[IGSTK-Developers] GUI : License : Copyrights

Luis Ibanez luis.ibanez at kitware.com
Sun Jan 22 13:41:14 EST 2006



    IGSTK does not depend on FLTK anymore.


   We remove those dependencies in order to
   facilitate the integration with Slicer.

   You will find now a CMake option for building
   IGSTK with or without FLTK.

   When you don't use FLTK, the View classes
   will not be compiled. Since, as David already
   pointed out, those are the only classes in
   IGSTK that rely on FLTK.


   In order to support Qt we should provide the
   Qt version of the current classes:

            View, View2D and View3D


   But...


   If we do so, those Qt dependent classes
   SHOULD NOT be distributed with IGSTK, because
   they are derivative work from Qt, and will
   contaminate IGSTK with a GPL license.

   If we write Qt-IGSTK binding, those classes
   should be distributed as an independent library,
   and that library will have to be subject to the
   GPL license, with at addendum specifying that
   if a developer has a commercial Qt license, then
   the Qt-IGSTK code will be covered by the same
   Qt commercial license.



   Kevin: What you are suggesting is to write the
          GUI of the validation tool using Qt ?

          or are you suggesting that if IGSTK uses
          Qt then it will be easier to write the
          validation tool ?

          We may have misinterpreted your email.


    If what you are suggesting is to write the
    validation tool using Qt, that is fine. The
    tool will be subject to a GPL license and
    will be distributed independently of IGSTK.

    IGSTK developers can use the GPLd tool for
    validating their designs, and do not need
    to link their applications with the tool, so
    their applications do not get contaminated
    with the GPL license.



For more details on licensing and its troubles,
you may find interesting the reading material
at the end of the follwing NAMIC Wiki page:

http://www.na-mic.org/Wiki/index.php/NAMIC_Wiki:Community_Licensing

or go directly to:
http://www.na-mic.org/Wiki/index.php/NAMIC_Wiki:Community_Licensing#Reading_List

Lawerence Rosen book

"Open Source Licensing:
  Software Freedom and Intellectual Property Law"


is available online at


    http://www.rosenlaw.com/oslbook.htm




      Luis



PS. Never understimage the reach of Copyright laws...



   The "Happy Birthday" song is still under copyright
   protection. You shouldn't sign it without asking
   for permission. The song still make about $2M a year
   in royalties. Time Warner is the copyright holder.




----------------------
Julien Jomier wrote:
>  > We can't have GPL code in IGSTK.  We possibly could have
>  > Qt commercial code, but only if any developer who touched
>  > that code held a Qt commercial license.  That's a hard thing
>  > to regulate, but it is potentially doable.
> 
> AFAIK we should be able to develop support for Qt in IGSTK. The new 
> Open-source version of Qt requires the following:
> 
> - Make the complete source code of your program available to all end users
> - Allow all users to re-use, modify and re-distribute the code
> - Give up your right to demand compensation for re-use and re-distribution
> - Add a notice to your program that it is GPL licensed when it runs
> 
> And from the quote:
> "If you are unsure of what license you need, then follow this simple 
> rule of thumb: If you're Open Source, Qt is Open Source. If you're 
> commercial, Qt is commercial."
> 
> More info at: http://www.trolltech.com/download/opensource.html
> 
> So I think from the toolkit point of view we can redistribute support 
> for Qt. Then the users should pay for the commercial license if they 
> want to use it in a commercial application, if they are going 
> open-source they will be ok.
> 
> That said, I agree with David that IGSTK shouldn't be tied to a specific 
> GUI toolkit and it will be a good exercise to test it with another GUI.
> 
> Julien
> 
> David Gobbi wrote:
> 
>> Hi Kevin,
>>
>> Right now the View classes are still tightly tied to FLTK,
>> but there has been definite motion away from absolute
>> dependence of IGSTK on FLTK.
>>
>> The Qt licensing issue is a biggie... TrollTech is very
>> explicit about their commercial licensing conditions.
>> Anybody working on Qt code that will eventually become
>> commercial, must hold a Qt commercial license before
>> they begin working on the code, otherwise the code is
>> strictly under the GPL and cannot be converted
>> to the Qt commercial license at a later date.
>>
>> We can't have GPL code in IGSTK.  We possibly could have
>> Qt commercial code, but only if any developer who touched
>> that code held a Qt commercial license.  That's a hard thing
>> to regulate, but it is potentially doable.
>>
>>  - David
>>
>>
>>
>> --- Kevin Gary <kgary at asu.edu> wrote:
>>
>>> All,
>>>
>>> We have a dilemma with the validation tool we are writing. For the
>>> GUI, it would be better to use Qt, but our understanding of the
>>> Qt open source license is that it is GPL and therefore not compatible
>>> with IGSTK licensing. Do we misunderstand Qt? I was under the
>>> impression IGSTK was considering using it alongside FLTK?
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>> K2
>>>
>>>
>>> -- 
>>> ===
>>> Kevin A. Gary, Ph.D.
>>> Assistant Professor
>>> DCST, ASU East
>>> (480)727-1373
>>> http://kgary2.east.asu.edu
>>> kgary at asu.edu
>>>
>>>> begin:vcard
>>>
>>> fn:Kevin Gary
>>> n:Gary;Kevin
>>> org:Arizona State University Polytechnic;Division of Computing Studies
>>> adr:Bldg. 140;;7001 E. Williams Field Road;Mesa;AZ;85212;USA
>>> email;internet:kgary at asu.edu
>>> title:Assistant Professor
>>> tel;work:(480)727-1373
>>> tel;fax:(480)727-1248
>>> tel;cell:(602)312-7397
>>> x-mozilla-html:FALSE
>>> url:http://kgary2.east.asu.edu
>>> version:2.1
>>> end:vcard
>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>
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>>>
>>
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> 
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