Licensees holding valid commercial qt licenses may use this file in accordance with the commercial license agreement provided with the software or, alternatively, in accordance with the terms. Depending on which country you live in you may also need to pay value added tax vat. Qt licensed under commercial licenses is appropriate for development of proprietarycommercial software where you do not want to share any. The wxwindows library licence is essentially the lgpl library general public licence, with an exception stating that derived works in binary form may be distributed on the users own terms. Until recently, this component was licensed under the lgpl license, so i was forced to use the component in the form of a shared library. The qt development tools and related applications like the qt creator ide will be released under the gplv3 as well as a commercial license.
Licenses used in qt for python qt for python contains some code that is not provided under the gnu lesser general public license lgpl or the qt commercial license, but rather under specific licenses from the original authors. The lgpl carries some restrictions regarding the ability for users to relink. Development platforms and restrictions this certificate entitles a single developer to use the software for development on the following platforms. This is a solution that satisfies those who wish to produce gpled software using wxwidgets, and also those producing proprietary software. You should have received a copy of the gnu lesser general public license along with this library. Do i need a commercial license for the qt framework. Qt to be available for free under lgpl successful software. Lgpl the lgpl is a license agreement written and ed by the free software foundation.
Can i use an lgpllicenced library in my commercial app. Can i use qt lgpl license and sell my application without. You can also make commercial apps using qt for free with the lgpl license. Youve already got the answer that lgpl libraries can be used in commercial software. The qt company gratefully acknowledges these and other contributions to qt for python. With the commercial license you also have access to the official qt support and close strategic relationship with the qt company to make sure your development goals are met. Though the commercial license includes more toolslibs for embedded systems, you dont have. The trolls do exactly the same gpl, lgpl, commercial license available. Lgpllicensed libraries can be linked with nongpl licensed programs, including proprietary software. Licensees holding valid commercial qt licenses may use this file in accordance with the commercial license agreement provided with the software or, alternatively, in accordance with the terms contained in. Even modules like the virtual keyboard, the software renderer for qml without opengl and the unittest integration into qtcreator will become available under gpl. Qt s commercial license is for when you wish to modify qt s source code, and not release the changes you have made to the public. Jul 12, 2017 ics recommends qt commercial licensing by mark hatch wednesday, july 12, 2017 when launching a new project using qt, you have to decide whether to buy a commercial license or use the free, open source version. The lgpl carries some restrictions regarding the ability for users to relink libraries and other restrictions that may impose architectural requirements that some organizations might not be comfortable with.
Ics recommends qt commercial licensing by mark hatch wednesday, july 12, 2017 when launching a new project using qt, you have to decide whether to buy a commercial license or use. A lesser general public license lgpl is a license for opensource software that allows for provisions for including elements of free software in either free or proprietary software. Paraview uses a permissive bsd license that enables the broadest possible audience, including commercial organizations, to use the software, royalty free, for most purposes. Moving to the issue of source publication, that is specifically, deliberately removed under lgpl lesser gpl, providing certain conditions are met. Anything statically linked to the library can only be redistributed under lgpl, but applications that use the library.
Jan 14, 2009 5 thoughts on qt to be available for free under lgpl n. The gpl makes sense for tools, as it ensures that anyone distributing a modified version gives the changes back to the community, but doesnt prevent using the tools to create nonfree software. Pyside and pyqt essentially do the same thing, correct. The code and all of the demos and examples are known to build and run under ubuntu linux and qt versions up to and including qt 5.
Qt is available under the following free software licenses. The commercial qt license gives you the full rights to create and distribute software on your own terms without any open source license obligations. Besides the lgpl license for pyside2, youll have to make sure that you comply with the qt licensing terms. From what i understand ianal, you can use the lgplgpl licensedversions of qt wher,whenever you want. Why you shouldnt use the lesser gpl for your next library.
What exactly do i need to do if i use a lgpl licensed library. You may copy, distribute and modify the software provided that you state modifications and license them under lgpl 2. The main problem is how they qt digia company downplay on how far you can go with free lgpl license. Revised versions of the gnu lesser general public license.
This software can be used under any of the following licenses. Modifications must not alter or remove any notices in the software. A lesser general public license lgpl is a license for opensource software that allows for provisions for including elements of free software in either free or proprietary. Qt licensed under the gnu lesser general public license lgpl version 3 is. The documentation provided herein is licensed under the terms of the gnu free. If you are using the commercial version of qt, or planning to use it, please contact the qt company. However you must license qt under the lgpl and discharge your responsibilities under that license. Do i have to buy a qt commercial license for developing an in. Product library name open source license library homepage license content. This is at least the stated goal of the qt company. I have a commercial application that uses a qt solutions component.
Even modules like the virtual keyboard, the software renderer for qml without opengl and the. The gnu lesser general public license lgpl is a freesoftware license published by the free software foundation fsf. In addition to the all os license terms supplied with the commercial release of qt 4. Just as you neeed to fullfill your obligations to nokia depending on the qt license you. I have a commercial application that uses a qt sol. This software can be used under any of the following licenses, at your choice. Also note that, in the following discussion, lgpl refers to the gnu lesser. The license allows developers and companies to use and integrate a software component released under the lgpl into their own even proprietary software without being required by the terms of a strong copyleft license to release the source code of their own components. Paraview license paraview uses a permissive bsd license that enables the broadest possible audience, including commercial organizations, to use the software, royalty free, for most purposes. The commercial qt license includes email support, access to upgrades and allows you to develop fully closed source software. Qt for application development is also available under gpl and lgplv3 open source licenses. It doesnt matter that your business is cars, not software. Using the digia qt framework lgpl for commercial applications. I dont think management will have a problem with purchasing a pyqt license if we need it.
