Hi all, Thanks Tim for raising this with the PSC, and David for finding that clause in the publisher agreement.
On Greg's redistribution question: I looked at the default Microsoft Store app license terms, and by default they don't allow users to make copies or republish the app for others, which would conflict with the GPL. David's find in section 3(b) suggests publishers can attach their own license terms instead of the default ones, so that may be a way around it. This definitely needs a lawyer to confirm before anyone relies on it. On my end, I'd just like to help with the packaging and testing side of things to get QGIS distributed through the Microsoft Store,as well as the submission process. I'm happy to help with investigating the MSIX/Store packaging requirements, testing the resulting package, and working through any Windows-specific issues that may come up. If the licensing questions are considered sufficiently addressed by the PSC and the others, I'd be interested to hear what the next steps would be for evaluating a QGIS Store package. Thanks, Yaw. On Wed, 26 Aug 2026 at 00:16, <[email protected]> wrote: > Send QGIS-Developer mailing list submissions to > [email protected] > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > https://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/qgis-developer > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > [email protected] > > You can reach the person managing the list at > [email protected] > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of QGIS-Developer digest..." > Today's Topics: > > 1. Microsoft Store distribution for QGIS (Yaw Mensah) > 2. Re: Microsoft Store distribution for QGIS (Greg Troxel) > 3. Re: [Qgis-psc] Next 4.x LTR (Nyall Dawson) > 4. Re: Microsoft Store distribution for QGIS (Tim Sutton) > 5. Re: Microsoft Store distribution for QGIS (Greg Troxel) > 6. Re: Microsoft Store distribution for QGIS (David Strip) > > > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: Yaw Mensah <[email protected]> > To: [email protected] > Cc: > Bcc: > Date: Mon, 24 Aug 2026 09:42:12 -0400 > Subject: [QGIS-Developer] Microsoft Store distribution for QGIS > > Hi, > > I was wondering whether distributing QGIS Desktop through the Microsoft > Store has been considered before. > > I have some experience packaging and publishing Windows applications > through the Microsoft Store and would be interested in helping investigate > this as an additional distribution option for QGIS. > > Before I start experimenting with a package, I wanted to ask whether there > are known blockers or project concerns around this, particularly regarding > dependencies, signing, updates, or maintaining an additional distribution > channel. > > If this is something the project would be open to exploring, I'd be happy > to investigate the packaging requirements and contribute a proof of concept. > > Thanks, > Yaw > > > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: Greg Troxel <[email protected]> > To: Yaw Mensah via QGIS-Developer <[email protected]> > Cc: > Bcc: > Date: Mon, 24 Aug 2026 13:49:30 -0400 > Subject: Re: [QGIS-Developer] Microsoft Store distribution for QGIS > Yaw Mensah via QGIS-Developer <[email protected]> writes: > > > I was wondering whether distributing QGIS Desktop through the Microsoft > > Store has been considered before. > > > > I have some experience packaging and publishing Windows applications > > through the Microsoft Store and would be interested in helping > investigate > > this as an additional distribution option for QGIS. > > > > Before I start experimenting with a package, I wanted to ask whether > there > > are known blockers or project concerns around this, particularly > regarding > > dependencies, signing, updates, or maintaining an additional distribution > > channel. > > Can you explain how the IP terms work? When people get binaries > through the store, are they able to redisribute them to other people? > - Do they have the technical ability to copy? > - Is there anything in the MS Store terms that prohibit such copying? > > I have no idea what the answers are here, but I think it's always an > important question when considering distribution methods. > > (That's all assuming that qgis continues to be licensed under GPL2!) > > > > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: Nyall Dawson <[email protected]> > To: "Jürgen E. Fischer" <[email protected]>, [email protected], > QGIS PSC <[email protected]> > Cc: > Bcc: > Date: Tue, 25 Aug 2026 10:26:09 +1000 > Subject: Re: [QGIS-Developer] [Qgis-psc] Next 4.x LTR > On Mon, 24 Aug 2026 at 23:15, Jürgen E. Fischer via QGIS-Developer > <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > Hi Nyall, > > > > On Fri, 21. Aug 2026 at 11:54:28 +1000, Nyall Dawson via QGIS-Developer > wrote: > > > I don't think we're there yet for 4.2. 3.44 is a VERY solid release, > > > and I think we'd be doing our enterprise users a disservice by > > > officially promoting the idea that 4.4 is just as stable. > > > > So your suggestion is to removed the ltr-4_2 tag and continue 3.44 as > LTR for > > the forseeable future until there is a 4.x release that is close to the > > stability of 3.44? > > That's my feeling. > > (I mean -- try opening a layout, selecting two items, and group ... > *CRASH*. This is the kind of fundamental issue I'm referring to when I > say 4.2 isn't a match for 3.44 for stability). > > Nyall > > > > > > > > Jürgen > > > > -- > > Jürgen E. Fischer norBIT GmbH Tel. > +49-4931-918175-31 > > Dipl.