[IGSTK-Developers] GUI : License : Copyrights

Luis Ibanez luis.ibanez at kitware.com
Sun Jan 22 17:29:29 EST 2006 


Hi Kevin,

If we decide to distributed software that is covered by a
GPL license, then we will have to be very explicit about it.


         It shouldn't in the same CVS repository.


If we add links to it from the Wiki, then we must add very explicit
and visible warnings about the fact that the package in question
(e.g. the validation tool) is covered by a GPL license, and therefore
any derivative work will have to be distributed under a GPL license too.


The Copyright itself does not need to be modified. The copyright
simply states who is the owner of the intellectual property of
the work. The Copyright holder is the one entitled to define
what others are allowed to do with the work and its derivatives.


Providing a License is the mechanism by which the Copyright
holder authorizes others to make use of the work. The Notices on
the validation tool should indicate that ISIS Georgetown is the
copyright holder, and that the work is distributed under a GPL
license because it is derivative work of Qt, that, in its free
edition, is distributed also under a GPL license.


The GPL license states that we must provide a textual copy of the
GPL license along with the source code of the validation tool.


For more background on Copyrights, the Wikipedia has a very
nice summary of Copyright laws (mostly in the U.S).

       http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright

and some details about licensing are in

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright#Transfer_and_licensing


--


In my 2cents opinion:



   We should avoid using source code covered by a GPL license.