As an additional permission to the gnu lesser general public license version. I think the fact that qt cannot be statically linked under the lgpl license will still leave room for wxwidgetsit would be nice if qt could be statically linked and i would then change over. Some customers use commercial qt and thus pay the qt company per runtime license, and some use the opensource version and dont pay. What exactly do i need to do if i use a lgpl licensed. The free software foundation may publish revised and or new versions of the gnu lesser general public license from time to time. Documentation contributions included herein are the s of their respective owners.
In addition, there are other licenses that are applicable because of other packages leveraged by paraview or developed by collaborators. The lgpl is a copyleft open source software license but is less restrictive than the gnu gpl. See how to choose a license for your own work for general recommendations about choosing a license for your work the gnu project has two principal licenses to use for libraries. Qt documentation is available under commercial licenses from the qt company, and. Lgpl allows you to have a binary application, as long as it is dynamically in the sense of at runtime linked. Alternatively, your company could license qt under the lgpl for free. Qt is available under lgplv3 so that half of the problem is solved. The gpl world will be as nice and carefree as the commercial world from qt 5. Qt licensed under commercial licenses is appropriate for development of. If i understand lgpl text correctly, i need to somehow provide the source for the library.
Qt contains some code that is not provided under the gnu lesser general public license lgpl or the qt commercial license, but rather under specific licenses from the original authors the qt company gratefully acknowledges these and other contributions to qt. They try as hard as possible to create an illusion that if you want to use qt in commercial proprietary apps, you have to go with qt commercial. The gnu general public license gnu gpl or gpl is a series of widely used free software licenses that guarantee end users the freedom to run, study, share, and modify the software. We recommend that programs that use qt also acknowledge these contributions, and quote these license statements in an appendix to the. The gnu project has two principal licenses to use for libraries. The thing is, pyside2 is for using the qt framework. You may copy, distribute and modify the software provided that you state modifications and. Some customers use commercial qt and thus pay the qt company per runtime license, and some use the. Lgpl allows you to have a binary application, as long as it.
Qt tools and some libraries are only available under gpl. The license allows developers and companies to use and integrate a software component released under the lgpl into their own even proprietary software without being required by. The free software foundation may publish revised andor new versions of the gnu lesser general public license from. Qt s lgpl license relates to qt and qt only, so you can package your code and license it however you like, but unless you plan on buying a qt commercial license, you have to dynamically link to qt. Commercial licensing of products such as qt for industrial embedded. Jul 20, 20 using the digia qt framework lgpl for commercial applications july 20, 20 july 20, 20 baltazaar this post is targeted at any developer that needs a good framework to develop true cross platform applications. The free software foundation may publish revised andor new versions of the gnu lesser general public license from time to time. Lesser general public license is sometimes referred to as library gpl or gnu libraries, and some associate it with the idea of. The thing is, pyside2 is for using the qt framework with python programs. Note that some components of the qt framework may be gpl licensed, and not lgpl. A pyqt license covers all of riverbanks commercial products.
My main concern having to purchase a qt commercial. The gpl, lgpl, and mozilla licenses understanding open. This is due to a restriction in the qt commercial license on creating applications that pass on functionality. So a futre consumer product licensing opensource software under gplv3 could not be.
See how to choose a license for your own work for general recommendations about choosing a license for your work. Lgpl which qt is released allows commercialclosed source applications as long as you do not modify the qt libraries or if you do making them available to the public. Track in fossa gnu lesser general public license v2. The gnu lesser general public license lgpl is a free software license published by the free software foundation fsf. I have read this questions and answers, but i still dont understand what exactly do i need to do if i dynamically link with a library that uses a lgpl license the sdl library in my case.
Software licensing can be a complex and confusing issue, and ive already seen. See the gnu lesser general public license for more details. Qts lgpl license relates to qt and qt only, so you can package your code and license it however you like, but unless you plan on buying a qt commercial license, you have to dynamically link to qt. Qts open source license gpl or lgpl open source stack.
Because we are engineers, we tend to shy away from asking our customers about this choice, and certainly avoid giving advice. The lgpl provides an alternative license that preserves many of the benefits of the gpl model for such librariesin fact, the lesser general public license was in its first incarnation known as the library. Qt licensed under commercial licenses is appropriate for development of proprietary commercial software where you do not want to share any source code with third parties or otherwise cannot comply with the terms of the gnu lgpl version 3 or the gnu lgpl version 2. Qt, artistic, and creative commons licenses the following restrictions apply to modifications. Qt licensed under our commercial license agreement is appropriate for development of proprietarycommercial software.
Jan 18, 2016 the qt development tools and related applications like the qt creator ide will be released under the gplv3 as well as a commercial license. If you use qt under commercial license, nothing has changed for you. I think the fact that qt cannot be statically linked under the lgpl license will still leave room for. Nokia announces that its qt crossplatform user interface and application framework for desktop and embedded platforms will be available under lgpl lesser general public license. Just as you neeed to fullfill your obligations to nokia depending on the qt license you choose the receipients of your software will choose a license and need to comply to your respective terms. The lgpl provides an alternative license that preserves many of the benefits of the gpl model for such librariesin fact, the lesser general public license was in its first incarnation known as the library general public license. Such new versions will be similar in spirit to the present version, but may differ in detail to address new problems or concerns. As i understand, you can buy a commercial license from qt and get commercial support, patches etc like we do in our company. For clarity, open source qt shall not be provided nor governed under this agreement.
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