GnuGPL.html

   1 <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
   2
   3
   4 <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en"
   5       lang="en">
   6
   7
   8   <head>
   9     <meta http-equiv="Content-Type"
  10           content="text/html;charset=utf-8" />
  11
  12   </head>
  13
  14 <body>
  15         <h1 class="documentFirstHeading">GNU General Public License</h1>
  16
  17         <div class="documentActions">
  18     <ul>
  19
  20         <li>
  21             <a href="http://www.fsf.org/licensing/licenses/gpl.html/sendto_form">
  22
  23                 <img src="http://www.fsf.org/mail_icon.gif"
  24                      alt="Send this page to somebody"
  25                      title="Send this page to somebody"
  26                      height="16" width="16" />
  27             </a>
  28         </li>
  29
  30
  31
  32         <li>
  33             <a href="javascript:this.print();">
  34
  35                 <img src="http://www.fsf.org/print_icon.gif"
  36                      alt="Print this page"
  37                      title="Print this page" height="16"
  38                      width="16" />
  39             </a>
  40         </li>
  41
  42     </ul>
  43 </div>
  44
  45         <div class="documentDescription"></div>
  46
  47
  48
  49         <div class="plain">
  50
  51             <p><img src="/fsf/graphics/philosophical-gnu-sm.jpg"
  52    alt=" [image of a Philosophical GNU] "
  53    width="160" height="200"></a></p>
  54 <p><p>
  55 <ul>
  56   <li><a href="gpl-violation.html">What to do if you see a
  57        possible GPL violation</a>
  58   <li><a href="translations.html">Translations
  59        of the GPL</a>
  60   <li><a href="gpl-faq.html">GPL Frequently Asked Questions</a>
  61   <li>The GNU General Public License (GPL)
  62        <a href="gpl.txt">in plain text format</a>
  63
  64   <li>The GNU General Public License (GPL)
  65        <a href="gpl.texi">in Texinfo format</a>
  66   <li>The GNU General Public License (GPL)
  67        <a href="gpl-2.0.tex">in LaTeX format</a>
  68   <li>The GNU General Public License (GPL)
  69        <a href="gpl.xml">as an appendix in DocBook format</a>
  70 </ul>
  71 </p></p>
  72 <p><p>
  73 </p></p>
  74 <p><hr /></p>
  75
  76 <p><p>
  77 </p></p>
  78 <p><h3>Table of Contents</h3></p>
  79 <h2><ul></h2>
  80 <p>  <li><a name="TOC1" href="gpl.html#SEC1">GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE</a></li>
  81   <ul>
  82     <li><a name="TOC2" href="gpl.html#SEC2">Preamble</a></li>
  83     <li><a name="TOC3" href="gpl.html#SEC3">TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR COPYING, DISTRIBUTION AND MODIFICATION</a></li>
  84     <li><a name="TOC4" href="gpl.html#SEC4">How to Apply These Terms to Your New Programs</a></li>
  85
  86   </ul>
  87 </ul></p>
  88 <p><br /></p>
  89 <p><hr /></p>
  90 <p><p>
  91 </p></p>
  92 <p><h3><a name="SEC1" href="gpl.html#TOC1">GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE</a></h3>
  93 <p>
  94 Version 2, June 1991
  95 </p></p>
  96 <p><pre>
  97 Copyright (C) 1989, 1991 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
  98 59 Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA  02111-1307, USA</p>
  99 <p>Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies
 100 of this license document, but changing it is not allowed.
