Gnu affero gpl version 3 and the asp loophole submitted by michael tiemann on thu, 20070607 11. Some other affero software is covered by the gnu library. A company is running a modified version of a gpled program on a web site. We recommend that people consider using the gnu agpl for any software which will commonly be run over a network. New and improved open core, with agpl february 2, 2009 open core. Affero and gnu affero based on the gnu gpl version 2, version 1 of the affero gpl was published in 2002 by affero, inc. See gnu general public license and free software foundation. Shortly after the release of gpl3, the fsf released affero gpl 3. If software is licenced under a gpl license, can it be used without restriction in a corporatecommercial environment. The gnu affero general public license gnu agpl is a modified version of version 3 of the regular gnu gpl. The gnu affero general public license is designed specifically to ensure that, in such cases, the modified source.
The gnu affero general public license agpl ghostscript is a ed work whose is owned by artifex software, inc. Projeqtor free project management software explanation. Kaufman is senior commercial counsel open source legal team for red hat, inc. You may copy, distribute and modify the software as long as you track changesdates of in source files and keep modifications under gpl. Previous to red hat, jeffrey served as patent and open source counsel for qualcomm incorporated and director of product. The agpl makes straightforward commercial sense we use it. Frequently asked questions about the gnu licenses gnu.
Gpl is the abbreviation for gnu general public license. Agpl what you can do and what you cant software engineering. The gnu affero general public license is a free, copyleft license for software and. The gnu affero general public license is a copyleft license for software that is intended to be run on web servers like web applications. Dont believe the hype, agpl open source licensing is. In 2007, the gnu affero gpl was published by the free software foundation and was based on gnu gpl version 3. Gnu affero general public license gnu project free. Qgis is a user friendly open source geographic information system gis licensed under the gnu general public license. Frequently asked questions about the gnu licenses gnu project.
The source code for a work means the preferred form of the work for making. Gnu affero gpl version 3 first discussion draft html. In other words, the product distributed is not really the software itself but its output. If you modify the program, your modified version must prominently offer all.
By contrast, the affero general public license is intended to guarantee your freedom to share and change free softwareto make sure the software is free for all its users. Why did you decide to write the gnu affero gplv3 as a separate license. The term open source was coined by christine peterson and adopted in 1998 by the founders of the open source initiative. If we follow the comments it turns out that you can use agpl libraries with your closedsource, commercial serverside software, as long as you dont modify the. If a developer modifies a program released under the gpl, he is expected to release the modified program under the same license, but if this program runs on a server only, the developer is not really releasing it to the rest of the world. The agpl can be regarded as an extension to the gpl. Ghostpdl is available both under the gnu affero gpl license and for commercial licensing from artifex. A product that includes more than one such language in a single binary and automatically chooses between them is sometimes referred to as a language switch build.
It is intended for licensing software that is not conveyed to users but rather accessed through a network. Frequently answered questions open source initiative. I have read the gpl faq and i think that this one may apply. The agpl is the closest thing possible to a proprietary software license. If the software is calling dynamically linked, gpl licensed libraries, will i need to make the entire project gpl. The gnu affero general public license version 3 agplv3 is a copyleft. Ive always wondered about whether the agpl is a good fit for software that isnt accessed over the network. The free software foundation explains the need for the license in the case when a free program is ran on a server. Does a commercial enterprise need to buy a commercial. You may convey a covered work under sections 3 and 4 of. New and improved opencore licensing now with affero. The agpl license differs from the other gnu licenses in that it was built for. Using gpllicensed components in proprietary projects. About once or twice a month the question arises about the possibility of using opennms code in a commercial product i.
A company is running a modified version of a program licensed under the gnu affero gpl agpl on a web site. At first glance this would appear to offer the exact same rights as the gpl in this scenario, however you then have the protection of the agpl if the software was ever incorporated into a. Conditions on distributing ghostscript in a commercial context. Reading black duck software s newest paean to the affero general public license agpl the quietly accelerating adoption of the agpl, one could be forgiven for thinking agpl is rocking the. Free software foundation releases gnu affero general. Describes the ability to use the software for commercial purposes. Gnu affero general public license article about gnu. Top 10 gnu gpl license questions answered whitesource. Does a commercial enterprise need to buy a commercial licence for. This public license applies to most of afferos software and to any other program whose authors commit to using it.
