VirtualBox

source: vbox/trunk/doc/License-gpl-2.0.html@ 43138

Last change on this file since 43138 was 35199, checked in by vboxsync, 14 years ago

LICENSE: updates for extension packs, formatted variants

  • Property svn:eol-style set to native
  • Property svn:keywords set to Author Date Id Revision
File size: 21.4 KB
Line 
1<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">
2<html>
3<head>
4<!-- Translation from RTF performed by UnRTF, version 0.20.1 -->
5<!-- document uses ANSI character set -->
6<!-- font table contains 8 fonts total -->
7<!-- creation date: -->
8<!-- revision date: -->
9<!-- last printed: -->
10<!-- comments: StarWriter -->
11</head>
12<body>Preliminary notes:<br>
13<br>
141) The majority of code in the VirtualBox Open Source Edition (OSE) is<br>
15copyrighted by Oracle Corporation. This code is combined with third-party code<br>
16that was originally released under licenses which the Free Software Foundation<br>
17considers incompatible with the GPL, such as the Apache License 2.0, the OpenSSL<br>
18license, the Mozilla Public License (MPL) and the Slirp license. (Please see the<br>
19VirtualBox User Manual for a complete list of third-party code and their<br>
20licenses.) As a special exception to the terms and conditions of the GPL listed<br>
21below, Oracle gives you explicit permission to combine its GPL code contained in<br>
22VirtualBox OSE with third-party code under the aforementioned licenses. You may<br>
23copy and distribute such a combination provided that you adhere to the terms and<br>
24conditions of all of the GPL and the licenses of the third-party code; in<br>
25particular, you must include the source code of the entire combination insofar<br>
26as the GPL requires distribution of source code.<br>
27<br>
282) The GPL listed below does not bind software which uses VirtualBox services by<br>
29merely linking to VirtualBox libraries so long as all VirtualBox interfaces used<br>
30by that software are multi-licensed. A VirtualBox interface is deemed<br>
31multi-licensed if it is declared in a VirtualBox header file that is licensed<br>
32under both the GPL version 2 (below) *and* the Common Development and<br>
33Distribution License Version 1.0 (CDDL), as it comes in the &quot;COPYING.CDDL&quot; file.<br>
34In other words, calling such a multi-licensed interface is merely considered<br>
35normal use of VirtualBox and does not turn the calling code into a derived work<br>
36of VirtualBox. In particular, this applies to code that wants to extend<br>
37VirtualBox by way of the Extension Pack mechanism declared in the ExtPack.h<br>
38header file.<br>
39<br>
403) Whoever creates or distributes a derived work based on VirtualBox OSE is not<br>
41obligated to grant the above exceptions for such a version. The GPL allows for<br>
42releasing a modified version without the above exception; in addition, Oracle<br>
43hereby also allows you to release a modified version which carries forward these<br>
44exceptions.<br>
45<br>
46Oracle Corporation<br>
47<br>
48-------------------------------------------------------<br>
49<br>
50 GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE<br>
51 Version 2, June 1991<br>
52<br>
53 Copyright (C) 1989, 1991 Free Software Foundation, Inc.,<br>
54 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA<br>
55 Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies<br>
56 of this license document, but changing it is not allowed.<br>
57<br>
58 Preamble<br>
59<br>
60 The licenses for most software are designed to take away your<br>
61freedom to share and change it. By contrast, the GNU General Public<br>
62License is intended to guarantee your freedom to share and change free<br>
63software--to make sure the software is free for all its users. This<br>
64General Public License applies to most of the Free Software<br>
65Foundation's software and to any other program whose authors commit to<br>
66using it. (Some other Free Software Foundation software is covered by<br>
67the GNU Lesser General Public License instead.) You can apply it to<br>
68your programs, too.<br>
69<br>
70 When we speak of free software, we are referring to freedom, not<br>
71price. Our General Public Licenses are designed to make sure that you<br>
72have the freedom to distribute copies of free software (and charge for<br>
73this service if you wish), that you receive source code or can get it<br>
74if you want it, that you can change the software or use pieces of it<br>
75in new free programs; and that you know you can do these things.<br>
76<br>
77 To protect your rights, we need to make restrictions that forbid<br>
78anyone to deny you these rights or to ask you to surrender the rights.<br>