 101 </pre></p>
 102
 103 <p><h3><a name="SEC2" href="gpl.html#TOC2">Preamble</a></h3></p>
 104 <p><p>
 105   The licenses for most software are designed to take away your
 106 freedom to share and change it.  By contrast, the GNU General Public
 107 License is intended to guarantee your freedom to share and change free
 108 software--to make sure the software is free for all its users.  This
 109 General Public License applies to most of the Free Software
 110 Foundation's software and to any other program whose authors commit to
 111 using it.  (Some other Free Software Foundation software is covered by
 112 the GNU Library General Public License instead.)  You can apply it to
 113 your programs, too.</p>
 114 <p></p>
 115 <p>
 116   When we speak of free software, we are referring to freedom, not
 117 price.  Our General Public Licenses are designed to make sure that you
 118 have the freedom to distribute copies of free software (and charge for
 119 this service if you wish), that you receive source code or can get it
 120 if you want it, that you can change the software or use pieces of it
 121 in new free programs; and that you know you can do these things.</p>
 122 <p></p>
 123 <p>
 124   To protect your rights, we need to make restrictions that forbid
 125 anyone to deny you these rights or to ask you to surrender the rights.
 126 These restrictions translate to certain responsibilities for you if you
 127 distribute copies of the software, or if you modify it.</p>
 128 <p></p>
 129
 130 <p>
 131   For example, if you distribute copies of such a program, whether
 132 gratis or for a fee, you must give the recipients all the rights that
 133 you have.  You must make sure that they, too, receive or can get the
 134 source code.  And you must show them these terms so they know their
 135 rights.</p>
 136 <p></p>
 137 <p>
 138   We protect your rights with two steps: (1) copyright the software, and
 139 (2) offer you this license which gives you legal permission to copy,
 140 distribute and/or modify the software.</p>
 141 <p></p>
 142 <p>
 143   Also, for each author's protection and ours, we want to make certain
 144 that everyone understands that there is no warranty for this free
 145 software.  If the software is modified by someone else and passed on, we
 146 want its recipients to know that what they have is not the original, so
 147 that any problems introduced by others will not reflect on the original
 148 authors' reputations.</p>
 149 <p></p>
 150 <p>
 151   Finally, any free program is threatened constantly by software
 152 patents.  We wish to avoid the danger that redistributors of a free
 153 program will individually obtain patent licenses, in effect making the
 154 program proprietary.  To prevent this, we have made it clear that any
 155 patent must be licensed for everyone's free use or not licensed at all.</p>
 156
 157 <p></p>
 158 <p>
 159   The precise terms and conditions for copying, distribution and
 160 modification follow.</p>
 161 <p></p></p>
 162 <p><h3><a name="SEC3" href="gpl.html#TOC3">TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR COPYING, DISTRIBUTION AND MODIFICATION</a></h3></p>
 163 <p><p></p>
 164 <p><strong>0.</strong>
 165  This License applies to any program or other work which contains
 166 a notice placed by the copyright holder saying it may be distributed
 167 under the terms of this General Public License.  The "Program", below,
 168 refers to any such program or work, and a "work based on the Program"
 169 means either the Program or any derivative work under copyright law:
 170 that is to say, a work containing the Program or a portion of it,
 171 either verbatim or with modifications and/or translated into another
 172 language.  (Hereinafter, translation is included without limitation in
 173 the term "modification".)  Each licensee is addressed as "you".
 174 </p></p>
 175 <p><p></p>
 176 <p>Activities other than copying, distribution and modification are not
 177 covered by this License; they are outside its scope.  The act of
 178 running the Program is not restricted, and the output from the Program
 179 is covered only if its contents constitute a work based on the
 180 Program (independent of having been made by running the Program).
 181 Whether that is true depends on what the Program does.
 182 </p></p>
 183
 184 <p><p></p>
 185 <p><strong>1.</strong>
 186  You may copy and distribute verbatim copies of the Program's
 187 source code as you receive it, in any medium, provided that you
 188 conspicuously and appropriately publish on each copy an appropriate
 189 copyright notice and disclaimer of warranty; keep intact all the
 190 notices that refer to this License and to the absence of any warranty;
 191 and give any other recipients of the Program a copy of this License
 192 along with the Program.
 193 </p></p>
 194 <p><p></p>
 195 <p>You may charge a fee for the physical act of transferring a copy, and
 196 you may at your option offer warranty protection in exchange for a fee.
