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License Requirements for a Commercial Program

This page contains the terms of different types of licenses (GPL, LGPL, MIT, BSD, etc.): http://www.codeproject.com/info/Licenses.aspx

Let's say I'm writing a program for sale that uses software under one of the types of licensing, where “Can be used in commercial applications:” is true, and “Can be used in closed source applications: true.

Then, if Bug Fixes / Extensions are to be released into the public domain: "The string is true, what does this mean for me? What should I do?

Thanks.

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This usually means that if you create a patch or other modification of a program and want to distribute it, you must also publish the sources of this modification in accordance with the license explicitly mentioned in the text of the program license.

In some types of licenses, this includes both another program and any program that uses it (including your program). In others (for example, LGPL), this will be required only to make changes to this program, but not for your program if they are separated (LGPL is usually used for libraries and does not provide publication of library users).

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just:

You can sell (and release using your own commercial license) your own application built with the provided code.

but

you cannot improve the code (of the software that you use in your application) directly, and not provide it in a public domain (usually this is in the original software license).

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Instead of relying on these summaries, you will be advised to carefully read the license for any open source license that you plan to use in a closed source product.

For example, LGPL does not actually require you to modify the source code in a public domain. Rather, it requires you to release them in accordance with the terms of the LGPL.

If you are not sure that you understand the consequences of a particular license, consult your company’s lawyers.

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