73
votes
Accepted
Under copyleft, why distinguish between "free as in free speech" and "free as in free beer"?
You've noticed that if a piece of software is "free as in speech," it will probably become "free as in beer" too. That's completely true.
The important thing, however, is that the ...
- 1,165
42
votes
Can I publish a GPL source I'm being paid for to develop?
So it seems that you're doing this as a piece of contract work, not under employment rules, so the issue of work-for-hire probably doesn't enter into it.
The rules about what you can publish and when ...
- 53k
39
votes
Is there a generally accepted "anti-copyleft" clause or license?
To my knowledge there is no such license. Note that this license may not be considered an open-source license. In no case would such a license be a permissive license that could be compatible with MIT ...
- 39.4k
37
votes
Accepted
Is there a generally accepted "anti-copyleft" clause or license?
the code or derivative works can never be re-licensed under a GPL/Copyleft license
Ironically, I think the best practical strategy to accomplish this is to license your work under a (very weak) ...
- 37.7k
32
votes
Locking myself from ever changing license
You can't do anything within the constraints of copyright law as the copyright holder is never restricted by the license.
Practically if you accept contributions from a large number of contributors ...
- 21.7k
30
votes
Need samples of copyleft notices
You are confusing at least two concepts here. Looking at your list of suggestions:
"copyleft" is not a license itself, but a property of some licenses which means that any derivative works ...
- 21.7k
26
votes
Can I copy some AGPL code to my AGPL project?
Put simply: yes, this is allowed. The entire point of open source software is to allow it to be re-used.
Note that the requirements are slightly more than "citing the original source in a comment&...
- 21.7k
23
votes
I was told by a vendor who licenses their paid software under GPL v2 that I cannot include the software inside my framework. How so?
Assuming that the original work was distributed under the GNU GPLv2, and that you have made a work which is a derivative of it (in copyright terms), you may redistribute your derivative work subject ...
- 53k
23
votes
Can I publish a GPL source I'm being paid for to develop?
This depends on the contracts for this development effort. The GPLv3 explicitly covers the case that you are doing development exclusively for someone else, and this is OK (section 2, basic ...
- 39.4k
23
votes
Why it is not possible to create a proprietary fork of GPL?-or-later software?
You say "the copyright holder is the same entity" but this is true only for the changes introduced by the downstream distributor. There is also the upstream distributor who licensed their ...
- 37.7k
21
votes
Is there a good license for a libertarian programmer who's against intellectual property?
Anyone may use the software for any purpose they choose ...
However, no one may place any type of restrictions on my software
Your basic problem is that these are self-contradictory aims. In the ...
- 53k
21
votes
Accepted
Quoting GPL licensed text in presentation slides
The Berne Convention on copyright specifies the Right to Quote as an exception to copyright.
Article 10 (1) It shall be permissible to make quotations from a work which has already been lawfully made ...
- 7,972
20
votes
Using an unmodified GPL library in non-copyleft code
As a add-on answer to amend what @amon explained in his answer:
That is the point of releasing a library under GPL: Any program which wants to make use of it also needs to be distributed under terms ...
- 12k
19
votes
Is there a generally accepted "anti-copyleft" clause or license?
If you release your code under a permissive license, it is not possible for anyone to "relicense" it under a less permissive one like the GPL. By issuing a permissive license, you grant everyone the ...
19
votes
Can I copy some AGPL code to my AGPL project?
As Philip wrote: Yes, that's possible (subject to certain conditions, which I won't repeat here).
Do note, though, that this will make it harder for Bob to re-license his code with a different license ...
- 566
18
votes
Locking myself from ever changing license
You may assign the copyright of your project to a trusted organization. While you, as the copyright holder, may change the license freely, transferring your rights to someone else removes that ability....
- 353
17
votes
Accepted
How do I resolve license terms conflict when forking?
Whilst I completely agree with my esteemed colleage about the first part of the answer (the project have indicated they'll reject non-MIT-licensed contributions), I beg to differ about the second part....
- 53k
16
votes
"Pure Copyleft" Software Licenses? (with no additional restrictions)
I don't think you'll square this circle. You write
The problem I have with the GPLv3 and AGPL license is how they restrict the intermediate users, while the problem I have with the MIT license is ...
- 53k
15
votes
Accepted
"Pure Copyleft" Software Licenses? (with no additional restrictions)
I think another answer has done a good job articulating some philosophical incompatibilities in your requirements. I won't retread those concerns, but I'll make a feasible suggestion that might come ...
- 37.7k
14
votes
Accepted
Does whole project need to be under GPLv3 when using a GPLv3 library
Yes: The GPL doesn't just extend to that particular component but to the entire program that includes GPL components.
So if you publish your app, you will have to publish your app as a whole under the ...
- 39.4k
14
votes
Under copyleft, why distinguish between "free as in free speech" and "free as in free beer"?
This is why most Open Source vendors sell service plans rather than software.
Yes, the nature of Open Source licenses would allow anyone to download and install the software for free, and to in turn ...
- 241
13
votes
Will adding a BY-SA image to a blog post make the entire post BY-SA?
The CC ShareAlike terms merely say that whenever you do make a derivative work of the image, distribution of that derivative work must be under ShareAlike (or CC-approved ShareAlike-compatible) terms. ...
- 37.7k
13
votes
Under copyleft, why distinguish between "free as in free speech" and "free as in free beer"?
Actually I think this rule is coming from the ages before internet was available for everyone. Like 29 years ago you could buy a few floppy disks with linux on it. And that the vendor could charge you ...
- 231
13
votes
Accepted
How does GPL differ from CC BY-NC-SA?
CC BY-NC-SA is a copyleft-style licence (the "SA" bit), but there exist many other copyleft licences besides CC BY-NC-SA. The GPL is pretty clear that selling GPL-covered code is ...
- 53k
13
votes
Does AGPL-3.0 require open-sourcing the derivatives if the original work is open-source?
You seem to have set this up as a dichotomy - a choice between source-only-to-users and fully-open-source - but it's not.
You are right that the GPL requires you to provide source code only to ...
- 53k
12
votes
Accepted
If I use a public API endpoint that has its source code licensed under AGPL in my app, do I need to disclose my source?
Making calls to a public API
If there's a public API server that has it's source code licensed with AGPL, and if I make an app that uses these public endpoints in some part of it, ... is this ...
- 2,813
11
votes
Accepted
Is it legal to remove a dependency with a copyleft license from a proprietary project?
Law is complicated and varies by jurisdiction. In the United States (and probably many other jurisdictions), a court generally cannot compel you to release your source code simply because you did not ...
- 37.7k
10
votes
Must a company disclose proprietary source code if it violates a copyleft license?
No, a court will not enjoin a violator of terms of the GPL or other copyleft license to disclose proprietary source code.
First of all, as Free Radical pointed out, injunctive relief is not a remedy ...
- 300
10
votes
Accepted
Dynamically Linking a Proprietary Module to a GPL-Covered Library (C/C++)
I would like to understand if this project setup complies with the GNU General Public License (GPL). Specifically, I am seeking clarification on whether project Bar, being proprietary and dynamically ...
- 33.4k
10
votes
Locking myself from ever changing license
You can't, in some jurisdictions.
Under US law (17 USC 203), any transfer or license of copyright (other than a work-for-hire or a bequest) automatically gives rise to termination rights, which may be ...
- 5,803
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible