[netCDF #TWY-871356]: License question

Andrew,

> thanks for these precisions. I suggest that you should distribute your 
> libraries under the Lesser GPL which does what you want it to in the case of 
> libraries, in that the library remains always "GPL" but may be linked into 
> any programme and distributed under a commercial or other license.
> 
> http://www.gnu.org/licenses/lgpl.html

Thanks for your suggestion.  We considered an LGPL versus MIT open source
license some time ago and decided to go with MIT-style, because it puts 
fewer restrictions on use of the software for use in products.

I corresponded with Richard Stallman in 1996 about the netCDF open source 
license and took his advice at the time to change a requirement to a request 
in the netCDF Copyright text.  We haven't had need to change the license since
then, and it has served us very well.

--Russ

> -----Message d'origine-----
> De : Unidata netCDF Support [mailto:address@hidden]
> Envoyé : mercredi 22 février 2012 06:42
> À : BRISTOW Andrew
> Cc : address@hidden
> Objet : [netCDF #TWY-871356]: License question
> 
> Andrew,
> 
> > Many thanks for your prompt reply. I have one further question then. Do you 
> > consider that incorporating the netCDF Windows DLL or Linux shared library 
> > into another software creates a "derivative work"?
> 
> No, I do not consider the result of using the library as it's intended, by 
> linking to it, creates a "derivative work".
> But I am not a lawyer, so I'm not sure whether my opinion on that question is 
> of much value.  However, as the
> head of netCDF development, maintenance, and support, I can assure you that 
> we have no intention of taking
> any legal action against users of the software, even when such use involves 
> incorporation of netCDF software
> in commercial products.  We want to see the software widely used.
> 
> --Russ
> 
> > -----Message d'origine-----
> > De : Unidata netCDF Support [mailto:address@hidden]
> > Envoyé : lundi 20 février 2012 23:44
> > À : BRISTOW Andrew
> > Cc : address@hidden
> > Objet : [netCDF #TWY-871356]: License question
> >
> > Hi Andrew,
> >
> > > We have downloaded NetCDF binary distributions (Windows and Linux)
> > > from the following location.
> > >
> > > https://www.unidata.ucar.edu/downloads/netcdf/netcdf-3_6_1/index.jsp
> > >
> > > This is because we are evaluating the use of NetCDF format in our 
> > > software.
> > >
> > > However these binary distributions do not come with any statement
> > > on licensing. Can you tell me under what license the binaries are
> > > distributed? I am assuming as as there is no license attached to the
> > > download, then they are effectively public domain. Is this the case?
> >
> > No, it is our intention to have all netCDF software covered by the same
> > license as the source distributions:
> >
> > http://www.unidata.ucar.edu/netcdf/copyright.html
> >
> > If the copyright notice is not included in a binary distribution, that's
> > an inadvertent omission on our part.
> >
> > --Russ
> >
> > Russ Rew                                         UCAR Unidata Program
> > address@hidden                      http://www.unidata.ucar.edu
> >
> >
> >
> > Ticket Details
> > ===================
> > Ticket ID: TWY-871356
> > Department: Support netCDF
> > Priority: Normal
> > Status: Closed
> >
> >
> 
> Russ Rew                                         UCAR Unidata Program
> address@hidden                      http://www.unidata.ucar.edu
> 
> 
> 
> Ticket Details
> ===================
> Ticket ID: TWY-871356
> Department: Support netCDF
> Priority: Normal
> Status: Closed
> 
> 

Russ Rew                                         UCAR Unidata Program
address@hidden                      http://www.unidata.ucar.edu



Ticket Details
===================
Ticket ID: TWY-871356
Department: Support netCDF
Priority: Normal
Status: Closed