2
<!DOCTYPE article PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DocBook XML V4.1.2//EN"
3
"http://www.oasis-open.org/docbook/xml/4.1.2/docbookx.dtd" [
7
The GNU Public License 2 in DocBook
8
Markup by Eric Baudais <baudais@okstate.edu>
9
Maintained by the GNOME Documentation Project
10
http://developer.gnome.org/projects/gdp
12
Last Modified: Dec 16, 2000
17
<title>GNU General Public License</title>
20
<holder>Free Software Foundation, Inc.</holder>
24
<surname>Free Software Foundation</surname>
27
<publisher role="maintainer">
28
<publishername>GNOME Documentation Project</publishername>
33
<revnumber>2</revnumber>
38
<legalnotice id="legalnotice">
40
<address>Free Software Foundation, Inc.
41
<street>51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor</street>,
43
<state>MA</state> <postcode>02110-1301</postcode>
44
<country>USA</country>
49
Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies
50
of this license document, but changing it is not allowed.
58
<abstract role="description"><para>
59
The licenses for most software are designed to take away your
60
freedom to share and change it. By contrast, the GNU General Public
61
License is intended to guarantee your freedom to share and change
62
free software - to make sure the software is free for all its users.
66
<sect1 id="preamble" label="none">
67
<title>Preamble</title>
70
The licenses for most software are designed to take away your
71
freedom to share and change it. By contrast, the GNU General Public
72
License is intended to guarantee your freedom to share and change
73
free software - to make sure the software is free for all its users.
74
This General Public License applies to most of the Free Software
75
Foundation's software and to any other program whose authors commit
76
to using it. (Some other Free Software Foundation software is covered
77
by the GNU Library General Public License instead.) You can apply it
78
to your programs, too.
82
When we speak of free software, we are referring to freedom, not price.
83
Our General Public Licenses are designed to make sure that you have the
84
freedom to distribute copies of free software (and charge for this
85
service if you wish), that you receive source code or can get it if you
86
want it, that you can change the software or use pieces of it in new free
87
programs; and that you know you can do these things.
91
To protect your rights, we need to make restrictions that forbid anyone
92
to deny you these rights or to ask you to surrender the rights. These
93
restrictions translate to certain responsibilities for you if you distribute
94
copies of the software, or if you modify it.
98
For example, if you distribute copies of such a program, whether gratis or
99
for a fee, you must give the recipients all the rights that you have. You
100
must make sure that they, too, receive or can get the source code. And you
101
must show them these terms so they know their rights.
105
We protect your rights with two steps:
107
<orderedlist numeration="arabic">
110
copyright the software, and
115
offer you this license which gives you legal permission to copy,
116
distribute and/or modify the software.
123
Also, for each author's protection and ours, we want to make certain that
124
everyone understands that there is no warranty for this free software. If
125
the software is modified by someone else and passed on, we want its
126
recipients to know that what they have is not the original, so that any
127
problems introduced by others will not reflect on the original authors'
132
Finally, any free program is threatened constantly by software patents.
133
We wish to avoid the danger that redistributors of a free program will
134
individually obtain patent licenses, in effect making the program
135
proprietary. To prevent this, we have made it clear that any patent must be
136
licensed for everyone's free use or not licensed at all.
140
The precise terms and conditions for copying, distribution and modification
146
<sect1 id="terms" label="none">
147
<title>TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR COPYING, DISTRIBUTION AND MODIFICATION</title>
149
<sect2 id="sect0" label="0">
150
<title>Section 0</title>
152
This License applies to any program or other work which contains a notice
153
placed by the copyright holder saying it may be distributed under the terms
154
of this General Public License. The <quote>Program</quote>, below, refers to any such
155
program or work, and a <quote>work based on the Program</quote> means either
156
the Program or any derivative work under copyright law: that is to say, a
157
work containing the Program or a portion of it, either verbatim or with
158
modifications and/or translated into another language. (Hereinafter, translation
159
is included without limitation in the term <quote>modification</quote>.) Each
160
licensee is addressed as <quote>you</quote>.
164
Activities other than copying, distribution and modification are not covered by
165
this License; they are outside its scope. The act of running the Program is not
166
restricted, and the output from the Program is covered only if its contents
167
constitute a work based on the Program (independent of having been made by running
168
the Program). Whether that is true depends on what the Program does.
172
<sect2 id="sect1" label="1">
173
<title>Section 1</title>
175
You may copy and distribute verbatim copies of the Program's source code as you
176
receive it, in any medium, provided that you conspicuously and appropriately
177
publish on each copy an appropriate copyright notice and disclaimer of warranty;
178
keep intact all the notices that refer to this License and to the absence of any
179
warranty; and give any other recipients of the Program a copy of this License
180
along with the Program.
184
You may charge a fee for the physical act of transferring a copy, and you may at
185
your option offer warranty protection in exchange for a fee.
