Correction on GPL restrictions [was: Re: sell ImageJ]

[Harry Parker]

Hi Adrian,

I agree with most of what you've said, but you are wrong about the restriction a GPL license creates.

You CAN include GPL software on any CD you sell, as long as you include the source code with it, or make it
the source code of the GPL software easily available to the buyer.

For more information, I suggest the GPL FAQ page at
http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html#DoesTheGPLAllowMoney

 
--  
Harry Parker  
Senior Systems Engineer  
Digital Imaging Systems, Inc.

----- Original Message ----
From: Adrian Daerr <[hidden email]>
To: [hidden email]
Sent: Wednesday, May 16, 2007 1:40:38 PM
Subject: Re: sell ImageJ


Gabriel Landini wrote:
> What if the clients find out that you are selling them software that is free?
> They may not be very amused...

The point is you are allowed to bundle ImageJ with your plugins into
something that works out of the box, and sell it. If ImageJ was released
under the terms of the GPL, you could still sell your plugins, but the
client would have to download and install ImageJ separately (unless a
non-GPL licence for ImageJ were negotiated with the author(s)).

I am personnally a big fan of open source, but I don't need to write
programs for a living. On ImageJ Wayne manages to have both worlds
coexist nicely and often to the benefit of both.
To give an example, e.g. Scion corp. profited from NIHImage and then
ImageJ to have a working program to bundle with its acquisition boards,
which in turn added frame grabbing capability to the program and
attracted new users. Of course, Scion makes money on its boards, not on
the software which it offers for download, but the point is that it
could not have included NIHImage/ImagJ on a CD with a board each time it
sold one, if the licence were GPL.

regards,
Adrian






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[Adrian Daerr]

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> I agree with most of what you've said, but you are wrong about the restriction
> a GPL license creates.
>
> You CAN include GPL software on any CD you sell, as long as you include the source
> code with it, or make it
> the source code of the GPL software easily available to the buyer.

Thank you very much for correcting my mistake, my excuse to all for
having carelessly produced and propagated a false statement on the GPL !

The "problem" (not mine! but maybe for some companies) I wanted to
allude to is: you cannot sell (even offer for free download ?) a
modification of ImageJ (or a bundle ImageJ+plugins*) without making its
source code available under the GPL as well. Am I wrong again ?

sorry again,
Adrian

(*) the issue with plugins seems more subtle. You *can* distribute/sell
your own plugins without ImageJ under whatever licence/closed source;
distributing them with ImageJ as a bundle might amount to distributing a
"work based on GPL'ed software" and be necessarily under GPL (except if
the bundle can be considered a "mere aggregation"). Then again I am not
a lawyer, this is just what I conclude from reading the GPL and the
following FAQ:
http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html#GPLModuleLicense
http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html#MereAggregation

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[Paolo Ariano]

Il giorno ven, 18/05/2007 alle 19.09 +0200, Adrian Daerr ha scritto:
> Thank you very much for correcting my mistake, my excuse to all for
> having carelessly produced and propagated a false statement on the GPL !

no problem.

> The "problem" (not mine! but maybe for some companies) I wanted to
> allude to is: you cannot sell (even offer for free download ?) a
> modification of ImageJ (or a bundle ImageJ+plugins*) without making its
> source code available under the GPL as well. Am I wrong again ?

ImageJ is not under GPL.
A lot of plugins are under GPL.

ImageJ "is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public
domain" so you can do wathever you want: close it, rename and sell it,
sell it as ImageJ ...

Plugins under GPL are copyrighted and nobody, except for the author, can
change the license BUT you can sell and distribute GPL code, please for
any question see http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html ;)

I don't think this thread is OT.

Is full of company selling and reselling GPL software, it is business
world ...

till next
paolo
--
Neuroscience PhD
CNISM Post-Doc @ University of Torino
www.personalweb.unito.it/paolo.ariano