 197 </p></p>
 198 <p><p></p>
 199 <p><strong>2.</strong>
 200  You may modify your copy or copies of the Program or any portion
 201 of it, thus forming a work based on the Program, and copy and
 202 distribute such modifications or work under the terms of Section 1
 203 above, provided that you also meet all of these conditions:
 204 </p></p>
 205 <p><p></p>
 206 <p><dl>
 207
 208 <dt>
 209 <dd>
 210 <strong>a)</strong>
 211      You must cause the modified files to carry prominent notices
 212      stating that you changed the files and the date of any change.
 213 </dd>
 214 </dt>
 215 </dl></p>
 216 <p></p></p>
 217 <p><p>
 218 <dl>
 219 <dt>
 220 <dd>
 221 <strong>b)</strong>
 222      You must cause any work that you distribute or publish, that in
 223      whole or in part contains or is derived from the Program or any
 224      part thereof, to be licensed as a whole at no charge to all third
 225      parties under the terms of this License.
 226
 227 </dd>
 228 </dt>
 229 </dl></p>
 230 <p></p></p>
 231 <p><p>
 232 <dl>
 233 <dt>
 234 <dd>
 235 <strong>c)</strong>
 236      If the modified program normally reads commands interactively
 237      when run, you must cause it, when started running for such
 238      interactive use in the most ordinary way, to print or display an
 239      announcement including an appropriate copyright notice and a
 240      notice that there is no warranty (or else, saying that you provide
 241      a warranty) and that users may redistribute the program under
 242      these conditions, and telling the user how to view a copy of this
 243      License.  (Exception: if the Program itself is interactive but
 244      does not normally print such an announcement, your work based on
 245      the Program is not required to print an announcement.)
 246 </dd>
 247 </dt>
 248 </dl></p>
 249 <p></p></p>
 250 <p><p></p>
 251
 252 <p>These requirements apply to the modified work as a whole.  If
 253 identifiable sections of that work are not derived from the Program,
 254 and can be reasonably considered independent and separate works in
 255 themselves, then this License, and its terms, do not apply to those
 256 sections when you distribute them as separate works.  But when you
 257 distribute the same sections as part of a whole which is a work based
 258 on the Program, the distribution of the whole must be on the terms of
 259 this License, whose permissions for other licensees extend to the
 260 entire whole, and thus to each and every part regardless of who wrote it.</p>
 261 <p></p></p>
 262 <p><p></p>
 263 <p>Thus, it is not the intent of this section to claim rights or contest
 264 your rights to work written entirely by you; rather, the intent is to
 265 exercise the right to control the distribution of derivative or
 266 collective works based on the Program.</p>
 267 <p></p></p>
 268 <p><p></p>
 269 <p>In addition, mere aggregation of another work not based on the Program
 270 with the Program (or with a work based on the Program) on a volume of
 271 a storage or distribution medium does not bring the other work under
 272 the scope of this License.</p>
 273 <p></p></p>
 274 <p><p></p>
 275 <p><strong>3.</strong>
 276  You may copy and distribute the Program (or a work based on it,
 277 under Section 2) in object code or executable form under the terms of
 278 Sections 1 and 2 above provided that you also do one of the following:</p>
 279
 280 <p></p></p>
 281 <p><!-- we use this doubled ul to get the sub-sections indented, -->
 282 <!-- while making the bullets as unobvious as possible. --></p>
 283 <p><p>
 284 <dl>
 285 <dt>
 286 <dd>
 287 <strong>a)</strong>
 288      Accompany it with the complete corresponding machine-readable
 289      source code, which must be distributed under the terms of Sections
 290      1 and 2 above on a medium customarily used for software interchange; or,
 291 </dd>
 292 </dt>
 293 </dl></p>
 294 <p></p></p>
 295 <p><p>
 296 <dl>
 297
 298 <dt>
 299 <dd>
 300 <strong>b)</strong>
 301      Accompany it with a written offer, valid for at least three
 302      years, to give any third party, for a charge no more than your
 303      cost of physically performing source distribution, a complete
 304      machine-readable copy of the corresponding source code, to be
 305      distributed under the terms of Sections 1 and 2 above on a medium
 306      customarily used for software interchange; or,
 307 </dd>
 308 </dt>
 309 </dl></p>
 310 <p></p></p>
 311 <p><p>
 312 <dl>
 313 <dt>
 314 <dd>
 315 <strong>c)</strong>
 316      Accompany it with the information you received as to the offer
 317      to distribute corresponding source code.  (This alternative is
 318      allowed only for noncommercial distribution and only if you
 319      received the program in object code or executable form with such
 320      an offer, in accord with Subsection b above.)
