Advertisement
By
contrast,
the GNU General Public Ucense is intended to
guarantee your freedom to share and change all versions of a
program--to make sure it remains free software for all its users.
We, the Free Software Foundation, use the GNU General
Public Ucense for
most
of our software; it applies also to any
other work released this way by its authors.
You
can
apply it to your programs, too.
'Nhen we speak of free software,
we
are referring to freedom,
not price. Our General Public Ucenses are designed to make
sure that you have
the
freedom to distribute copies of free
software (and charge for them if you wish), that you receive
source code or
can
get it if you want
it, that you
can
change
the software or use pieces of it in new free programs, and that
you know you
can
do these things.
To protect your rights,
we
need to prevent others from
denying you these rights or asking
you
to surrender the rights.
Therefore, you have certain responsibHities if you distribute
copies of
the
software, or if you modify it: responsibilities to
respect the freedom of
others.
For example, if you distribute copies of such a program,
whether gratis or for a fee, you must pass on to the recipients
the same freedoms that you received. You must make sure
that they, too, receive or
can
get the source code.
And
you
must show them these terms so they know their rights.
Developers that use the GNU GPL protect your rights with two steps:
(1)
assert
copyright on the software, and (2) offer you this Ucense
gMng you legal permission to
copy,
distribute and/or modify
it.
For the developers' and authors' protection, the GPL clear1y
explains that there is no warranty for this free software. For
both users' and authors' sake, the GPL requires that modified
versions be marked
as
changed, so that their problems will not
be attributed erroneously to authors of previous versions.
Some
devices are designed to deny users access to install or
run modified versions of
the
software inside them, although the
manufacturer
can
do so. This is fundamentally incompatible with
the aim of protecting users' freedom to change the software.
The systematic pattern of such abuse occurs in the area of
products
for
individuals to use, which is precisely where it is
most unacceptable. Therefore,
we
have designed this version
of
the
GPL to prohibit the practice
for
those products. If such
problems arise substantially in other domains,
we
stand ready
to extend this provision to those domains in future versions of
the GPL,
as
needed
to protect the freedom of users.
Rnally, f1oi9TY program is threatened constantly by software
patents. States should not allow patents to restrict development
and use of software on general-purpose computers, but in
those that do,
we
wish to avoid the special danger that patents
applied to a free program could make it effectively proprietary.
To prevent this, the GPL assures that patents cannot be used
to render the program
non-free.
The precise terms and conditions for copying, distribution and
modification follow.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
0. Definitions.
"This Ucense" refers to version
3
of the GNU General Public
Ucense.
"Copyright" also means copyright -like laws that apply to other
kinds of works, such
as
semiconductor
masks.
"The Program· refers to any copyrightable work licensed under
this Ucense. Each licensee is addressed
as
"you". ·ucensees·
and "recipients• may be individuals or organizations.
To "modify" a work means to
copy
from or adapt all
or
part of the
work in a fashion requiring copyright permission, other than the
making of an exact
copy.
The resulting work is called a "modified
version" of the earlier work or a work "based on" the earlier
work.
A
"covered work" means either the unmodified Program or a
work based on the Program.
To "propagate" a work means to do anything with it that, without
permission, would make you directly or secondarily liable for
infringement under applicable copyright law, except executing it
on a computer or modifying a private
copy.
Propagation includes
copying, distribution (with or
without
modification), making available
to the public, and in some countries other activities as well.
To "convey" a work means any kind of propagation that
enables other parties to make or receive
copies.
Mere
interaction with a user through a computer network,
with
no
transfer of a copy, is not conveying.
M interactive user interface displays • Appropriate Legal
Notices" to the extent that it includes a convenient and
prominently visible feature that (1) displays an appropriate
copyright notice, and (2) tells the user that there is no warranty
for the work (except to the extent that warranties are provided),
that licensees may convey the work under this Ucense, and
how to view a
copy
of this Ucense: If the interface presents a
list of user commands or options, such
as
a menu, a prominent
item in the list meets this criterion.
1.
Source
Code.
The "source code" for a work means
the
preferred form of
the
work for making modifications to it. "Object code" means any
non-source form of a work.
Advertisement
