45 votes
Accepted

If I can't provide GPL source because a supplier did not provide it, am I at fault?

To add a little to planetmaker's excellent answer: I'm not entirely sure what loophole you think you've discovered, but assuming your contention is that you're released from your obligation to ...
MadHatter's user avatar
  • 48.4k
29 votes

If I can't provide GPL source because a supplier did not provide it, am I at fault?

That's a legal question, not an open-source one; the answer depends on jurisdiction and on how you fight legal battles. However in short, you are both, victim and offender. You distribute the software,...
planetmaker's user avatar
29 votes

Does private GPL open source exist? if so, how does it work if mixed with public GPL?

Your first statement is ultimately false. Anyone who receives a copy of GPL'd software must have the right to redistribute it, so we can be sure that second half of statement #1 is false. However, the ...
apsillers's user avatar
  • 36k
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 ...
apsillers's user avatar
  • 36k
23 votes
Accepted

GPLv3 use in commercially sold embedded system

Considering this is an embedded system and no software/binary is physically handed over to the end user If you have legal ownership of the device, then the software/binary has been handed over to you,...
Bart van Ingen Schenau's user avatar
15 votes

If I can't provide GPL source because a supplier did not provide it, am I at fault?

Here's a comprehensive answer from https://copyleft.org with some added emphasis: With ever-increasing frequency, software development (particularly for embedded devices) is outsourced to third ...
lofidevops's user avatar
  • 1,970
13 votes
Accepted

Fix backtick formatting in GNU GPLv3 license

Could I fix this issue in a copy by replacing the backticks with single quotes although it is not allowed to edit the license? In principle, this kind of change would probably not be forbidden. '...
Brandin's user avatar
  • 2,520
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 ...
Bart van Ingen Schenau's user avatar
9 votes

What's the meaning (qualifications) of "machine" in GPL's "machine-readable source code"?

This answer is not based on the actual license text of the GPL, but on my interpretation of the intent of the GPL and how that could/should work out in practice. In that way, it is a subjective answer....
Bart van Ingen Schenau's user avatar
9 votes

Why it is not possible to create a proprietary fork of GPL?-or-later software?

GPLv2+, or GPLv2-or-later, is shorthand for a licensing statement that says This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License ...
MadHatter's user avatar
  • 48.4k
8 votes

Does private GPL open source exist? if so, how does it work if mixed with public GPL?

When you receive a GPL'ed binary three primary rights are conveyed to you. You can redistribute the binary. You can request/obtain the source code. You can redistribute the source code. Note: If you ...
DavidT's user avatar
  • 237
8 votes

Distribute the code as closed source and the end users download GPLv3 dependencies separately

You're rightfully confused, it should be simple (but the world is complicated): a GPL-licensed library can only be used in a programme which does give its users the same rights as the GPL provides. ...
planetmaker's user avatar
8 votes
Accepted

How to counter notice a DMCA takedown if I am merely a GPLv3 licensee?

GitLab has asked you for the wrong thing. The format of a counter-notification is specified in 17 USC 512(g)(3), which requires, among other things: A physical or electronic signature of the ...
Kevin's user avatar
  • 5,307
7 votes

What's the meaning (qualifications) of "machine" in GPL's "machine-readable source code"?

not an expert, but as an example 'non-machine readable' could be scanned images of source printout, rather than text files to give to a compiler or interpreter.
jmullee's user avatar
  • 171
7 votes

GPLv3 use in commercially sold embedded system

The other answers are both correct, but I'll try to clarify further. The quoted sections are from the GPLv3 text. In the text of the license, interpret "you" to refer to the person/company ...
Alex I's user avatar
  • 171
6 votes
Accepted

Why it is not possible to create a proprietary fork of GPL?-or-later software?

There are three pieces of code involved: A: Upstream software, license says "You can distribute under GPL2 or later". B: Additions, license says "You can distribute under GPL2 only"...
jpa's user avatar
  • 623
6 votes

Why it is not possible to create a proprietary fork of GPL?-or-later software?