 321
 322 </dd>
 323 </dt>
 324 </dl></p>
 325 <p></p></p>
 326 <p><p></p>
 327 <p>The source code for a work means the preferred form of the work for
 328 making modifications to it.  For an executable work, complete source
 329 code means all the source code for all modules it contains, plus any
 330 associated interface definition files, plus the scripts used to
 331 control compilation and installation of the executable.  However, as a
 332 special exception, the source code distributed need not include
 333 anything that is normally distributed (in either source or binary
 334 form) with the major components (compiler, kernel, and so on) of the
 335 operating system on which the executable runs, unless that component
 336 itself accompanies the executable.</p>
 337 <p></p></p>
 338 <p><p></p>
 339 <p>If distribution of executable or object code is made by offering
 340 access to copy from a designated place, then offering equivalent
 341 access to copy the source code from the same place counts as
 342 distribution of the source code, even though third parties are not
 343 compelled to copy the source along with the object code.
 344 </p></p>
 345 <p><p></p>
 346 <p><strong>4.</strong>
 347  You may not copy, modify, sublicense, or distribute the Program
 348 except as expressly provided under this License.  Any attempt
 349 otherwise to copy, modify, sublicense or distribute the Program is
 350 void, and will automatically terminate your rights under this License.
 351 However, parties who have received copies, or rights, from you under
 352 this License will not have their licenses terminated so long as such
 353 parties remain in full compliance.</p>
 354
 355 <p></p></p>
 356 <p><p></p>
 357 <p><strong>5.</strong>
 358  You are not required to accept this License, since you have not
 359 signed it.  However, nothing else grants you permission to modify or
 360 distribute the Program or its derivative works.  These actions are
 361 prohibited by law if you do not accept this License.  Therefore, by
 362 modifying or distributing the Program (or any work based on the
 363 Program), you indicate your acceptance of this License to do so, and
 364 all its terms and conditions for copying, distributing or modifying
 365 the Program or works based on it.</p>
 366 <p></p></p>
 367 <p><p></p>
 368 <p><strong>6.</strong>
 369  Each time you redistribute the Program (or any work based on the
 370 Program), the recipient automatically receives a license from the
 371 original licensor to copy, distribute or modify the Program subject to
 372 these terms and conditions.  You may not impose any further
 373 restrictions on the recipients' exercise of the rights granted herein.
 374 You are not responsible for enforcing compliance by third parties to
 375 this License.</p>
 376 <p></p></p>
 377 <p><p></p>
 378 <p><strong>7.</strong>
 379
 380  If, as a consequence of a court judgment or allegation of patent
 381 infringement or for any other reason (not limited to patent issues),
 382 conditions are imposed on you (whether by court order, agreement or
 383 otherwise) that contradict the conditions of this License, they do not
 384 excuse you from the conditions of this License.  If you cannot
 385 distribute so as to satisfy simultaneously your obligations under this
 386 License and any other pertinent obligations, then as a consequence you
 387 may not distribute the Program at all.  For example, if a patent
 388 license would not permit royalty-free redistribution of the Program by
 389 all those who receive copies directly or indirectly through you, then
 390 the only way you could satisfy both it and this License would be to
 391 refrain entirely from distribution of the Program.
