Using Apache Software and the Apache 2.0 License

Question

Hi,

My company is planning to write a commerial application that may use some Apache libraries. The application in question is for the Android platform and may be distributed on the Android Market.

From what I've been reading it seems that we will need to include a copy of the Apache License 2.0 with the binary distribution of our software. Does this mean that our propritary source code will be covered by the Apache License also? If this is the case, do we need to make our source code available too? Are there any other implications of using Apache libraries in a commercial application and distrubuting it?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Twibbles.

Answer 1

See the table on wikipedia for a comparison of various free software licenses. In it, you'll notice that the Apache license allows you to link the source code with code under other licenses.

You're required to do this, so that people who receive the software you're distributing are aware of the rights they have on the Apache-licensed components. It doesn't require you to release your own code under that license. The way I often see this solved is by having something like "This software contains the following components licensed under LICENSE_NAME" in the About screen (or equivalent), followed by a list of those components.

NOTE: The usual "I Am Not A Lawyer" disclaimers apply here - this is to the best of my understanding, but is by not means guaranteed to be correct. Just saying.