[Paraview] legal question

[Dominik Szczerba]

Looks like I hit a sensitive point :)

Thanks a lot to all for your remarks.

Dominik

Berk Geveci wrote:
> Yes, it is annoyingly complicated. Here is my understanding of the whole thing:
> 
> * The binaries we are distributing are under GPL since I use the
> GPL'ed version of Qt to make binaries (due to popular demand). We can
> do this because we also freely distribute the ParaView source under a
> compatible license.
> 
> * The source is distributed under BSD. This is OK because we use the
> commercial version of Qt to develop it.
> 
> * It is OK for us to accept small code/patches developed with GPL'ed
> version of Qt.
> 
> * You can build plugins that depend on only ParaView libraries and not
> Qt under any license you want.
> 
> * You can distribute these plugins under any license you want.
> 
> * What happens when someone loads those plugins from the ParaView
> binaries we distribute is not clear to me. However, there is no way
> for this to have any impact on the license under which you distribute
> your plugin. That would be like saying if I load a Windows codec in a
> GPL'ed application, that codec becomes GPL'ed. I am sure Microsoft
> would object to that :-)
> 
> * If you are developing plugins that depend on Qt, they either have to
> be GPL'ed or you have to have a commercial Qt license.
> 
> In summary, I would
> 
> * not but a Qt license if I am distributing VTK/server manager only plugins
> * buy a Qt license I am distributing plugins that include and link against Qt
> 
> -berk
> 
> 
> On Wed, Nov 5, 2008 at 4:52 AM, Dominik Szczerba <dominik at itis.ethz.ch> wrote:
>> As I thought, this is getting quite complicated.
>>
>> Ideally, I would like to distribute just plugins, but have seen way too many
>> discussions on the list how to do it right and robust, so am considering
>> just a whole build for simplicity.
>>
>> Question is: do I need a commercial QT license. But I seem to get the
>> answer: no, as long as I do not use it myself and only rely on PV whose
>> source I reference.
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Dominik
>>
>> John Biddiscombe wrote:
>>> To clarify myself, I realize that I erred after clicking send.....
>>>
>>> If Dominik is ditributing a standard version of paraview, and his plugins
>>> are only vtk/cxx/etc with no Qt custom panels, then it is safe to distribute
>>> freely and all is well. the distribution should refer to the source location
>>> of standard paraview, and the custom plugins can be closed source.
>>>
>>> If there are custom panels using Qt code, then the Qt license becomes
>>> necessary if it is not GPL.
>>>
>>> Better?
>>>
>>> JB
>>>> The terms of the Qt license allow, GPL compatible, or commerical. So if
>>>> Dominik is making the source code available to his users, he can distribute
>>>> freely as GPL, if the source is not available, then he requires a Qt
>>>> License.
>>>>
>>>> I no doubt have oversimplified it and await correction from others.
>>>>
>>>> JB
>>>>> I am not an expert on this issue, but it seems like you'd have to buy
>>>>> the commercial license to the qt gui libraries.
>>>>>
>>>>> Juan
>>>>>
>>>>> On Tue, Nov 4, 2008 at 5:07 PM, Dominik Szczerba <dominik at itis.ethz.ch>
>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> Am I allowed to distribute a binray version of PV bundled with my own
>>>>>> plugins? (sorry I am particularly dumb to any legal issues)
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Dominik
>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>> ParaView mailing list
>>>>>> ParaView at paraview.org
>>>>>> http://www.paraview.org/mailman/listinfo/paraview
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> ParaView mailing list
>>>>> ParaView at paraview.org
>>>>> http://www.paraview.org/mailman/listinfo/paraview
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> John Biddiscombe,                            email:biddisco @ cscs.ch
>>>> http://www.cscs.ch/
>>>> CSCS, Swiss National Supercomputing Centre  | Tel:  +41 (91) 610.82.07
>>>> Via Cantonale, 6928 Manno, Switzerland      | Fax:  +41 (91) 610.82.82
>>>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> ParaView mailing list
>>>> ParaView at paraview.org
>>>> http://www.paraview.org/mailman/listinfo/paraview
>>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> John Biddiscombe,                            email:biddisco @ cscs.ch
>>> http://www.cscs.ch/
>>> CSCS, Swiss National Supercomputing Centre  | Tel:  +41 (91) 610.82.07
>>> Via Cantonale, 6928 Manno, Switzerland      | Fax:  +41 (91) 610.82.82
>>>
>>>
>>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> ParaView mailing list
>>> ParaView at paraview.org
>>> http://www.paraview.org/mailman/listinfo/paraview
>> _______________________________________________
>> ParaView mailing list
>> ParaView at paraview.org
>> http://www.paraview.org/mailman/listinfo/paraview
>>
> 

-- 
Dominik Szczerba, PhD
Computational Physics Group
IT'IS Foundation for Research
http://www.itis.ethz.ch