 392 </p></p>
 393 <p><p></p>
 394 <p>If any portion of this section is held invalid or unenforceable under
 395 any particular circumstance, the balance of the section is intended to
 396 apply and the section as a whole is intended to apply in other
 397 circumstances.
 398 </p></p>
 399 <p><p></p>
 400 <p>It is not the purpose of this section to induce you to infringe any
 401 patents or other property right claims or to contest validity of any
 402 such claims; this section has the sole purpose of protecting the
 403 integrity of the free software distribution system, which is
 404 implemented by public license practices.  Many people have made
 405 generous contributions to the wide range of software distributed
 406 through that system in reliance on consistent application of that
 407 system; it is up to the author/donor to decide if he or she is willing
 408 to distribute software through any other system and a licensee cannot
 409 impose that choice.
 410 </p></p>
 411 <p><p></p>
 412 <p>This section is intended to make thoroughly clear what is believed to
 413 be a consequence of the rest of this License.</p>
 414 <p></p></p>
 415 <p><p></p>
 416 <p><strong>8.</strong>
 417  If the distribution and/or use of the Program is restricted in
 418 certain countries either by patents or by copyrighted interfaces, the
 419 original copyright holder who places the Program under this License
 420 may add an explicit geographical distribution limitation excluding
 421 those countries, so that distribution is permitted only in or among
 422 countries not thus excluded.  In such case, this License incorporates
 423 the limitation as if written in the body of this License.
 424
 425 </p></p>
 426 <p><p></p>
 427 <p><strong>9.</strong>
 428  The Free Software Foundation may publish revised and/or new versions
 429 of the General Public License from time to time.  Such new versions will
 430 be similar in spirit to the present version, but may differ in detail to
 431 address new problems or concerns.
 432 </p></p>
 433 <p><p></p>
 434 <p>Each version is given a distinguishing version number.  If the Program
 435 specifies a version number of this License which applies to it and "any
 436 later version", you have the option of following the terms and conditions
 437 either of that version or of any later version published by the Free
 438 Software Foundation.  If the Program does not specify a version number of
 439 this License, you may choose any version ever published by the Free Software
 440 Foundation.
 441 </p></p>
 442 <p><p></p>
 443 <p><strong>10.</strong>
 444  If you wish to incorporate parts of the Program into other free
 445 programs whose distribution conditions are different, write to the author
 446 to ask for permission.  For software which is copyrighted by the Free
 447 Software Foundation, write to the Free Software Foundation; we sometimes
 448 make exceptions for this.  Our decision will be guided by the two goals
 449 of preserving the free status of all derivatives of our free software and
 450 of promoting the sharing and reuse of software generally.