79These restrictions translate to certain responsibilities for you if you<br>
80distribute copies of the software, or if you modify it.<br>
81<br>
82 For example, if you distribute copies of such a program, whether<br>
83gratis or for a fee, you must give the recipients all the rights that<br>
84you have. You must make sure that they, too, receive or can get the<br>
85source code. And you must show them these terms so they know their<br>
86rights.<br>
87<br>
88 We protect your rights with two steps: (1) copyright the software, and<br>
89(2) offer you this license which gives you legal permission to copy,<br>
90distribute and/or modify the software.<br>
91<br>
92 Also, for each author's protection and ours, we want to make certain<br>
93that everyone understands that there is no warranty for this free<br>
94software. If the software is modified by someone else and passed on, we<br>
95want its recipients to know that what they have is not the original, so<br>
96that any problems introduced by others will not reflect on the original<br>
97authors' reputations.<br>
98<br>
99 Finally, any free program is threatened constantly by software<br>
100patents. We wish to avoid the danger that redistributors of a free<br>
101program will individually obtain patent licenses, in effect making the<br>
102program proprietary. To prevent this, we have made it clear that any<br>
103patent must be licensed for everyone's free use or not licensed at all.<br>
104<br>
105 The precise terms and conditions for copying, distribution and<br>
106modification follow.<br>
107<br>
108 GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE<br>
109 TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR COPYING, DISTRIBUTION AND MODIFICATION<br>
110<br>
111 0. This License applies to any program or other work which contains<br>
112a notice placed by the copyright holder saying it may be distributed<br>
113under the terms of this General Public License. The &quot;Program&quot;, below,<br>
114refers to any such program or work, and a &quot;work based on the Program&quot;<br>
115means either the Program or any derivative work under copyright law:<br>
116that is to say, a work containing the Program or a portion of it,<br>
117either verbatim or with modifications and/or translated into another<br>
118language. (Hereinafter, translation is included without limitation in<br>
119the term &quot;modification&quot;.) Each licensee is addressed as &quot;you&quot;.<br>
120<br>
121Activities other than copying, distribution and modification are not<br>
122covered by this License; they are outside its scope. The act of<br>
123running the Program is not restricted, and the output from the Program<br>
124is covered only if its contents constitute a work based on the<br>
125Program (independent of having been made by running the Program).<br>
126Whether that is true depends on what the Program does.<br>
127<br>
128 1. You may copy and distribute verbatim copies of the Program's<br>
129source code as you receive it, in any medium, provided that you<br>
130conspicuously and appropriately publish on each copy an appropriate<br>
131copyright notice and disclaimer of warranty; keep intact all the<br>
132notices that refer to this License and to the absence of any warranty;<br>
133and give any other recipients of the Program a copy of this License<br>
134along with the Program.<br>
135<br>
136You may charge a fee for the physical act of transferring a copy, and<br>
137you may at your option offer warranty protection in exchange for a fee.<br>
138<br>
139 2. You may modify your copy or copies of the Program or any portion<br>
140of it, thus forming a work based on the Program, and copy and<br>
141distribute such modifications or work under the terms of Section 1<br>
142above, provided that you also meet all of these conditions:<br>
143<br>
144 a) You must cause the modified files to carry prominent notices<br>
145 stating that you changed the files and the date of any change.<br>
146<br>
147 b) You must cause any work that you distribute or publish, that in<br>
148 whole or in part contains or is derived from the Program or any<br>
149 part thereof, to be licensed as a whole at no charge to all third<br>
150 parties under the terms of this License.<br>
151<br>
152 c) If the modified program normally reads commands interactively<br>
153 when run, you must cause it, when started running for such<br>
154 interactive use in the most ordinary way, to print or display an<br>
155 announcement including an appropriate copyright notice and a<br>
156 notice that there is no warranty (or else, saying that you provide<br>
157 a warranty) and that users may redistribute the program under<br>
158 these conditions, and telling the user how to view a copy of this<br>