... it would infringe, however since the copyright holder is the same entity, they would not sue themselves. At least in Germany (but it should be similar in the US), a license contains the ...
Martin Rosenau's user avatar
6 votes

Fix backtick formatting in GNU GPLv3 license

I am not a lawyer and I don't know if there is case-law around such changes, but I would expect that changing those back-ticks to regular quote characters would be allowed. You are not changing the ...
Bart van Ingen Schenau's user avatar
6 votes
Accepted

Can I use GNU GPL v3 in my free Android app?

The Apache 2.0 license is incompatible with the GPL version 2, but it is compatible with the GPL version 3, according to an article from GNU on compatible licenses. So you can combine the Apache 2.0 ...
The-Coder-Who-Knew-Too-Little's user avatar
6 votes
Accepted

"Modding" GPL Software and using in a multi-part commercial application

The advantage of HTML is that it is a standardized markup language. If both the generator and the renderer try to follow that standard, and you also look towards that standard for determining which ...
Bart van Ingen Schenau's user avatar
5 votes

What's the meaning (qualifications) of "machine" in GPL's "machine-readable source code"?

The term "machine-readable" contrasts with "human-readable", and the distinction is mostly that the data is "machine-readable" if it is digital, or easilize digitizable, ...
Polygnome's user avatar
  • 188
5 votes
Accepted

Can PyQt5 projects use the MIT license?

It's ok. Your license must be only GPL-compatible (it can be GPL, but it's not mandatory). MIT and MIT-0 (the license you use) are compatible (https://www.gnu.org/licenses/license-list.html#Expat). ...
Maniues's user avatar
  • 870
5 votes

Distribute the code as closed source and the end users download GPLv3 dependencies separately

Any conditions GPL places on distribution are based on copyright law. It does not involve patent law or contract law, unlike some closed-source software licenses. Details of copyright law vary by ...
jpa's user avatar
  • 623
4 votes

Fix backtick formatting in GNU GPLv3 license

This is complex to answer because while in your case changing the punctuation does not alter the interpretation, there are cases when this alters the meaning completely: Man eating fish (image credit)....
x64's user avatar
  • 811
4 votes

GPLv3 and executables in GPLv3

The only problem is that you want to use geckodriver.exe and distribute everything under the GPL. Users who want to use your project do not get the geckodriver.exe code, and therefore cannot fulfill ...
Maniues's user avatar
  • 870
4 votes

Are the terms of LGPL 3.0 already covered by GPL 3.0 aggregate definition

Using natively compiled applications in Linux and Windows as example, two program executables sitting on the same storage medium and interacting with each other only through inter-process ...
ruben2020's user avatar
  • 2,308
4 votes
Accepted

Licensing for CC BY 4.0 content digitization

Since the translation (i.e. the text) is out of copyright, you can basically do whatever you want (the OCR'd text is supposed to be word-for-word identical to the uncopyrighted original text, so you ...
Kevin's user avatar
  • 5,307
3 votes

Can I configure open source tools (GPL, AGPL) for my client?

This is "mere aggregation" as explained in the GPL FAQ: An “aggregate” consists of a number of separate programs, distributed together on the same CD-ROM or other media. The GPL permits you ...
Philip Kendall's user avatar
2 votes
Accepted

Am I allowed to statically link a LGPL-2.1+ library into a GPL3-licensed library?

Yes. Section 3 of the LGPLv2.1 allows it to be "upgraded" to GPLv2+. So any method of linking, or even direct copying of code, may be used when combining an LGPLv2.1-only or LGPLv2.1+ work ...
ruben2020's user avatar
  • 2,308
2 votes

Am I allowed to statically link a LGPL-2.1+ library into a GPL3-licensed library?

Yes. LGPL 2.1+ can be "upgraded" to LGPL 3.0 due to the "any later versions" clause. LGPL 3.0 is compatible with GPL 3.0 - more specifically, if you are compliant with the GPL 3.0 ...
Philip Kendall's user avatar

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