 451 </p></p>
 452 <p><p><strong>NO WARRANTY</strong></p></p>
 453
 454 <p><p></p>
 455 <p><strong>11.</strong>
 456  BECAUSE THE PROGRAM IS LICENSED FREE OF CHARGE, THERE IS NO WARRANTY
 457 FOR THE PROGRAM, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW.  EXCEPT WHEN
 458 OTHERWISE STATED IN WRITING THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND/OR OTHER PARTIES
 459 PROVIDE THE PROGRAM "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED
 460 OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
 461 MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  THE ENTIRE RISK AS
 462 TO THE QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE OF THE PROGRAM IS WITH YOU.  SHOULD THE
 463 PROGRAM PROVE DEFECTIVE, YOU ASSUME THE COST OF ALL NECESSARY SERVICING,
 464 REPAIR OR CORRECTION.
 465 </p></p>
 466 <p><p></p>
 467 <p><strong>12.</strong>
 468  IN NO EVENT UNLESS REQUIRED BY APPLICABLE LAW OR AGREED TO IN WRITING
 469 WILL ANY COPYRIGHT HOLDER, OR ANY OTHER PARTY WHO MAY MODIFY AND/OR
 470 REDISTRIBUTE THE PROGRAM AS PERMITTED ABOVE, BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR DAMAGES,
 471 INCLUDING ANY GENERAL, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING
 472 OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE PROGRAM (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED
 473 TO LOSS OF DATA OR DATA BEING RENDERED INACCURATE OR LOSSES SUSTAINED BY
 474 YOU OR THIRD PARTIES OR A FAILURE OF THE PROGRAM TO OPERATE WITH ANY OTHER
 475 PROGRAMS), EVEN IF SUCH HOLDER OR OTHER PARTY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE
 476 POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
 477 </p></p>
 478 <p><h3>END OF TERMS AND CONDITIONS</h3></p>
 479 <p><h3><a name="SEC4" href="gpl.html#TOC4">How to Apply These Terms to Your New Programs</a></h3></p>
 480 <p><p>
 481
 482   If you develop a new program, and you want it to be of the greatest
 483 possible use to the public, the best way to achieve this is to make it
 484 free software which everyone can redistribute and change under these terms.</p>
 485 <p></p>
 486 <p>
 487   To do so, attach the following notices to the program.  It is safest
 488 to attach them to the start of each source file to most effectively
 489 convey the exclusion of warranty; and each file should have at least
 490 the "copyright" line and a pointer to where the full notice is found.</p>
 491 <p></p></p>
 492 <p><pre>
 493 <var>one line to give the program's name and an idea of what it does.</var>
 494 Copyright (C) <var>yyyy</var>  <var>name of author</var></p>
 495
 496 <p>This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
 497 modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License
 498 as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2
 499 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.</p>
 500 <p>This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
 501 but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
 502 MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
 503 GNU General Public License for more details.</p>
 504 <p>You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
 505 along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software
 506 Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA  02111-1307, USA.
 507 </pre></p>
 508 <p><p>
 509 Also add information on how to contact you by electronic and paper mail.</p>
 510 <p></p>
 511 <p>
 512 If the program is interactive, make it output a short notice like this
 513 when it starts in an interactive mode:</p>
 514 <p></p></p>
 515 <p><pre>
 516 Gnomovision version 69, Copyright (C) <var>year</var> <var>name of author</var>
 517
 518 Gnomovision comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY; for details
 519 type `show w'.  This is free software, and you are welcome
 520 to redistribute it under certain conditions; type `show c'
 521 for details.
 522 </pre></p>
 523 <p><p>
 524 The hypothetical commands <samp>`show w'</samp> and <samp>`show c'</samp> should show
 525 the appropriate parts of the General Public License.  Of course, the
 526 commands you use may be called something other than <samp>`show w'</samp> and
 527 <samp>`show c'</samp>; they could even be mouse-clicks or menu items--whatever
 528 suits your program.</p>
 529 <p></p>
 530
 531 <p>
 532 You should also get your employer (if you work as a programmer) or your
 533 school, if any, to sign a "copyright disclaimer" for the program, if
 534 necessary.  Here is a sample; alter the names:</p>
 535 <p></p></p>
 536 <p><pre>
 537 Yoyodyne, Inc., hereby disclaims all copyright
 538 interest in the program `Gnomovision'
 539 (which makes passes at compilers) written
 540 by James Hacker.</p>
 541 <p><var>signature of Ty Coon</var>, 1 April 1989
 542 Ty Coon, President of Vice
 543 </pre></p>
 544 <p><p>
 545 This General Public License does not permit incorporating your program into
 546 proprietary programs.  If your program is a subroutine library, you may
 547 consider it more useful to permit linking proprietary applications with the
 548 library.  If this is what you want to do, use the
 549 <a href="lgpl.html">GNU Lesser General Public License</a>
 550 instead of this License.
 551 </p></p>
 552
 553         </div>
 554 <br><br>
 555 <a href="http://198.252.169.32/openemr/index.php" target="main">Return to Login</a><br>
 556 <a href="http://198.252.169.32/" target="main">Return to Main</a><br><br>
 557
 558   </body>
 559
 560 </html>
 561