159 License. (Exception: if the Program itself is interactive but<br>
160 does not normally print such an announcement, your work based on<br>
161 the Program is not required to print an announcement.)<br>
162<br>
163These requirements apply to the modified work as a whole. If<br>
164identifiable sections of that work are not derived from the Program,<br>
165and can be reasonably considered independent and separate works in<br>
166themselves, then this License, and its terms, do not apply to those<br>
167sections when you distribute them as separate works. But when you<br>
168distribute the same sections as part of a whole which is a work based<br>
169on the Program, the distribution of the whole must be on the terms of<br>
170this License, whose permissions for other licensees extend to the<br>
171entire whole, and thus to each and every part regardless of who wrote it.<br>
172<br>
173Thus, it is not the intent of this section to claim rights or contest<br>
174your rights to work written entirely by you; rather, the intent is to<br>
175exercise the right to control the distribution of derivative or<br>
176collective works based on the Program.<br>
177<br>
178In addition, mere aggregation of another work not based on the Program<br>
179with the Program (or with a work based on the Program) on a volume of<br>
180a storage or distribution medium does not bring the other work under<br>
181the scope of this License.<br>
182<br>
183 3. You may copy and distribute the Program (or a work based on it,<br>
184under Section 2) in object code or executable form under the terms of<br>
185Sections 1 and 2 above provided that you also do one of the following:<br>
186<br>
187 a) Accompany it with the complete corresponding machine-readable<br>
188 source code, which must be distributed under the terms of Sections<br>
189 1 and 2 above on a medium customarily used for software interchange; or,<br>
190<br>
191 b) Accompany it with a written offer, valid for at least three<br>
192 years, to give any third party, for a charge no more than your<br>
193 cost of physically performing source distribution, a complete<br>
194 machine-readable copy of the corresponding source code, to be<br>
195 distributed under the terms of Sections 1 and 2 above on a medium<br>
196 customarily used for software interchange; or,<br>
197<br>
198 c) Accompany it with the information you received as to the offer<br>
199 to distribute corresponding source code. (This alternative is<br>
200 allowed only for noncommercial distribution and only if you<br>
201 received the program in object code or executable form with such<br>
202 an offer, in accord with Subsection b above.)<br>
203<br>
204The source code for a work means the preferred form of the work for<br>
205making modifications to it. For an executable work, complete source<br>
206code means all the source code for all modules it contains, plus any<br>
207associated interface definition files, plus the scripts used to<br>
208control compilation and installation of the executable. However, as a<br>
209special exception, the source code distributed need not include<br>
210anything that is normally distributed (in either source or binary<br>
211form) with the major components (compiler, kernel, and so on) of the<br>
212operating system on which the executable runs, unless that component<br>
213itself accompanies the executable.<br>
214<br>
215If distribution of executable or object code is made by offering<br>
216access to copy from a designated place, then offering equivalent<br>
217access to copy the source code from the same place counts as<br>
218distribution of the source code, even though third parties are not<br>
219compelled to copy the source along with the object code.<br>
220<br>
221 4. You may not copy, modify, sublicense, or distribute the Program<br>
222except as expressly provided under this License. Any attempt<br>
223otherwise to copy, modify, sublicense or distribute the Program is<br>
224void, and will automatically terminate your rights under this License.<br>
225However, parties who have received copies, or rights, from you under<br>
226this License will not have their licenses terminated so long as such<br>
227parties remain in full compliance.<br>
228<br>
229 5. You are not required to accept this License, since you have not<br>
230signed it. However, nothing else grants you permission to modify or<br>
231distribute the Program or its derivative works. These actions are<br>
232prohibited by law if you do not accept this License. Therefore, by<br>
233modifying or distributing the Program (or any work based on the<br>
234Program), you indicate your acceptance of this License to do so, and<br>
