Hi,
I'm having some questions about the licensing of Lazarus. According to the
docs supplied lazarus sourcecode is GPLed. Does this mean that the IDE
binary is too? Is this automatically the case always?
In my company I got the question to provide a proof that Lazarus is
freeware. I cannot find it on the website. The only remark I found in the
about section is that you can create commercial apps with the ide.
I'm shure that other have similar issues, therefore I would like a "legal
issues" section to be placed on the main site page?
The attachment represents possible contents.
What do you think?
Darius
This page answers most of the common queries relating to the Lazarus GPL
license.
Q1. What does the GPL mean and where can I find it?
Q2. What does the Lazarus GPL license mean?
Q3. What are the requirements to use Lazarus for internal use?
Q4. Does the Lazarus GPL license prohibit commercial use?
Q5. Is it possible to include the Lazarus software in CD's accompanying books?
Q1. What does the GPL mean and where can I find it?
GPL means General Public License and you can find it here:
Q2. What does the Lazarus GPL license mean?
Note: this answer gives you a short general explanation in common language of
the meaning of Lazarus GPL license but keep in mind that only the license is
legal.
Lazarus GPL license allows you to:
use freely Lazarus for non commercial use
use freely Lazarus for commercial use if you do not use it as a derived
software (ie a modified Lazarus) or a composite software (ie Lazarus included
in another software).
Lazarus GPL license forbids you to:
use a composite or derived version of Lazarus for commercial uses without
acknowledging Lazarus.
Q3. What are the requirements to use Lazarus for internal use?
There is no requirements for the use of Lazarus for internal use and Lazarus
GPL license makes no distinction between public scientific and research area
and industrial environment.
Q4. Does the Lazarus GPL license prohibit commercial use?
No, the Lazarus GPL license does not prohibit commercial use as long as you do
not modify Lazarus software or include it in another software.
Q5. Is it possible to include the Lazarus software in CD's accompanying books?
Yes, it is. You can reproduce and distribute Lazarus software on any support as
long as you do acknowledge the original Lazarus software.
