer to as SoftwareXYZ) that uses a proprietary library (will refer to as ...
2
votes
2answers
384 views
What permissions does LGPL-3.0 grant if the licensed work links against a proprietary library?
According to the FSF "The Lesser GPL permits use of the library in proprietary program".
Is this permission granted in cases where an LGPL-3.0 licensed work links against a proprietary library?
Both ...
-6
votes
1answer
62 views
Implications of powershell usage on Linux
Looking, in particular, at:
PowerShell 6.0 Linux Administration Cookbook Prashanth Jayaram, Ram
Iyer November 30, 2018 566 pages
I just want to go in eyes-open, knowing any pitfalls of the ...
2
votes
1answer
57 views
Can I sell closed source plugins that interface with a GPL v2 software which is open sourced? [duplicate]
Basically, I have an idea for some software based on an Open Sourced application.
If I was to build an application based off of that, and sell my plugins, would this be a breach of terms? This is the ...
4
votes
1answer
132 views
Can a GPL-licensed library be used in private development builds of a proprietary application?
I'm considering using this GPL-3.0-licensed library as a development aid in a game. Development builds that include this library (and other unrelated tools) would be used by myself and any parties ...
5
votes
1answer
100 views
Can I release an Excel Workbook with VBA code under the GPL v3?
This is my first foray into the open source world. I've got a Microsoft Excel workbook that I have some custom VBA modules in that I want to distribute under the GPL v3. I can't find much discussion ...
5
votes
1answer
174 views
GPL Application linked to a LGPL library loading proprietary-plugins
This is a bit similar to what asked in this question, unless that here the case is that the application only directly loads LGPL code, and this one then may dlopen a proprietary lib, so:
GPL Program ...
3
votes
1answer
148 views
Does using libraries under LGPL in my product limit my choice on how to license it?
I am developing a product that links to a number of LGPL (or compatible) licensed libraries.
The product itself is a creator tool for intellectual property work of its users. The LGPL libraries are ...
-3
votes
2answers
88 views
What happens when I use LGPL Qt 5 toolkit to link statically for a closed source (proprietary) application?
I come from a country "ALGERIA" where nobody buys a software license even the government, except fore rare cases where the government institution is very sensitive, other governmental institutions ...
4
votes
1answer
80 views
What are good arguments against my university teacher's justification, which is that the softwares taught are the industry standards?
I will have the chance to take part in a meeting with the whole department of my university program (translation degree) and I would like to address what I believe to be a major problem, namely the ...
2
votes
1answer
119 views
Why doesn't Microsoft open-source the existing Edge browser?
Microsoft will soon make Edge a Chromium-based (i.e. WebKit) browser. This is good for Microsoft and the WebKit ecosystem, but not necessarily good for the web as a whole (since this further allows ...
4
votes
1answer
191 views
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)
(...
0
votes
1answer
543 views
Push notifications for Android 8 open source app
I am developing an open source Android app that has push notifications.
If I understand https://developer.android.com/about/versions/oreo/background#services correctly, Android 8 forces me to use ...
2
votes
1answer
88 views
Can I develop a front-end under a different license than the GPL-license CLI application?
I want to develop and distribute a GUI (Graphical User Interface) for an existing command-line tool (LibLouis).
I want to do so using .NET WPF or Windows Forms, but the library of Liblouis is written ...
13
votes
1answer
2k views
Difference between MongoDB SSPL and GNU AGPL
I'm trying to understand the difference between the SSPL and the GNU AGPL license, after reading the terms of SSPL.
The 13th clause of the license states the following:
If you make the ...
3
votes
2answers
486 views
Can a closed-source software be free
I saw some closed-source software (for Windows), which license explicitly allows to do everything with it, including disassembling, decompiling and modification, but no source is distributed, though ...
14
votes
4answers
3k views
When distributing a Linux kernel driver as source code, what's the difference between Proprietary and GPL license?
The company I work for is selling PCIe cards. I'm writing the Linux driver for it as a Linux kernel module.
When selling these PCIe cards, we give along the Linux kernel driver as source code. ...
3
votes
2answers
472 views
Can I publish only select code under GPLv3 from a private project?
So my team is planning to go open source with a project that has been in development together with an industry partner for some time now. We're not sure about the licensing yet, but GPLv3 looks ...
5
votes
1answer
596 views
Including the MIT copyright notice when the software is part of a larger proprietary software
From reading the license here I understand how I can use the software but the only condition it imposes has confused me.
The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be
included in ...
-2
votes
1answer
377 views
Which Creative Commons licenses are permissive enough for proprietary software?
We are releasing a software under a dual license APGLv3/proprietary.
To build it, we are reusing many components availabe on the web. For source code, those components have to be released with a ...
2
votes
3answers
1k views
Conditions on binaries incorporating BSD 3-clause licensed code
I have developed a software that uses (is statically linked to) code licensed under BSD 3-clause license. Just reading the license terms, it seems to me that I'm obliged to allow any one who I sell (...
5
votes
1answer
115 views
Is it legal to install GNU GPL v2 software alongside my proprietary software
I have developed a set of python-based tools for network testing, and I am currently building a GUI around it and I am going to attempt to sell it. My issue is one part of my code relies on wireshark, ...
7
votes
2answers
246 views
Do Licenses for Test Libraries Apply to Production Code?
(I am re-asking this question here, as I was informed that it was off-topic on Stack Overflow)
My interest in this question stems from concern over the lack of a license in a testing framework I came ...
5
votes
2answers
3k views
Can GoJS be included into an open source project?
Context: GoJS is not open source, its license stating in particular that modification is forbidden (though the fact that its source code is hosted on GitHub seems to confuse some people).
The ...
0
votes
1answer
223 views
Is it possible to write proprietary code that links to a shared library that's open source? Under what license and condition is it possible?
Is it possible to write proprietary code that links to a shared library that's open source? Under what license and condition are it possible?
7
votes
1answer
1k views
Optional GPL dependency in commercial Python application
I am developing a commerical clock application ("JJClock"), which is written in Python. What I will deliver to my customers will either be a .pyc file or a .so file ("compiled") with Cython -- the ...