235all its terms and conditions for copying, distributing or modifying<br>
236the Program or works based on it.<br>
237<br>
238 6. Each time you redistribute the Program (or any work based on the<br>
239Program), the recipient automatically receives a license from the<br>
240original licensor to copy, distribute or modify the Program subject to<br>
241these terms and conditions. You may not impose any further<br>
242restrictions on the recipients' exercise of the rights granted herein.<br>
243You are not responsible for enforcing compliance by third parties to<br>
244this License.<br>
245<br>
246 7. If, as a consequence of a court judgment or allegation of patent<br>
247infringement or for any other reason (not limited to patent issues),<br>
248conditions are imposed on you (whether by court order, agreement or<br>
249otherwise) that contradict the conditions of this License, they do not<br>
250excuse you from the conditions of this License. If you cannot<br>
251distribute so as to satisfy simultaneously your obligations under this<br>
252License and any other pertinent obligations, then as a consequence you<br>
253may not distribute the Program at all. For example, if a patent<br>
254license would not permit royalty-free redistribution of the Program by<br>
255all those who receive copies directly or indirectly through you, then<br>
256the only way you could satisfy both it and this License would be to<br>
257refrain entirely from distribution of the Program.<br>
258<br>
259If any portion of this section is held invalid or unenforceable under<br>
260any particular circumstance, the balance of the section is intended to<br>
261apply and the section as a whole is intended to apply in other<br>
262circumstances.<br>
263<br>
264It is not the purpose of this section to induce you to infringe any<br>
265patents or other property right claims or to contest validity of any<br>
266such claims; this section has the sole purpose of protecting the<br>
267integrity of the free software distribution system, which is<br>
268implemented by public license practices. Many people have made<br>
269generous contributions to the wide range of software distributed<br>
270through that system in reliance on consistent application of that<br>
271system; it is up to the author/donor to decide if he or she is willing<br>
272to distribute software through any other system and a licensee cannot<br>
273impose that choice.<br>
274<br>
275This section is intended to make thoroughly clear what is believed to<br>
276be a consequence of the rest of this License.<br>
277<br>
278 8. If the distribution and/or use of the Program is restricted in<br>
279certain countries either by patents or by copyrighted interfaces, the<br>
280original copyright holder who places the Program under this License<br>
281may add an explicit geographical distribution limitation excluding<br>
282those countries, so that distribution is permitted only in or among<br>
283countries not thus excluded. In such case, this License incorporates<br>
284the limitation as if written in the body of this License.<br>
285<br>
286 9. The Free Software Foundation may publish revised and/or new versions<br>
287of the General Public License from time to time. Such new versions will<br>
288be similar in spirit to the present version, but may differ in detail to<br>
289address new problems or concerns.<br>
290<br>
291Each version is given a distinguishing version number. If the Program<br>
292specifies a version number of this License which applies to it and &quot;any<br>
293later version&quot;, you have the option of following the terms and conditions<br>
294either of that version or of any later version published by the Free<br>
295Software Foundation. If the Program does not specify a version number of<br>
296this License, you may choose any version ever published by the Free Software<br>
297Foundation.<br>
298<br>
299 10. If you wish to incorporate parts of the Program into other free<br>
300programs whose distribution conditions are different, write to the author<br>
301to ask for permission. For software which is copyrighted by the Free<br>
302Software Foundation, write to the Free Software Foundation; we sometimes<br>
303make exceptions for this. Our decision will be guided by the two goals<br>
304of preserving the free status of all derivatives of our free software and<br>
305of promoting the sharing and reuse of software generally.<br>
306<br>
307 NO WARRANTY<br>
308<br>
309 11. BECAUSE THE PROGRAM IS LICENSED FREE OF CHARGE, THERE IS NO WARRANTY<br>
310FOR THE PROGRAM, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW. EXCEPT WHEN<br>
311OTHERWISE STATED IN WRITING THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND/OR OTHER PARTIES<br>
