what care must be taken using open source program in commercial applications?

Question

I use lot of open source programs in my noncommercial applications. If I want to use them in commercial applications what care must be taken.

I know that if we do some modifications in source code we must submit it.

Do we need to submit all of our source code ? Do we need to provide a link of the source publisher on application front end?

Answer 1

It depends on the license that the code is released under.

Answer 2

That depends entirely on the specific license of the open source software. Be careful not to use any copyleft type license as it effectively makes your software free as well.

There is no general rule of having to submit any changes you make to the source code. Many open source libraries require a notice somewhere in the documentation that the library is being used, etc.

When in doubt, consult a lawyer :)

Answer 3

Seriously, there is no easy answer here. Just read each license for each library, program or service you use, and the license will be very explicit on what you can do and what you cannot.

For starters:

• GPL - GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE - http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.txt
• LGPL - GNU LESSER GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE - http://www.gnu.org/licenses/lgpl.txt

Answer 4

• you must honor the license. If you don't, you'll get into legal troubles. And believe me, you will pay much more for lawyers than you would have for a commercial software.
• if your not sure, first ask the developers of the open source software, explain to them how you want to use their software and for what.
• inform the developers of the open source software even if you're absolutely sure that you can use their software. It's a nice gesture. If you don't, you might piss off those devs - and believe me, you do not want to do that!