52
votes
Can I use my own GPL'ed code in my closed source program?
You can freely issue additional licenses to your own GPL software, without restriction.
Licenses can either give an exclusive or non-exclusive right. For example, an employment contract will ...
- 38.6k
47
votes
Accepted
Can I modify an open source license to require that I be notified?
I cannot say whether this would be considered open source, but it would not be free software. Free software confers, amongst other things, the right to modify the software; the FSF refer to this as ...
- 47k
44
votes
Can there be a copyright on negative code?
For me, this exposes a weakness in the mental model many coders seem to have about the operation of copyright.
Consider a pile of bricks, representing code contributions to a work. In one (...
- 47k
36
votes
Accepted
Which licenses give me a guarantee that a software I'm installing is completely open-source, free of closed-source dependencies or components?
No Open Source license does that. Even the GNU GPL license allows one program to interact with another non-free program via pipes, sockets, streams etc.
While the licenses can't do this, there are ...
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35
votes
Which license can protect a software to be distribute without changes under a different name?
This license isn't going to do what you want it to, for two reasons:
I get the code, I add one space to an error message. It's now a modified version, so I can distribute it.
I get the code. "My ...
- 18.5k
31
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 ...
- 18.5k
29
votes
Accepted
Are software licenses version-specific?
Firstly, since you are the sole author you are (presumably) the sole rightsholder, so you aren't bound by the licence anyway.
Secondly, licences don't inhere in software, they attach to software ...
- 47k
24
votes
Accepted
Which license can protect a software to be distribute without changes under a different name?
My colleague has posted an excellent explanation of why a licence that does exactly what you've asked for would be pointless. It would also be non-free, because the right to distribute both non-...
- 47k
24
votes
Accepted
How can I judge the "strength" of a licence?
Speaking about “strength” is a simplification. Recipients must comply with all the licenses of all the components that are part of the program, and you cannot choose a license that makes compliance ...
- 38.6k
20
votes
Accepted
Are CDDL and GPL really incompatible?
Be careful with the claims about the CDDL on the FSF website, they are wrong. Some years ago, Eben Moglen confirmed to me in a private mail that the claims about the CDDL on the FSF website are based ...
- 778
20
votes
Accepted
Remove BSD LICENSE file while importing code into GPL project
The short answer is no. You cannot remove a BSD license notice, otherwise you are no longer licensed per the BSD (many variants) that all share the essential requirement to retain the copyright and ...
- 14.3k
20
votes
Accepted
Can I "upgrade" the version of CC BY-SA from 3.0 to 4.0 in my modification?
The CC-BY-SA 3.0 license is “forward compatible” with later versions. In section 4(b):
You may Distribute or Publicly Perform an Adaptation only under the terms of:
(i) this License;
(ii) a ...
- 38.6k
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 ...
- 10.7k
19
votes
Can I modify an open source license to require that I be notified?
Do not use non-standard opensource licenses
The other answers are great, and show that what you want to do is probably not too far down an OSS route but here is a different viewpoint.
There's a ...
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18
votes
Which licenses give me a guarantee that a software I'm installing is completely open-source, free of closed-source dependencies or components?
Which licenses give me a guarantee that a software I'm installing is completely open-source, free of closed-source dependencies or components?
Unfortunately, a license cannot do that.
Here's the ...
- 441
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
Pros and Cons of using MPL-2.0 license?
Am I allowed to distribute the project for money under this license?
Yes. However, if you distribute/sell binaries, then you may not charge extra for the source code.
And, as the MPL license is a ...
17
votes
Can there be a copyright on negative code?
Not all changes are of sufficient novelty to constitute something copyrightable, whether they are additions or deletions.
For a simple example, consider any old out of copyright song or hymn of five ...
- 7,728
15
votes
Can I use my own GPL'ed code in my closed source program?
IANAL/TINLA: Proceed at your own risk.
Yes. According to the GPL FAQ, it states here two things:
I would like to release a program I wrote under the GNU GPL, but I would like to use the same code in ...
- 459
14
votes
Accepted
Can I use CodeProject code in a GPL project?
CPOL is not an open source license according to the OSI definition. It has a clause which does not allow it to be used for any purpose as mandated by the GPL or MIT license:
You agree not to use ...
- 11.8k
14
votes
How is the BSD GPL-compatible?
Two licenses are compatible if it is possible to satisfy both licenses at the same time.
The GPLv2 states:
You may not impose any further restrictions on the recipients' exercise of the rights ...
- 38.6k
13
votes
Accepted
Including resources with ambiguous license for GPL application
Generally, the question of whether artwork forms a combined work with software that displays has been addressed in What do I need to share if I include CC-BY-SA artwork in my software?. If your art ...
- 35.6k
13
votes
Can I modify an open source license to require that I be notified?
Adding a requirement to notify you when a fork is being made renders a license non-free. The reasoning behind this is that the requirement discriminates against people that, for whatever reason, are ...
13
votes
How can I properly fork a project that is dual-licensed AGPL/Commercial?
Am I right assuming that the AGPL and GPLv3 are compatible?
Yes, you can combine them, with the combination effectively being governed by the AGPL v3 license:
GPL v3 section 13. Use with the GNU ...
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12
votes
Accepted
Can I use a proprietary library in my GPL'd program?
The Free Software Foundation's FAQ says this:
I'd like to modify GPL-covered programs and link them with the portability libraries from Money Guzzler Inc. I cannot distribute the source code for ...
- 3,911
12
votes
Proprietary software made of free software parts
It depends on the license, and also somewhat on the country.
For the BSD and MIT licenses, this is a friendly yes. Your "derivative work" contains a separate copyright interest from the original and ...
- 1,756
12
votes
Accepted
Why does the clause 3 of 4-clause BSD makes it incompatible with GPL?
The GPL does not normally require licence holders to put any special acknowledgments in their advertising material. GPLv3 s7 says that any of six additional restrictions may be added to the normal ...
- 47k
12
votes
Accepted
If I add a misrepresentation clause to 3-clause BSD license would it remain GPL-compatible?
Yes, such a license would be compatible with GPL-3.0. In particular, the GPL already has the following terms:
Section 5(a) is always required:
The work must carry prominent notices stating that you ...
- 38.6k
11
votes
Why don't BSD developers use the SSLeay addendum if they hate GPL?
Because adding that phrase turns the license into a viral copyleft license not unlike the GPL. When you add that phrase, you could just as well use the GPL.
Those who propose the BSD over the GPL ...
- 11.8k
11
votes
If I'm using a GPL 3 library in my project, can I license my project under MIT license?
If I'm using a library that is licensed under GPL v3 in my project, can I license my project under the MIT license? I tried to read the GPL v3 text but I cannot understand it without your assistance.
...
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Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible