When we speak of free software, we are referring to freedom, not price. The free software foundation has recommended that the gnu agplv3 be considered for any software that will commonly be run. Mar 31, 2011 the affero gpl is designed to close the socalled application service provider loophole in the gpl, which lets asps use gpl code without distributing their changes back to the open source community. However, the new license also offers several improvements over its predecessor. If you have feedback on this document, or any oss watch activity, please send it to. Agpl based on version 3 of the gnu general public license gnu gplv3, but has an additional term to allow users who interact with the licensed software over a network to receive the source for that program. The gnu affero general public license version 3 agplv3 is a copyleft license nearly identical to the gplv3. The free software foundation considers the apache license, version 2. Ghostscript is a ed work whose is owned by artifex software, inc. The licenses were originally written by richard stallman, former head of the free software foundation fsf, for the gnu project, and grant the recipients of a computer program the rights of the free software definition.
Mongodb is released under the gnu affero general public license. Notwithstanding any other provision of this license, you have permission to link or combine any covered work with a work licensed under version 3 of the gnu affero general public license into a single combined work, and to convey the resulting work. There is a reasonable description at gnu affero general public license. Can i sell an application under the gnu affero general public license gpl. Gnu affero general public license simple english wikipedia. Apr 11, 2018 the gnu affero general public license is based on gnu gplv3, while the difference applies to cases where free software is used on servers network software.
Google open source guru chris dibona says that the web giant continues to ban the lightningrod agpl open source license within the company because doing. Gnu affero gpl version 3 and the asp loophole open. Affero general public license wikimili, the best wikipedia. Osiapproved open source 28 academic free license 1 affero gnu public license 1 apache license v2. A gnu license for developers who make their software available to users on network servers. However, not being a lawyer, and actually not having read the whole license, i cant understand what exactly you can do freely and. What is the difference between gpl, agpl and lgpl licenses. Both can be used in commercial production, both can also be packed within a payed product. The affero gpl includes a provision that enables developers to download the source code. 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. 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. The gnu affero general public license version 3 agplv3 is a copyleft. The gnu affero general public license3 agpl is a special license in the family of open source licenses, creating risks and opportunities that do not exist with most other open source licenses. Gnu affero general public license a gnu license for developers who make their software available to users on network servers.
Gpl general public license is a free license software that is popularly used across the world. Gnu affero general public license gnu project free. This entry explains that people are free to use modified versions of gpled works internally without releasing source code, and that using gpled code to run your site is just a special case of that. Both the ordinary gnu gpl, version 3, and the gnu affero gpl have text allowing you to link together modules under these two licenses in one program. The gnu gpl allows people to modify the software they receive, and share those modified versions with others, as long as they make source available to the recipients when they do so. Jun 29, 2007 use with the gnu affero general public license. Conditions on distributing ghostscript in a commercial context. Aclu massachusetts technology for liberty director kade. For now, gnu gpl is an enforceable contract, says us federal judge the software hippies minds are going to be blown over this one by kieren mccarthy in san francisco may 2017 at 09. Can gpl licenced software be used in corporate environments.
The free software foundation has recommended that the gnu agplv3 be considered for any software that will commonly be run over. Gnu affero gpl version 3 and the asp loophole submitted by michael tiemann on thu. By publishing this license, the fsf aims to foster user and development communities around networkoriented free software. Free software foundation releases gnu affero general public. The gnu affero general public license is a modified version of the ordinary gnu gpl version 3. Gnu affero general public license wikimili, the best. Notwithstanding any other provision of this license, you have permission to link or combine any covered work with a work licensed under version 3 of the gnu affero general public license into a single combined work, and. What is the decisive difference between lgplv3 and agpl v3. This page is intended to provide a summary of information that developers and companies may find useful in understanding licensing.
Gnu affero general public license wikipedia, a enciclopedia. We recommend that people consider using the gnu agpl for any software which will commonly be run over a network. The gnu general public license gnu gpl or gpl is a series of widely used free software licenses that guarantee end users the freedom to run, study, share, and modify the software. The gnu affero general public license is a free, copyleft license for software and other kinds of works, specifically designed to ensure cooperation with the community in the case of network server software. The bestknown copyleft licenses are the gnu general public license gpl2 and its more recent cousin the gnu affero general public license agpl 3, but there are others as well. The gnu affero general public license is a free, copyleft license for software and other kinds of works, specifically designed to ensure cooperation with the. The gnu affero general public license gnu agpl is a modified version of. Ampache web based audiovideo streaming application. Affero general public license, casto zkracovano jako affero gpl nebo agpl a nekdy neformalne tez affero licence je oznaceni pro dve rozdilne, avsak historicky souvisejici licence svobodneho softwaru.
Gnu affero general public license dictionary definition gnu. The affero general public license gnu agpl is a similar license with a focus on networking server software. The gnu affero general public license is a copyleft license for software that is intended to be run on web servers like web applications. Kade works to protect and expand core first and fourth amendment rights and civil liberties in the digital 21st century, focusing on how systems of surveillance and control impact not just society in general but their primary targets people of color, muslims, immigrants, and dissidents. The software freedom law center provides practical advice for developers about including permissively licensed source. This public license applies to most of affero s software and to any other program whose authors commit to using it. Open source licenses grant permission for anybody to use, modify, and share licensed software for any purpose, subject to conditions preserving the provenance and openness of the software.
