Public License general GNU

See also: LPG

The public License general GNU , or GNU General Public License (its only official name in English, commonly shortened GNU LPG even simply usually “LPG”) is a license which fixes the legal conditions of distribution of the Free software of the project GNU. Richard Stallman and Eben Moglen, two of the large actors of the Free Software Foundation, were the first writers. Its last version is GNU LPG version 3 published on June 29th 2007.

It for summer has adopted, as a document defining the mode of use, therefore of use and diffusion, by many authors of Free software. The main feature of the LPG is the Copyleft , or Gauche of author , who consists in “diverting” the principle of the copyright (or Royalty ) to preserve freedom to use, to study, modify and diffuse the software and its derived versions.

The LPG is the most used license of free software. In April 2004, 74,6% of the 23.479 free projects listed on the site Freshmeat and 68.5% of the 52.183 free projects listed on SourceForge were published under license LPG. Some dispute this method of measurement by affirming that it concerns quantitative (many projects) and an account of qualitative (utility of the software does not give) but no one disputes for a long time only of many users employ with happiness an increasing quantity of software diffused under LPG.

GNU LPG has a license sister, the GNU LGPL ( GNU Lesser General Public License and in the past GNU Library General Public License ) which is a version modified to be less constraining as for its use in a context of cohabitation with Logiciels owners. It has another license sister, the GFDL ( GNU Free Documentation License ) which it is applicable to the written handbooks, books or other documents.

The spirit and the objective

The objective of license GNU LPG, according to its creators is to guarantee to the user the following rights (called freedoms ) on a computer program:
  1. freedom to carry out the software, for any use;
  2. freedom studied the operation of a program and to adapt it to its needs, which passes by the access to the source codes;
  3. freedom to redistribute copies;
  4. freedom to improve the program and to make public the modifications so that the whole of the community profits from it.

Its history

GNU LPG (shortened LPG) was written by Richard Stallman to be used on the programs of project GNU. It is based on the assembly of the licenses used by GNU Emacs, GNU Debugger (GDB) and GNU Compiler Collection (GCC). These licenses contain identical clauses, but they are specific to each program. The goal of Stallman is to produce a single license which could be used for each project and which this license makes it possible the greatest number of projects to share their source code. Thus was born the LPG version 1 in January 1989.

In 1990, it had become obvious that a less restrictive license would be useful for some software libraries. Thus, when version 2 of the LPG appeared in June 1991, a new license was created, GNU Library General Public License (shortened GNU LGPL or LGPL) fascinating it also version 2 to mark their family ties. The numbers of versions became different in 1999 when version 2.1 of LGPL arrived. The LGPL changed name in order to better reflect at the same time its place compared to spirit GNU: it is called from now on GNU Lesser General Public License (always shortened GNU LGPL or LGPL).

In 2005, Richard Stallman started to write version 3 of the LPG. In 2006, the Free Software Foundation began a consultation of the one 12 months duration old public on the possible changes of the LPG version 3. The process is managed by the Free Software Foundation , the Software Freedom Law Center and the Free Software Foundation Europe . The third version of the LPG was published on June 29th, 2007. The first project to use the new version of the license is the software of filing tar, version 1.18, published by FSF itself. November 20th, 2007: 1162 projects had migrated towards the LPG version 3.

Terms

Guaranteed rights

The terms of the LPG authorize any person to receive a copy of a work under LPG. Each person who adheres under the terms and the conditions of the LPG to the permission of modifying the work , to study it and redistribute the work or a derived work. This person can touch money for this service or nothing touch. This last point distinguishes the LPG from the other licenses of software which prohibits the redistribution with a commercial aim. Stallman thinks that the free software should not place restriction on the commercial use, and the LPG states explicitly that a work under LPG perhaps (Re) sold.

“Left of author”

The LPG does not give to the user rights of unbounded redistribution. The right to redistribute is guaranteed only if the user provides the source code of the modified version. Moreover, the distributed copies, including the modifications, must be also under the terms of the LPG.