189
<sect2 id="sect2" label="2">
190
<title>Section 2</title>
192
You may modify your copy or copies of the Program or any portion of it, thus
193
forming a work based on the Program, and copy and distribute such modifications
194
or work under the terms of <link linkend="sect1">Section 1</link> above, provided
195
that you also meet all of these conditions:
197
<orderedlist numeration="loweralpha">
200
You must cause the modified files to carry prominent notices stating that
201
you changed the files and the date of any change.
206
You must cause any work that you distribute or publish, that in whole or
207
in part contains or is derived from the Program or any part thereof, to be
208
licensed as a whole at no charge to all third parties under the terms of
214
If the modified program normally reads commands interactively when run, you
215
must cause it, when started running for such interactive use in the most
216
ordinary way, to print or display an announcement including an appropriate
217
copyright notice and a notice that there is no warranty (or else, saying
218
that you provide a warranty) and that users may redistribute the program
219
under these conditions, and telling the user how to view a copy of this
223
<title>Exception:</title>
225
If the Program itself is interactive but does not normally print such an
226
announcement, your work based on the Program is not required to print an
237
These requirements apply to the modified work as a whole. If identifiable sections
238
of that work are not derived from the Program, and can be reasonably considered
239
independent and separate works in themselves, then this License, and its terms,
240
do not apply to those sections when you distribute them as separate works. But when
241
you distribute the same sections as part of a whole which is a work based on the
242
Program, the distribution of the whole must be on the terms of this License, whose
243
permissions for other licensees extend to the entire whole, and thus to each and
244
every part regardless of who wrote it.
248
Thus, it is not the intent of this section to claim rights or contest your rights
249
to work written entirely by you; rather, the intent is to exercise the right to control
250
the distribution of derivative or collective works based on the Program.
254
In addition, mere aggregation of another work not based on the Program with the Program
255
(or with a work based on the Program) on a volume of a storage or distribution medium
256
does not bring the other work under the scope of this License.
260
<sect2 id="sect3" label="3">
261
<title>Section 3</title>
264
You may copy and distribute the Program (or a work based on it, under
265
<link linkend="sect2">Section 2</link>) in object code or executable form under the terms of
266
<link linkend="sect1">Sections 1</link> and <link linkend="sect2">2</link> above provided that
267
you also do one of the following:
269
<orderedlist numeration="loweralpha">
272
Accompany it with the complete corresponding machine-readable source code, which
273
must be distributed under the terms of <link linkend="sect1">Sections 1</link> and <link linkend="sect2">2</link> above on a medium
274
customarily used for software interchange; or,
279
Accompany it with a written offer, valid for at least three years, to give any
280
third party, for a charge no more than your cost of physically performing source
281
distribution, a complete machine-readable copy of the corresponding source code,
282
to be distributed under the terms of Sections 1 and 2 above on a medium customarily
283
used for software interchange; or,
288
Accompany it with the information you received as to the offer to distribute
289
corresponding source code. (This alternative is allowed only for noncommercial
290
distribution and only if you received the program in object code or executable form
291
with such an offer, in accord with Subsection b above.)
298
The source code for a work means the preferred form of the work for making modifications
299
to it. For an executable work, complete source code means all the source code for all modules
300
it contains, plus any associated interface definition files, plus the scripts used to control
301
compilation and installation of the executable. However, as a special exception, the source
302
code distributed need not include anything that is normally distributed (in either source or
303
binary form) with the major components (compiler, kernel, and so on) of the operating system
304
on which the executable runs, unless that component itself accompanies the executable.
308
If distribution of executable or object code is made by offering access to copy from a
309
designated place, then offering equivalent access to copy the source code from the same place
310
counts as distribution of the source code, even though third parties are not compelled to
311
copy the source along with the object code.
315
<sect2 id="sect4" label="4">
316
<title>Section 4</title>
319
You may not copy, modify, sublicense, or distribute the Program except as expressly provided
320
under this License. Any attempt otherwise to copy, modify, sublicense or distribute the
321
Program is void, and will automatically terminate your rights under this License. However,
322
parties who have received copies, or rights, from you under this License will not have their
323
licenses terminated so long as such parties remain in full compliance.
327
<sect2 id="sect5" label="5">
328
<title>Section 5</title>
331
You are not required to accept this License, since you have not signed it. However, nothing
332
else grants you permission to modify or distribute the Program or its derivative works.
333
These actions are prohibited by law if you do not accept this License. Therefore, by modifying
334
or distributing the Program (or any work based on the Program), you indicate your acceptance
335
of this License to do so, and all its terms and conditions for copying, distributing or
336
modifying the Program or works based on it.
