What does it mean for me if a software is licensed under GPLv3?

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+2 Q:

What does it mean for me if a software is licensed under GPLv3?

I'd like to use a blogging engine that's released under GPLv3, and I would like to customize it. The thing is, I don't know what this license means, in practical terms ( not free software, free beer terms ). Am I allowed to modify it? What am I not allowed to do ?

Thanks

+4 A:

You can do what you want with it for your own private purposes. However, if you distribute it, you must be prepared to provide the people you distribute it to with the full source code.

anon 2009-07-02 09:43:17

for GPLv3, if you run it publicly, you also need to make the source available (i could be wrong, but thats what i think it means) if you made modifications.

Chii 2009-07-02 09:57:26

@Chii: No, that part did not make it into final version of GPLv3. You can modify the code, run it on a public-facing web site and still keep the changes private. Only the Affero GPL (a separate license) require distribution of source code in this case. http://www.affero.org/oagpl.html

Thilo 2009-07-02 10:01:39

+3 A:

Here's a link to an explanation of the GPL in plain english: http://www.imnicamarketing.com/2007/12/what-is-gpl-software/

Basically: You are allowed to modify it in any way for your private use. If you distribute publicly your modified version of the software, you must make both object and source code of your modifications freely copyable and freely available. You can sell your version, but since it's freely copyable, very few are likely to buy it.

2009-07-02 09:46:44

You are under no obligation to make the object code available (and you can't with many languages, eg Python), but you are required to make the machine readable source code available. The only restriction on the object code is that you cannot prevent others from distributing it.

tomjen 2009-07-04 12:44:53

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What does it mean for me if a software is licensed under GPLv3?

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