-Inf. (FH) Rheinstraße 13 Fax. > +49-4931-918175-50 > > Software Engineer D-26506 Norden > https://www.norbit.de > > QGIS release manager (PSC) Germany Matrix: @jef: > osgeo.org > > _______________________________________________ > > QGIS-Developer mailing list > > [email protected] > > List info: https://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/qgis-developer > > Unsubscribe: https://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/qgis-developer > > > > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: Tim Sutton <[email protected]> > To: Greg Troxel <[email protected]> > Cc: Yaw Mensah via QGIS-Developer <[email protected]> > Bcc: > Date: Tue, 25 Aug 2026 22:15:19 +0100 > Subject: Re: [QGIS-Developer] Microsoft Store distribution for QGIS > Hi Yaw > > Yes this is something we discuss occassionally - I think GIMP and / or > Inkscape are in the MS store too if I am not mistaken? I am going to add it > to the PSC meeting agenda again for next weeks call where we can discuss it > further and get back to you. > > Regards > > Tim > > > > On Mon, Aug 24, 2026 at 6:49 PM Greg Troxel via QGIS-Developer < > [email protected]> wrote: > >> Yaw Mensah via QGIS-Developer <[email protected]> writes: >> >> > I was wondering whether distributing QGIS Desktop through the Microsoft >> > Store has been considered before. >> > >> > I have some experience packaging and publishing Windows applications >> > through the Microsoft Store and would be interested in helping >> investigate >> > this as an additional distribution option for QGIS. >> > >> > Before I start experimenting with a package, I wanted to ask whether >> there >> > are known blockers or project concerns around this, particularly >> regarding >> > dependencies, signing, updates, or maintaining an additional >> distribution >> > channel. >> >> Can you explain how the IP terms work? When people get binaries >> through the store, are they able to redisribute them to other people? >> - Do they have the technical ability to copy? >> - Is there anything in the MS Store terms that prohibit such copying? >> >> I have no idea what the answers are here, but I think it's always an >> important question when considering distribution methods. >> >> (That's all assuming that qgis continues to be licensed under GPL2!) >> _______________________________________________ >> QGIS-Developer mailing list >> [email protected] >> List info: https://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/qgis-developer >> Unsubscribe: https://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/qgis-developer >> > > > -- > > Tim Sutton > > *Kartoza Cofounder*Tim is a member of the QGIS Project Steering Committee > > *E *: [email protected] *W* : kartoza.com > > > > *This email and any attachments are confidential and intended solely for > the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you * > *have received this email in error, please notify the sender immediately > and delete it from your system. Unauthorised use, disclosure, or copying* > *of the contents is prohibited.* > > > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: Greg Troxel <[email protected]> > To: David Strip <[email protected]> > Cc: Tim Sutton <[email protected]>, Yaw Mensah via QGIS-Developer < > [email protected]> > Bcc: > Date: Tue, 25 Aug 2026 18:54:46 -0400 > Subject: Re: [QGIS-Developer] Microsoft Store distribution for QGIS > David Strip <[email protected]> writes: > > > On 8/25/2026 3:15 PM, Tim Sutton via QGIS-Developer wrote: > > > > Hi Yaw > > > > Yes this is something we discuss occassionally - I think GIMP and / or > Inkscape are in the MS store too if I am not > > mistaken? I am going to add it to the PSC meeting agenda again for next > weeks call where we can discuss it further > > and get back to you. > > > > I checked - yes, GIMP and Inkscape are in the store. QField is there too > and lists the license as GPLv2 or later. > > Great, the next thing to check is if the terms are actually compatible. > Enough people are fuzzy on licensing and willing to break the rules > because they think app stores are important, that one can't conclude > it's ok. > > For example, QField is in the apple app store, and that prohibits > distirbuting the app you receive. That's outright incompatible with the > GPL, and QGIS does not have an apple exception. I've raised this issue, > but I haven't seen any substantive comments addresssing it. (I think > it's good there is no apple exception; the Free Software community > shouldn't have to break their own rules to accomodate Apple's choices to > be difficult about Free Software.) > > > > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: David Strip <[email protected]> > To: Greg Troxel <[email protected]> > Cc: Tim Sutton <[email protected]>, Yaw Mensah via QGIS-Developer < > [email protected]> > Bcc: > Date: Tue, 25 Aug 2026 22:10:54 -0600 > Subject: Re: [QGIS-Developer] Microsoft Store distribution for QGIS > On 8/25/2026 4:54 PM, Greg Troxel wrote: > > Great, the next thing to check is if the terms are actually compatible. > Enough people are fuzzy on licensing and willing to break the rules > because they think app stores are important, that one can't conclude > it's ok. > > > Usual caveat - I am not a lawyer. > The publisher agreement is here > <https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/legal/marketplace/msft-publisher-agreement> > . > > The relevant section appears to be 3b - > > *(b)* *Third-Party Rights/Open-Source Licenses*. Your Offer and Offer > Assets must not infringe or misappropriate any intellectual property or > personal right of any third party. If you license any portion of your Offer > from a third party or under any open-source license, you are solely > responsible for compliance with such terms and for ensuring that Microsoft, > in its capacity as your agent or commissionaire, has the necessary rights > to perform its obligations to you under this Agreement. You are, at your > sole cost and expense, responsible for securing, reporting, and maintaining > all necessary rights, clearances, and consents and paying all licensing > fees (including applicable public performance license fees or other > consideration associated with providing music or video (and all content > embodied therein) in and through your Offer), and for undertaking all > related reporting obligations. > > For open source licenses, MS appears to have removed itself from the > licensing pathway between the person/organization submitting the product > and the customer. It is thus incumbent on the submitter to provide the > means for meeting the license requirements, such as providing links to the > license and source code. Perhaps these links could be in the listing in the > MS Store, or in the about screen of the app. This is already the case for > the license in QGIS. > > Obviously an actual lawyer would need to verify this interpretation. > > _______________________________________________ > QGIS-Developer mailing list > [email protected] > List info: https://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/qgis-developer > Unsubscribe: https://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/qgis-developer >
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