2 @c Set file name and title for man page.
4 @settitle GNU General Public License
6 gfdl(7), fsf-funding(7).
9 Copyright @copyright{} 1989, 1991 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
10 59 Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307, USA
12 Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies
13 of this license document, but changing it is not allowed.
17 @c man begin DESCRIPTION
18 @appendix GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE
19 @center Version 2, June 1991
22 Copyright @copyright{} 1989, 1991 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
23 59 Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307, USA
25 Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies
26 of this license document, but changing it is not allowed.
29 @unnumberedsec Preamble
31 The licenses for most software are designed to take away your
32 freedom to share and change it. By contrast, the GNU General Public
33 License is intended to guarantee your freedom to share and change free
34 software---to make sure the software is free for all its users. This
35 General Public License applies to most of the Free Software
36 Foundation's software and to any other program whose authors commit to
37 using it. (Some other Free Software Foundation software is covered by
38 the GNU Library General Public License instead.) You can apply it to
41 When we speak of free software, we are referring to freedom, not
42 price. Our General Public Licenses are designed to make sure that you
43 have the freedom to distribute copies of free software (and charge for
44 this service if you wish), that you receive source code or can get it
45 if you want it, that you can change the software or use pieces of it
46 in new free programs; and that you know you can do these things.
48 To protect your rights, we need to make restrictions that forbid
49 anyone to deny you these rights or to ask you to surrender the rights.
50 These restrictions translate to certain responsibilities for you if you
51 distribute copies of the software, or if you modify it.
53 For example, if you distribute copies of such a program, whether
54 gratis or for a fee, you must give the recipients all the rights that
55 you have. You must make sure that they, too, receive or can get the
56 source code. And you must show them these terms so they know their
59 We protect your rights with two steps: (1) copyright the software, and
60 (2) offer you this license which gives you legal permission to copy,
61 distribute and/or modify the software.
63 Also, for each author's protection and ours, we want to make certain
64 that everyone understands that there is no warranty for this free
65 software. If the software is modified by someone else and passed on, we
66 want its recipients to know that what they have is not the original, so
67 that any problems introduced by others will not reflect on the original
70 Finally, any free program is threatened constantly by software
71 patents. We wish to avoid the danger that redistributors of a free
72 program will individually obtain patent licenses, in effect making the
73 program proprietary. To prevent this, we have made it clear that any
74 patent must be licensed for everyone's free use or not licensed at all.
76 The precise terms and conditions for copying, distribution and
80 @unnumberedsec TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR COPYING,@*DISTRIBUTION AND MODIFICATION
83 @center TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR COPYING, DISTRIBUTION AND MODIFICATION
88 This License applies to any program or other work which contains
89 a notice placed by the copyright holder saying it may be distributed
90 under the terms of this General Public License. The ``Program'', below,
91 refers to any such program or work, and a ``work based on the Program''
92 means either the Program or any derivative work under copyright law:
93 that is to say, a work containing the Program or a portion of it,
94 either verbatim or with modifications and/or translated into another
95 language. (Hereinafter, translation is included without limitation in
96 the term ``modification''.) Each licensee is addressed as ``you''.
98 Activities other than copying, distribution and modification are not
99 covered by this License; they are outside its scope. The act of
100 running the Program is not restricted, and the output from the Program
101 is covered only if its contents constitute a work based on the
102 Program (independent of having been made by running the Program).
103 Whether that is true depends on what the Program does.
106 You may copy and distribute verbatim copies of the Program's
107 source code as you receive it, in any medium, provided that you
108 conspicuously and appropriately publish on each copy an appropriate
109 copyright notice and disclaimer of warranty; keep intact all the
110 notices that refer to this License and to the absence of any warranty;
111 and give any other recipients of the Program a copy of this License
112 along with the Program.
114 You may charge a fee for the physical act of transferring a copy, and
115 you may at your option offer warranty protection in exchange for a fee.
118 You may modify your copy or copies of the Program or any portion
119 of it, thus forming a work based on the Program, and copy and
120 distribute such modifications or work under the terms of Section 1
121 above, provided that you also meet all of these conditions:
125 You must cause the modified files to carry prominent notices
126 stating that you changed the files and the date of any change.
129 You must cause any work that you distribute or publish, that in
130 whole or in part contains or is derived from the Program or any
131 part thereof, to be licensed as a whole at no charge to all third
132 parties under the terms of this License.
135 If the modified program normally reads commands interactively
136 when run, you must cause it, when started running for such
137 interactive use in the most ordinary way, to print or display an
138 announcement including an appropriate copyright notice and a
139 notice that there is no warranty (or else, saying that you provide
140 a warranty) and that users may redistribute the program under
141 these conditions, and telling the user how to view a copy of this
142 License. (Exception: if the Program itself is interactive but
143 does not normally print such an announcement, your work based on
144 the Program is not required to print an announcement.)