This condition is known under the name of copyleft , and it obtains its legal origin owing to the fact that the program is copyrighté. Since it is copyrighté, the user does not have any right to modify it or to redistribute it, except under the terms of the copyleft . One is obliged to adhere to the LPG if one wishes to exert rights normally limited (even prohibited) by the copyright , like the redistribution. Thus, if one distributes copies of the work without respecting the terms of the LPG (by keeping the secret source code for example), one can be continued by the original author under the terms of the copyright .

The copyleft employs the copyright thus to achieve the opposite of its usual goal: instead of the imposed restrictions, it grants rights of use. For this reason the LPG is described like a diversion copyright. It also ensures that one does not grant unlimited rights of redistribution via any bug legal found in the terms of the copyleft .

Many distributers of programs under LPG provide the source code with the achievable one. To discharge obligations of the copyleft , another possibility is to provide on request the source code on a physical support, for example a cédérom. In practice, much of programs under LPG are distributed on Internet and their source code is available on ftp, CVS,… This distribution by Internet being compatible with license LPG.

The copyleft applies only when one person wants to redistribute the program. One is authorized to make private modified versions, without no obligation to reveal the modifications carried out on the program if it is distributed to nobody. The copyleft applies only to the program and not at its exits, for example a Web gate using a private modified version of a CMS under LPG will not be obliged to deliver its sources (but it was suggested that will change with version 3 of the LPG).

The license

The LPG was designed like a license, rather than like a contract. In the jurisdictions of common right ( Common Law , in particular countries Anglo-Saxon, members or resulting from the Commonwealth), the distinction between a license and a contract are important: the contracts are carried out according to/by the relative laws with the contracts, while the LPG, as a license, is carried out according to/by the relative laws with the royalty ( copyright ). However, this distinction is not useful in the many jurisdictions where there are no differences between the contracts and the licenses, as in the systems of civil law (Civil code or Civil Law , in particular many Latin countries and of European continental countries like their old colonies). The situation in the Islamic or applying a double civil law and usual countries of right can be different according to the people or organizations concerned and of the law which applies to them, the distinction is then also important to know which right applies.

Compatibility

Certain free licenses cannot combine with license LPG. The constraints imposed by each license are sometimes incompatible and it is then interdict to mix them. The Free Software Foundation publishes the list of the licenses considered as compatible with the LPG.

The copyright held on GNU LPG

The text of the LPG itself is copyrighté, and the holder of this copyright is the Free Software Foundation (FSF). However, the FSF does not hold a copyright on a work completed under the LPG, without the author explicitly granting the copyright to the FSF. Contrary to the work completed under the LPG, the LPG is not itself modifiable freely: to copy and distribute the text are authorized, but to change it is strictly prohibited. The FSF authorizes the creation of new licenses based on the LPG, as long as the derived licenses do not use the beginning of the LPG without permission.

The legal authenticity

The Court of Bankruptcy of Paris considered to be applicable license LPG (version 2) in France on March 28th, 2007.

The licenses CeCILL were installation in order to make it possible public corporations to publish their software work under free license written according to the French right. The CeCILL license is compatible, since its version 2, with public license general GNU.

In Germany, one can note that the project Netfilter obtained win following a violation of LPG on behalf of the company Sitecom GMBH.

Harald Welte, founder of Gpl-violations.org project, continues the guilty companies and programmers, according to him, of a violation of the LPG. It already obtained, since 2004, about thirty conciliations, after having engaged of the continuations in certain cases.

See too

Other licenses GNU

  • LGPL
  • GFDL

Related articles

External bonds

  • the text: original version 3, complete and official english language version
  • the text of the LPG version 3: nonofficial French translation
  • the text of the LPG version 2: nonofficial French translation
  • How to place a program under GNU/GPL
  • List of licenses compatible with the LPG
  • Fair At the Questions of GNU LPG
  • Copyleft: Pragmatic idealism
  • Why Copyleft?
  • Considerations on the legal authenticity of the LPG
  • LPG, kesako? Answers to some questions
  • the site of Harald Welte, which continues the authors of violations of the GNU-GPL
  • 10 common misunderstandings butt the LPG, IT Manager' S Journal , August 29th 2006
  • Transcriptions of the speeches of Richard Stallman and Ciarán O' Riordan at the time of the official announcement of GPLv3, Tokyo 2006

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