       Luis



-----------------
Kevin Gary wrote:
> Oh, one question though - will we have a new/modified copyright
> statement on such external libraries to state it is GPL also?
> 
> Kevin
> 
> 
> Luis Ibanez wrote:
> 
>>
>>
>>    IGSTK does not depend on FLTK anymore.
>>
>>
>>   We remove those dependencies in order to
>>   facilitate the integration with Slicer.
>>
>>   You will find now a CMake option for building
>>   IGSTK with or without FLTK.
>>
>>   When you don't use FLTK, the View classes
>>   will not be compiled. Since, as David already
>>   pointed out, those are the only classes in
>>   IGSTK that rely on FLTK.
>>
>>
>>   In order to support Qt we should provide the
>>   Qt version of the current classes:
>>
>>            View, View2D and View3D
>>
>>
>>   But...
>>
>>
>>   If we do so, those Qt dependent classes
>>   SHOULD NOT be distributed with IGSTK, because
>>   they are derivative work from Qt, and will
>>   contaminate IGSTK with a GPL license.
>>
>>   If we write Qt-IGSTK binding, those classes
>>   should be distributed as an independent library,
>>   and that library will have to be subject to the
>>   GPL license, with at addendum specifying that
>>   if a developer has a commercial Qt license, then
>>   the Qt-IGSTK code will be covered by the same
>>   Qt commercial license.
>>
>>
>>
>>   Kevin: What you are suggesting is to write the
>>          GUI of the validation tool using Qt ?
>>
>>          or are you suggesting that if IGSTK uses
>>          Qt then it will be easier to write the
>>          validation tool ?
>>
>>          We may have misinterpreted your email.
>>
>>
>>    If what you are suggesting is to write the
>>    validation tool using Qt, that is fine. The
>>    tool will be subject to a GPL license and
>>    will be distributed independently of IGSTK.
>>
>>    IGSTK developers can use the GPLd tool for
>>    validating their designs, and do not need
>>    to link their applications with the tool, so
>>    their applications do not get contaminated
>>    with the GPL license.
>>
>>
>>
>> For more details on licensing and its troubles,
>> you may find interesting the reading material
>> at the end of the follwing NAMIC Wiki page:
>>
>> http://www.na-mic.org/Wiki/index.php/NAMIC_Wiki:Community_Licensing
>>
>> or go directly to:
>> http://www.na-mic.org/Wiki/index.php/NAMIC_Wiki:Community_Licensing#Reading_List 
>>
>>
>> Lawerence Rosen book
>>
>> "Open Source Licensing:
>>  Software Freedom and Intellectual Property Law"
>>
>>
>> is available online at
>>
>>
>>    http://www.rosenlaw.com/oslbook.htm
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>      Luis
>>
>>
>>
>> PS. Never understimage the reach of Copyright laws...
>>
>>
>>
>>   The "Happy Birthday" song is still under copyright
>>   protection. You shouldn't sign it without asking
>>   for permission. The song still make about $2M a year
>>   in royalties. Time Warner is the copyright holder.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ----------------------
>> Julien Jomier wrote:
>>
>>>  > We can't have GPL code in IGSTK.  We possibly could have
>>>  > Qt commercial code, but only if any developer who touched
>>>  > that code held a Qt commercial license.  That's a hard thing
>>>  > to regulate, but it is potentially doable.
>>>
>>> AFAIK we should be able to develop support for Qt in IGSTK. The new 
>>> Open-source version of Qt requires the following:
>>>
>>> - Make the complete source code of your program available to all end 
>>> users
>>> - Allow all users to re-use, modify and re-distribute the code
>>> - Give up your right to demand compensation for re-use and 
>>> re-distribution
>>> - Add a notice to your program that it is GPL licensed when it runs
>>>
>>> And from the quote:
>>> "If you are unsure of what license you need, then follow this simple 
>>> rule of thumb: If you're Open Source, Qt is Open Source. If you're 
>>> commercial, Qt is commercial."
>>>
>>> More info at: http://www.trolltech.com/download/opensource.html
>>>
>>> So I think from the toolkit point of view we can redistribute support 
>>> for Qt. Then the users should pay for the commercial license if they 
>>> want to use it in a commercial application, if they are going 
>>> open-source they will be ok.
>>>
>>> That said, I agree with David that IGSTK shouldn't be tied to a 
>>> specific GUI toolkit and it will be a good exercise to test it with 
>>> another GUI.
>>>
>>> Julien
>>>
>>> David Gobbi wrote:
>>>
>>>> Hi Kevin,
>>>>
>>>> Right now the View classes are still tightly tied to FLTK,
>>>> but there has been definite motion away from absolute
>>>> dependence of IGSTK on FLTK.
>>>>
>>>> The Qt licensing issue is a biggie... TrollTech is very
>>>> explicit about their commercial licensing conditions.
>>>> Anybody working on Qt code that will eventually become
>>>> commercial, must hold a Qt commercial license before
>>>> they begin working on the code, otherwise the code is
>>>> strictly under the GPL and cannot be converted
>>>> to the Qt commercial license at a later date.
>>>>
>>>> We can't have GPL code in IGSTK.  We possibly could have
>>>> Qt commercial code, but only if any developer who touched
>>>> that code held a Qt commercial license.  That's a hard thing
>>>> to regulate, but it is potentially doable.
>>>>
>>>>  - David
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --- Kevin Gary <kgary at asu.edu> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> All,
>>>>>
>>>>> We have a dilemma with the validation tool we are writing. For the
>>>>> GUI, it would be better to use Qt, but our understanding of the
>>>>> Qt open source license is that it is GPL and therefore not compatible
>>>>> with IGSTK licensing. Do we misunderstand Qt? I was under the
>>>>> impression IGSTK was considering using it alongside FLTK?
>>>>>
>>>>> Thanks,
>>>>> K2
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> -- 
>>>>> ===
>>>>> Kevin A. Gary, Ph.D.
>>>>> Assistant Professor
>>>>> DCST, ASU East
>>>>> (480)727-1373
>>>>> http://kgary2.east.asu.edu
>>>>> kgary at asu.edu
>>>>>
>>>>>> begin:vcard
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> fn:Kevin Gary
>>>>> n:Gary;Kevin
>>>>> org:Arizona State University Polytechnic;Division of Computing Studies
>>>>> adr:Bldg. 140;;7001 E. Williams Field Road;Mesa;AZ;85212;USA
>>>>> email;internet:kgary at asu.edu
>>>>> title:Assistant Professor
>>>>> tel;work:(480)727-1373
>>>>> tel;fax:(480)727-1248
>>>>> tel;cell:(602)312-7397
>>>>> x-mozilla-html:FALSE
>>>>> url:http://kgary2.east.asu.edu
>>>>> version:2.1
>>>>> end:vcard
>>>>>
>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> IGSTK-Developers mailing list
>>>>> IGSTK-Developers at public.kitware.com
>>>>> http://public.kitware.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/igstk-developers
>>>>>
>>>>
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>>>
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>>
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