If you wish to use the open source affero gpl v3 license of evolutility product, we welcome your contributions to the evolutility project. The affero general public license is a free software license. Around late february 2002, kuhn suggested, based on the idea of a quine a program that prints its own source code, that gplv2 be supplemented. Whats the best search api for an enterprise saas product. Around late february 2002, kuhn suggested, based on the idea of a quine a program that prints its own source code, that gplv2 be. Can i link a gpl program with a proprietary system library. Why hasnt open source software wiped out commercial alternatives.
The gnu affero general public license is based on the gnu gpl, but has an additional term to allow users who interact with the licensed software over a network to receive the source for that program. Agpl is the affero general public license, a variation of the gpl that caters to programs that run on a server. Gnu affero gpl version 3 and the asp loophole open. One of the reasons the gpl has been such a successful free software license is because it. Artifex offers a dual licensing model for our ghostscript and mupdf technologies only other products require a commercial license.
Agpl is the abbreviation for gnu affero general public license. The basic idea of the agpl is that this license allows. Dont believe the hype, agpl open source licensing is toxic and. Affero general public license v3 released visual studio. Gnu affero general public license gnu project free software.
There is an earlier open source license known as the affero general public license that was not published by the free software foundation, which is not addressed in this article. I would not have imagined even two years ago that expansion of copyleft would become such an issue of interest in software freedom licensing. You can distribute your application using a gpl library commercially, but you must also provide the source code. The creators of gpl generally imagined that open source software would have a diverse community around it and that the gpl and agpl licenses were a set of rules about how that community interacted with each other and constrain companies working with. This is a spiritual successor to the original affero general public license, which was based on gplv2 and also had an additional provision so that people using the software over a network could get its source. Free software foundation releases a variation of the gpl that brings its reciprocity obligations to software running as an online service. I wont modify anything from source code and the architecture of the system requires the use of a load balancer. I would like to use haproxy as a load balancing solution. Jeffrey also serves as adjunct professor of law at the university of north carolina. This would not trigger the sourcecodedistribution requirement. The first version of the affero general public license agplv1, was published by affero, inc.
The software that i am refering to is qgis which provides this description. The term free software is older, and is reflected in the name of the free software foundation fsf, an organization founded in 1985 to protect and promote free software. How to achieve vendor lockin with a legit open source. The gnu affero general public license is a free, copyleft license published by the free software foundation in november 2007, and based on the gnu general public license, version 3 and the affero general public license the free software foundation has recommended that the gnu agplv3 be considered for any software that will commonly be run over a network. The affero general public license affero gpl and informally affero license is a free software license. Saass means that users use someone elses web server to do their own computing. The gnu affero gpl does not address the problem of service as a software substitute saass. A while ago, i noted the slow but growing use in private business of gpl version 3.
Opennms is published under version 3 of the gnu affero general public license agpl. The second version agplv2 was published in november 2007, as a transitional license to allow an upgrade path from. Normally, combining gpl ghostscript with another piece of software. These users are granted the same rights as licensees who receive the software. We recommend that people consider using the gnu agpl for any. We use a dual license business model for our software development libraries and offer licenses for two distinct purposes commercial and open source development. The early 2000s brought network services clauses such as that in the affero gpl, which hinged primarily on requiring provision of source to network. Qgis is an official project of the open source geospatial foundation osgeo. The licenses for most software and other practical works are designed to take away your freedom to share and change the works. Can i use gpl software binaries in commercial environment. However, businesses using gnu software in commercial activity, and people doing public ftp distribution, should need to check the real english gpl to make sure of what it permits. Way back in the last century, the socalled application service provider asp loophole was known in theory. If you modify the program, your modified version must prominently.
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