147 These requirements apply to the modified work as a whole. If
148 identifiable sections of that work are not derived from the Program,
149 and can be reasonably considered independent and separate works in
150 themselves, then this License, and its terms, do not apply to those
151 sections when you distribute them as separate works. But when you
152 distribute the same sections as part of a whole which is a work based
153 on the Program, the distribution of the whole must be on the terms of
154 this License, whose permissions for other licensees extend to the
155 entire whole, and thus to each and every part regardless of who wrote it.
157 Thus, it is not the intent of this section to claim rights or contest
158 your rights to work written entirely by you; rather, the intent is to
159 exercise the right to control the distribution of derivative or
160 collective works based on the Program.
162 In addition, mere aggregation of another work not based on the Program
163 with the Program (or with a work based on the Program) on a volume of
164 a storage or distribution medium does not bring the other work under
165 the scope of this License.
168 You may copy and distribute the Program (or a work based on it,
169 under Section 2) in object code or executable form under the terms of
170 Sections 1 and 2 above provided that you also do one of the following:
174 Accompany it with the complete corresponding machine-readable
175 source code, which must be distributed under the terms of Sections
176 1 and 2 above on a medium customarily used for software interchange; or,
179 Accompany it with a written offer, valid for at least three
180 years, to give any third party, for a charge no more than your
181 cost of physically performing source distribution, a complete
182 machine-readable copy of the corresponding source code, to be
183 distributed under the terms of Sections 1 and 2 above on a medium
184 customarily used for software interchange; or,
187 Accompany it with the information you received as to the offer
188 to distribute corresponding source code. (This alternative is
189 allowed only for noncommercial distribution and only if you
190 received the program in object code or executable form with such
191 an offer, in accord with Subsection b above.)
194 The source code for a work means the preferred form of the work for
195 making modifications to it. For an executable work, complete source
196 code means all the source code for all modules it contains, plus any
197 associated interface definition files, plus the scripts used to
198 control compilation and installation of the executable. However, as a
199 special exception, the source code distributed need not include
200 anything that is normally distributed (in either source or binary
201 form) with the major components (compiler, kernel, and so on) of the
202 operating system on which the executable runs, unless that component
203 itself accompanies the executable.
205 If distribution of executable or object code is made by offering
206 access to copy from a designated place, then offering equivalent
207 access to copy the source code from the same place counts as
208 distribution of the source code, even though third parties are not
209 compelled to copy the source along with the object code.
212 You may not copy, modify, sublicense, or distribute the Program
213 except as expressly provided under this License. Any attempt
214 otherwise to copy, modify, sublicense or distribute the Program is
215 void, and will automatically terminate your rights under this License.
216 However, parties who have received copies, or rights, from you under
217 this License will not have their licenses terminated so long as such
218 parties remain in full compliance.
221 You are not required to accept this License, since you have not
222 signed it. However, nothing else grants you permission to modify or
223 distribute the Program or its derivative works. These actions are
224 prohibited by law if you do not accept this License. Therefore, by
225 modifying or distributing the Program (or any work based on the
226 Program), you indicate your acceptance of this License to do so, and
227 all its terms and conditions for copying, distributing or modifying
228 the Program or works based on it.
231 Each time you redistribute the Program (or any work based on the
232 Program), the recipient automatically receives a license from the
233 original licensor to copy, distribute or modify the Program subject to
234 these terms and conditions. You may not impose any further
235 restrictions on the recipients' exercise of the rights granted herein.
236 You are not responsible for enforcing compliance by third parties to
240 If, as a consequence of a court judgment or allegation of patent
241 infringement or for any other reason (not limited to patent issues),
242 conditions are imposed on you (whether by court order, agreement or
243 otherwise) that contradict the conditions of this License, they do not
244 excuse you from the conditions of this License. If you cannot
245 distribute so as to satisfy simultaneously your obligations under this
246 License and any other pertinent obligations, then as a consequence you
247 may not distribute the Program at all. For example, if a patent
248 license would not permit royalty-free redistribution of the Program by
249 all those who receive copies directly or indirectly through you, then
250 the only way you could satisfy both it and this License would be to
251 refrain entirely from distribution of the Program.
253 If any portion of this section is held invalid or unenforceable under
254 any particular circumstance, the balance of the section is intended to
255 apply and the section as a whole is intended to apply in other
258 It is not the purpose of this section to induce you to infringe any
259 patents or other property right claims or to contest validity of any
260 such claims; this section has the sole purpose of protecting the
261 integrity of the free software distribution system, which is
262 implemented by public license practices. Many people have made
263 generous contributions to the wide range of software distributed
264 through that system in reliance on consistent application of that
265 system; it is up to the author/donor to decide if he or she is willing
266 to distribute software through any other system and a licensee cannot
269 This section is intended to make thoroughly clear what is believed to
270 be a consequence of the rest of this License.
