Re: [libreoffice-users] i have questions about licensing in libreoffice.

Hi :)
Just my opinion and i might be wrong in some aspects but hopefully i've got
enough correct to give you a rough idea. :)

The OpenOffice license has changed quite a bit over the years.  LibreOffice
is closer to the original - and is aiming to be something like the Creative
Commons ones, ie free to use, free to modify and free for you to share your
modified version or/and to share the unmodified version.

You can sell the unmodified or modified versions for whatever you like as
long as it's on Cd/Dvd, or Usb or that you are providing some way for
people to install it that is different from them just downloading it from
the LibreOffice website.  You would not be charging for the software itself
so you would be charging for providing the means/method for the people to
install the software.  However you need to make it clear to them where they
can get the source code for free and be willing to give them the source
code via the same method used to give them the software.

There are sometimes disagreements about whether it is enough to just give
them a link to the LibreOffice website or whether you should provide the
source code by the same means as the rest of the software and whether you
should give them the source code at the same time as the rest of the
software.  If, for example, you are selling Cd's of LibreOffice then it
might be easiest to just include the source code on the same Cd to prevent
such 'discussions'.  If anyone asks you to provide the source code then you
have to give them at least the link to the LibreOffice website so they can
get it for free (excluding transmissions and internet charges etc).

You can charge for support, consultation, advice and other services.

If you make any money from LibreOffice then it's polite (and strategically
wise) to donate to The Document Foundation or/and a group working on
LibreOffice such as a localisation/translation group or local users-group.

There are arguments/discussions about what "make money" means.  Often the
people who do charge argue that a percentage of ALL money should go to TDF
- people who don't charge point out that it should be only an amount of the
profits (ie only after all the costs and expenses and after the costs of
expanding the business a bit have been recouped by whoever was doing the
charging).


The main aim is to get LibreOffice distributed as widely as reasonably
possible without creating problems for the people doing the distributing.
OpenOffice has moved slightly away from that idea and is a little more keen
on getting some sort of recognition for those involved in doing the
programming.

3rd party stuff; such as Java, accessibility programs (and anything else
that is not directly part of LibreOffice itself) each have their own
"Ts&Cs" (= terms and conditions) of what they want to let you do and what
they want to prevent.

With something like Java there is likely to be an Open Source
alternative/version that does have a very similar license to LibreOffice.


I have tried to describe the GPL license because that is used quite widely
in OpenSource projects.  The Mozilla license and LGPL used by LibreOffice
and a few others aims to be similar but have slight nuances or try to make
the essential freedoms clearer or more binding under law but they all aim
to be much the same as the GPL.

The Apache Foundation's licence, used by OpenOffice nowadays, tends to be
more like the BSD licenses and tends to try to give more credit to the
programmers and restrict usage a little bit more.  Confusingly some people
refer to these as being more 'permissive', i think because it gives big
businesses more control.

Regards from
Tom :)



On 15 April 2017 at 10:18, nasrin khaksar <nasrinkhaksar3@gmail.com> wrote:

> tudy it, but it was extremely long
> specially with inclusion of thirdparthy

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