GPL License?

hey guys,

I need some help... .(people have been saying that for years LOL!)....

I want to release some software as "freeware" - ie: free! but I dont want people to be able to simply get the code and sell it as their own product.

what licenses are available for this? I thought the GPL... but I think under that people can freely distribute the code as their own.

can i write my own "terms and conditions" ? would that suffice?

any help is much appreciated... thanks

Hey fakker;

Hmm... Software licences. Always a sticky this subject is. Yes, very nasty indeed.

Here's the lowdown on the GPL: Your responsibility as a producer of content is to supply the code to any who ask for it. Nothing in there about needing to be downloadable, although that's common practice.

The responsibility of any who would use your code is as follows:

1) If they do turn around and sell it, they MUST credit you for your work.

2) Furthermore, If they make ANY changes to the code, they must release those changes, in addition to keeping your portion totally available (unlike the BSD licence, which is, in essense, a license to get ripped off), provided the software is made available for public consumption (same responsibility as you). If it's totally private and for private uses, they don't have to do jack squat.

3) If they make any sort of add on to your software, they can make that add on closed source, if they wish, provided your portion stays open (and under GPL), and provided that they don't link to any GPL'd libraries. If they do, their product MUST be GPL'd as well (or at least LGPL'd).

Now, the question you asked was as to what licenses to use. Well, FreeWare is not the same thing as Open Source or Free Software, for that matter. Freeware is just that - free (as in beer). No code releasing required (unless it's a perl script, in which case you ain't got no choice). Open Source and Free Software (two slightly different ideologically different concepts) producs DON'T have to be free. You could, in fact, create an app, charge $10,000 for it and make it GPL - no free download required. You just have to supply the code to anyone who asks and who has acquired the software at the price you charge for it.

This might help you clear up a few things: http://www.devshed.com/Talk/Practic...Help/page1.html

Good luck.

I realize this thread is two months old... but i have a couple questions regarding the GPL... [i've printed the article you posted, haven't had a chance to read it yet though]

As Gnorb mentioned in the end of his post: You just have to supply the code to anyone who asks and who has acquired the software at the price you charge for it.

Does that mean you don't have to provide the source unless they buy your product first? Quite frankly, I can't see charging $10,000 then just giving the source away (for anyone to compile)

And what's the redistribution rights granted with GPL? I realize its hard to control redistribution... but if I'm given GPL code from a developer, can I then [legally] pass that code over to other people?

MadCowDzz, my understanding is that if you modify GPL code, period, you're bound to make the original code and your modifications open. The following quote from the preamble to the GPL should address your question about whether or not somebody has to buy the code (in short, no):



Furthermore, any parties you distribute GPL code to are free to distribute it under the same terms:



If you're given GPL code from a developer, you're free to modify it to your heart's content and charge a million bucks for your modifications so long as you turn the code over as well. The benefit here is that most people who would pay you to produce or modify code don't know how to code, so there's not much danger of their using your code for their own resale or profit (though they could if they wanted). Additionally, open source often does make life easier for developers who find a piece of code that does almost what they want it do do, modify it, and pass it along for someone else to find that it does almost what they want it to do -- and all of a sudden, you've got a full-features suite of nifty tools like a CMS or a groupware application.

If you (general you, "one") doesn't feel comfortable with these terms, you can choose a different license and even go so far as to encrypt your code prior to turning it over. (Note, though, that if you encrypt your code or hand it over in object code under the GPL, you're also bound to turn over the human-readable source code or perform an installation at cost.)

Check out http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.txt for the complete license and www.gnu.org generally for more info. You might also check out http://www.sourceforge.net for an overview of a number of licenses. I'm not sure if this is publicly available, but if you're creating a new project there, you have to specify a license and are given a menu to read over and choose from. I imagine this is publicly available as well.