273 If the distribution and/or use of the Program is restricted in
274 certain countries either by patents or by copyrighted interfaces, the
275 original copyright holder who places the Program under this License
276 may add an explicit geographical distribution limitation excluding
277 those countries, so that distribution is permitted only in or among
278 countries not thus excluded. In such case, this License incorporates
279 the limitation as if written in the body of this License.
282 The Free Software Foundation may publish revised and/or new versions
283 of the General Public License from time to time. Such new versions will
284 be similar in spirit to the present version, but may differ in detail to
285 address new problems or concerns.
287 Each version is given a distinguishing version number. If the Program
288 specifies a version number of this License which applies to it and ``any
289 later version'', you have the option of following the terms and conditions
290 either of that version or of any later version published by the Free
291 Software Foundation. If the Program does not specify a version number of
292 this License, you may choose any version ever published by the Free Software
296 If you wish to incorporate parts of the Program into other free
297 programs whose distribution conditions are different, write to the author
298 to ask for permission. For software which is copyrighted by the Free
299 Software Foundation, write to the Free Software Foundation; we sometimes
300 make exceptions for this. Our decision will be guided by the two goals
301 of preserving the free status of all derivatives of our free software and
302 of promoting the sharing and reuse of software generally.
312 BECAUSE THE PROGRAM IS LICENSED FREE OF CHARGE, THERE IS NO WARRANTY
313 FOR THE PROGRAM, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW. EXCEPT WHEN
314 OTHERWISE STATED IN WRITING THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND/OR OTHER PARTIES
315 PROVIDE THE PROGRAM ``AS IS'' WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED
316 OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
317 MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE ENTIRE RISK AS
318 TO THE QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE OF THE PROGRAM IS WITH YOU. SHOULD THE
319 PROGRAM PROVE DEFECTIVE, YOU ASSUME THE COST OF ALL NECESSARY SERVICING,
320 REPAIR OR CORRECTION.
323 IN NO EVENT UNLESS REQUIRED BY APPLICABLE LAW OR AGREED TO IN WRITING
324 WILL ANY COPYRIGHT HOLDER, OR ANY OTHER PARTY WHO MAY MODIFY AND/OR
325 REDISTRIBUTE THE PROGRAM AS PERMITTED ABOVE, BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR DAMAGES,
326 INCLUDING ANY GENERAL, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING
327 OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE PROGRAM (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED
328 TO LOSS OF DATA OR DATA BEING RENDERED INACCURATE OR LOSSES SUSTAINED BY
329 YOU OR THIRD PARTIES OR A FAILURE OF THE PROGRAM TO OPERATE WITH ANY OTHER
330 PROGRAMS), EVEN IF SUCH HOLDER OR OTHER PARTY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE
331 POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
335 @heading END OF TERMS AND CONDITIONS
338 @center END OF TERMS AND CONDITIONS
342 @unnumberedsec How to Apply These Terms to Your New Programs
344 If you develop a new program, and you want it to be of the greatest
345 possible use to the public, the best way to achieve this is to make it
346 free software which everyone can redistribute and change under these terms.
348 To do so, attach the following notices to the program. It is safest
349 to attach them to the start of each source file to most effectively
350 convey the exclusion of warranty; and each file should have at least
351 the ``copyright'' line and a pointer to where the full notice is found.
354 @var{one line to give the program's name and a brief idea of what it does.}
355 Copyright (C) @var{year} @var{name of author}
357 This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
358 it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
359 the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or
360 (at your option) any later version.
362 This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
363 but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
364 MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
365 GNU General Public License for more details.
367 You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
368 along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software
369 Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place - Suite 330,
370 Boston, MA 02111-1307, USA.
373 Also add information on how to contact you by electronic and paper mail.
375 If the program is interactive, make it output a short notice like this
376 when it starts in an interactive mode:
379 Gnomovision version 69, Copyright (C) @var{year} @var{name of author}
380 Gnomovision comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY; for details
382 This is free software, and you are welcome to redistribute it
383 under certain conditions; type `show c' for details.
386 The hypothetical commands @samp{show w} and @samp{show c} should show
387 the appropriate parts of the General Public License. Of course, the
388 commands you use may be called something other than @samp{show w} and
389 @samp{show c}; they could even be mouse-clicks or menu items---whatever
392 You should also get your employer (if you work as a programmer) or your
393 school, if any, to sign a ``copyright disclaimer'' for the program, if
394 necessary. Here is a sample; alter the names:
397 Yoyodyne, Inc., hereby disclaims all copyright interest in the program
398 `Gnomovision' (which makes passes at compilers) written by James Hacker.
400 @var{signature of Ty Coon}, 1 April 1989
401 Ty Coon, President of Vice
404 This General Public License does not permit incorporating your program into
405 proprietary programs. If your program is a subroutine library, you may
406 consider it more useful to permit linking proprietary applications with the
407 library. If this is what you want to do, use the GNU Library General
408 Public License instead of this License.