Using agpl software requires that anything it links to must also be licensed under the agpl. Agpl what you can do and what you cant software engineering. Can i use a gpl data collection agent in commercial software. The affero general public license is a free software license. But because a use of the web service does not, itself, result in making a distribution of software, neither the gpl nor any other open source license guarantees 1 to users the freedom to read, modify, or share the code providing the web service, nor 2. Gnu affero gpl version 3 and the asp loophole submitted by michael tiemann on thu, 20070607 11. Gnu affero general public license version 3 veni, vidi. The gnu general public license gnu gpl or simply gpl is a widely used free software license, originally written by richard stallman for the gnu project. Gnu affero general public license v3 an overview by rowan wilson is licensed under a creative commons attributionsharealike 4. Gnu affero general public license gnu project free software. Agpl ghostscript is provided under the gnu affero general public license agpl, as well as under an artifex commercial license. You may copy, distribute and modify the software as long as you track changesdates of in source files and keep modifications under gpl.
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. The following licenses are sorted by the number of conditions, from most gnu agplv3 to none unlicense. What can and cant i do with open source software licensed. For now, gnu gpl is an enforceable contract, says us. Both licenses have the same copyleft scope, but materially differ in one important way. Jun 21, 2016 it also contains a patent license and retaliation clause which is designed to prevent patents including patent trolls from encumbering the software project. The gnu affero general public license agpl distribution examples. The licenses used by gnu are the free software foundation family of licenses.
Gnu affero gpl version 3 and the asp loophole open source. Saass means that users use someone elses web server to do their own computing. These licenses have the restriction that you are obliged to include the source code and release your software under the same license if you distribute the softeware. Nov 27, 2018 as a valued partner and proud supporter of metacpan, stickeryou is happy to offer a 10% discount on all custom stickers, business labels, roll labels, vinyl lettering or custom decals. The licenses for most software and other practical works are designed to take away your freedom to share and change the works. The gnu agpl is similar to the gnu general public license, except that it additionally covers the use of the software over a computer network, requiring that the complete source code be made available to any network user of the agpled work, for example a web application. Gnu general public license unofficial ubuntu wiki fandom. The unnumbered toplevel headings have been interpreted as defining toplevel sections, and are displayed here with faint squarebracketed numbers that are not in the original. The gpl licenses gplv3, gplv2, lgpl, affero gpl all contain some kind of sharealike license. This document sets forth the conditions under which ghostscript may be distributed in a commercial context. You can distribute your application using a gpl library commercially, but you must also provide the source code.
These licenses are very suitable for use in a corporate environment. The gnu affero general public license agpl ghostscript. There is a reasonable description at gnu affero general public license wikipedia and the actual license text is available at gnu affero general public license but to make a long story short, you can probably think of it as a version of the gpl3. Kade crockford is the director of the technology for liberty program at the aclu of massachusetts. This license is based on gplv3 with a new requirement to ensure that users who interact with the software over a network can receive the source for that program. 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. It first came into being in the month of september of 1983. I am using ghostscript on a desktop application that i intend to sell online. The gnu affero gpl by brett smith free software foundation. The gnu general public license is a free, copyleft license for software and other kinds of works. Apache 2 software can therefore be included in gplv3 projects, because the gplv3. Two new entries for the gnu licenses faq free software.
This is an incomplete list of software that are licensed under the gnu affero general public license, in alphabetical order akvo platform data platform for sustainable development goals and international development tracking. Nov 19, 2007 the affero general public license is a free software license. Like the gnu general public license, the affero license allows you to use, copy and change the code of software, but requires that you release your changes if you distribute the software or you run a modified copy on a web server on the internet. This license was originally written by richard stallman from the free software foundation for the gnu project. Each version differs from the version of the gnu gpl on which it is based in having an added provision addressing use of software over a computer network. The gnu affero general public license agpl distribution examples this document sets forth the conditions under which ghostscript may be distributed in a commercial context. The free software foundation has recommended that the gnu agplv3 be considered. The first version of the affero general public license agplv1, was published by affero, inc. As long as i do not change the source code of these, i am not forced to enclose the source code with my product. The gnu affero gpl does not address the problem of service as a software substitute saass. The free software foundation today released the second discussion draft of the gnu affero general public license gnu agpl. The problem was that the entry went on to explain how things are different when it comes to the affero gnu general public license agpl.
Nov 19, 2007 free software foundation releases gnu affero general public license version 3 by brett smith contributions published on nov 19, 2007 10. Agpl is a fairly new license that was meant to go gpl overnetworks. The gnu lesser general public license lgpl is a free software license published by the free software foundation fsf. This free software foundation license is fairly new, and thus we wanted to talk about how this license differs from gpl. Why the gnu affero gpl gnu project free software foundation. There is also a gnu free documentation license, which was originally intended for use with documentation for gnu software, but has also been adopted for other uses, such as the wikipedia project. Anki the desktop version is under gnu agpl, the android version is under gplv3. A noncopyleft license is simply one that permits the code to be incorporated in a program. Gnu general public license wikipedia, a enciclopedia livre. Gnu affero general public license article about gnu affero. For more detailed and complete information on the agpl please visit the gnu web site. Mar 01, 2002 this public license applies to most of affero s software and to any other program whose authors commit to using it.
Some other affero software is covered by the gnu library general public license instead. The following licenses are sorted by the number of conditions, from most gnu agplv3 to. Free software foundation releases gnu affero general. The gpl is an example of a copyleft license that requires derived works to be available under the same copyleft. The license allows developers and companies to use and integrate a software component released under the lgpl into their own even proprietary software without being required by the terms of a strong copyleft license to release the source code of their own components. We recommend that people consider using the gnu agpl for any. It allows users to study, run, share, and modify the software. Definition of gnu affero general public license pcmag. The affero general public license affero gpl and informally affero license is a free software license.
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