Re: Qt License Clearification
[repost because matthias used wrong list addresse. Matthis, it is
debian-devel@lists.debian.org. ]
^^^^^^
On Thu, Nov 19, 1998 at 01:20:57PM +0100, Matthias Ettrich wrote:
> Hi Debian,
>
> I read the thread "Qt license change" and it seemed to me that some
> missunderstandings showed up that I would like to clearify, hope you don't mind
> me interupting the discussion.
Hello Matthias,
thank you very much for your input on this matter. Instant clarification
helps a lot in cases of misunderstandings!
> The Qt Free Edition *always* (i.e. even with the old license) used to allow
> commercial usage. In other words: If you want to sell your application, do it.
> There is and was nothing in the license that would hinder you.
This is indeed as I read it, and the QPL fulfills the DFSG/OSS in this
point.
> What you cannot do with the Qt Free Edition is writing *proprietary*
> applications. In this aspect, it's quite similar to a GPLed library. (This was
> btw. the reason why Red Hat dropped Qt initially and tries to get rid of other
> GPLed (not LGPLed) libraries.) But since Debian wants to encourage people to
> write DSG-free software, you probably prefer the QPL over the LGPL anyway.
I can't speak for everyone here (and I know that some people actually
disagree with it), but I feel comfortable with it.
> I definitely do not want Linux to suffer from thousands of little closed-source
> shareware programs, while I most certainly accept and want real big commercial
> applications.
The QPL works in this direction, right. A good point, btw (which is not
applicable for GPL'ed libraries where you don't know if you can buy a
license for proprietary use).
> Thank you for discussing the new license. As Marcus already said, we would
> very much like to have your final feedback to the current draft.
Thank you for your information, Matthias.
Marcus
--
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