340
<sect2 id="sect6" label="6">
341
<title>Section 6</title>
344
Each time you redistribute the Program (or any work based on the Program), the recipient
345
automatically receives a license from the original licensor to copy, distribute or modify
346
the Program subject to these terms and conditions. You may not impose any further restrictions
347
on the recipients' exercise of the rights granted herein. You are not responsible for enforcing
348
compliance by third parties to this License.
352
<sect2 id="sect7" label="7">
353
<title>Section 7</title>
356
If, as a consequence of a court judgment or allegation of patent infringement or for any other
357
reason (not limited to patent issues), conditions are imposed on you (whether by court order,
358
agreement or otherwise) that contradict the conditions of this License, they do not excuse you
359
from the conditions of this License. If you cannot distribute so as to satisfy simultaneously
360
your obligations under this License and any other pertinent obligations, then as a consequence
361
you may not distribute the Program at all. For example, if a patent license would not permit
362
royalty-free redistribution of the Program by all those who receive copies directly or
363
indirectly through you, then the only way you could satisfy both it and this License would be
364
to refrain entirely from distribution of the Program.
368
If any portion of this section is held invalid or unenforceable under any particular circumstance,
369
the balance of the section is intended to apply and the section as a whole is intended to apply
370
in other circumstances.
374
It is not the purpose of this section to induce you to infringe any patents or other property
375
right claims or to contest validity of any such claims; this section has the sole purpose of
376
protecting the integrity of the free software distribution system, which is implemented by public
377
license practices. Many people have made generous contributions to the wide range of software
378
distributed through that system in reliance on consistent application of that system; it is up
379
to the author/donor to decide if he or she is willing to distribute software through any other
380
system and a licensee cannot impose that choice.
384
This section is intended to make thoroughly clear what is believed to be a consequence of the
385
rest of this License.
389
<sect2 id="sect8" label="8">
390
<title>Section 8</title>
393
If the distribution and/or use of the Program is restricted in certain countries either by patents
394
or by copyrighted interfaces, the original copyright holder who places the Program under this License
395
may add an explicit geographical distribution limitation excluding those countries, so that
396
distribution is permitted only in or among countries not thus excluded. In such case, this License
397
incorporates the limitation as if written in the body of this License.
401
<sect2 id="sect9" label="9">
402
<title>Section 9</title>
405
The Free Software Foundation may publish revised and/or new versions of the General Public License
406
from time to time. Such new versions will be similar in spirit to the present version, but may differ
407
in detail to address new problems or concerns.
411
Each version is given a distinguishing version number. If the Program specifies a version number of
412
this License which applies to it and <quote>any later version</quote>, you have the option of following the terms
413
and conditions either of that version or of any later version published by the Free Software
414
Foundation. If the Program does not specify a version number of this License, you may choose any
415
version ever published by the Free Software Foundation.
419
<sect2 id="sect10" label="10">
420
<title>Section 10</title>
423
If you wish to incorporate parts of the Program into other free programs whose distribution
424
conditions are different, write to the author to ask for permission. For software which is copyrighted
425
by the Free Software Foundation, write to the Free Software Foundation; we sometimes make exceptions
426
for this. Our decision will be guided by the two goals of preserving the free status of all
427
derivatives of our free software and of promoting the sharing and reuse of software generally.
431
<sect2 id="sect11" label="11">
432
<title>NO WARRANTY</title>
433
<subtitle>Section 11</subtitle>
436
BECAUSE THE PROGRAM IS LICENSED FREE OF CHARGE, THERE IS NO WARRANTY FOR THE PROGRAM, TO THE EXTENT
437
PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW. EXCEPT WHEN OTHERWISE STATED IN WRITING THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND/OR
438
OTHER PARTIES PROVIDE THE PROGRAM <quote>AS IS</quote> WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED,
439
INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
440
PURPOSE. THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE OF THE PROGRAM IS WITH YOU. SHOULD THE
441
PROGRAM PROVE DEFECTIVE, YOU ASSUME THE COST OF ALL NECESSARY SERVICING, REPAIR OR CORRECTION.
445
<sect2 id="sect12" label="12">
446
<title>Section 12</title>
449
IN NO EVENT UNLESS REQUIRED BY APPLICABLE LAW OR AGREED TO IN WRITING WILL ANY COPYRIGHT HOLDER, OR
450
ANY OTHER PARTY WHO MAY MODIFY AND/OR REDISTRIBUTE THE PROGRAM AS PERMITTED ABOVE, BE LIABLE TO YOU
451
FOR DAMAGES, INCLUDING ANY GENERAL, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE
452
USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE PROGRAM (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OF DATA OR DATA BEING RENDERED
453
INACCURATE OR LOSSES SUSTAINED BY YOU OR THIRD PARTIES OR A FAILURE OF THE PROGRAM TO OPERATE WITH
454
ANY OTHER PROGRAMS), EVEN IF SUCH HOLDER OR OTHER PARTY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
added
removed
desktop-docs/gpl/C/gpl.xml