312PROVIDE THE PROGRAM &quot;AS IS&quot; WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED<br>
313OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF<br>
314MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE ENTIRE RISK AS<br>
315TO THE QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE OF THE PROGRAM IS WITH YOU. SHOULD THE<br>
316PROGRAM PROVE DEFECTIVE, YOU ASSUME THE COST OF ALL NECESSARY SERVICING,<br>
317REPAIR OR CORRECTION.<br>
318<br>
319 12. IN NO EVENT UNLESS REQUIRED BY APPLICABLE LAW OR AGREED TO IN WRITING<br>
320WILL ANY COPYRIGHT HOLDER, OR ANY OTHER PARTY WHO MAY MODIFY AND/OR<br>
321REDISTRIBUTE THE PROGRAM AS PERMITTED ABOVE, BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR DAMAGES,<br>
322INCLUDING ANY GENERAL, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING<br>
323OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE PROGRAM (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED<br>
324TO LOSS OF DATA OR DATA BEING RENDERED INACCURATE OR LOSSES SUSTAINED BY<br>
325YOU OR THIRD PARTIES OR A FAILURE OF THE PROGRAM TO OPERATE WITH ANY OTHER<br>
326PROGRAMS), EVEN IF SUCH HOLDER OR OTHER PARTY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE<br>
327POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.<br>
328<br>
329 END OF TERMS AND CONDITIONS<br>
330<br>
331 How to Apply These Terms to Your New Programs<br>
332<br>
333 If you develop a new program, and you want it to be of the greatest<br>
334possible use to the public, the best way to achieve this is to make it<br>
335free software which everyone can redistribute and change under these terms.<br>
336<br>
337 To do so, attach the following notices to the program. It is safest<br>
338to attach them to the start of each source file to most effectively<br>
339convey the exclusion of warranty; and each file should have at least<br>
340the &quot;copyright&quot; line and a pointer to where the full notice is found.<br>
341<br>
342 &lt;one line to give the program's name and a brief idea of what it does.&gt;<br>
343 Copyright (C) &lt;year&gt; &lt;name of author&gt;<br>
344<br>
345 This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify<br>
346 it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by<br>
347 the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or<br>
348 (at your option) any later version.<br>
349<br>
350 This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,<br>
351 but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of<br>
352 MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the<br>
353 GNU General Public License for more details.<br>
354<br>
355 You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along<br>
356 with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc.,<br>
357 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA.<br>
358<br>
359Also add information on how to contact you by electronic and paper mail.<br>
360<br>
361If the program is interactive, make it output a short notice like this<br>
362when it starts in an interactive mode:<br>
363<br>
364 Gnomovision version 69, Copyright (C) year name of author<br>
365 Gnomovision comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY; for details type `show w'.<br>
366 This is free software, and you are welcome to redistribute it<br>
367 under certain conditions; type `show c' for details.<br>
368<br>
369The hypothetical commands `show w' and `show c' should show the appropriate<br>
370parts of the General Public License. Of course, the commands you use may<br>
371be called something other than `show w' and `show c'; they could even be<br>
372mouse-clicks or menu items--whatever suits your program.<br>
373<br>
374You should also get your employer (if you work as a programmer) or your<br>
375school, if any, to sign a &quot;copyright disclaimer&quot; for the program, if<br>
376necessary. Here is a sample; alter the names:<br>
377<br>
378 Yoyodyne, Inc., hereby disclaims all copyright interest in the program<br>
379 `Gnomovision' (which makes passes at compilers) written by James Hacker.<br>
380<br>
381 &lt;signature of Ty Coon&gt;, 1 April 1989<br>
382 Ty Coon, President of Vice<br>
383<br>
384This General Public License does not permit incorporating your program into<br>
385proprietary programs. If your program is a subroutine library, you may<br>
386consider it more useful to permit linking proprietary applications with the<br>
387library. If this is what you want to do, use the GNU Lesser General<br>
388Public License instead of this License.<br>
389</body>
390</html>
Note: See TracBrowser for help on using the repository browser.

© 2024 Oracle Support Privacy / Do Not Sell My Info Terms of Use Trademark Policy Automated Access Etiquette