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51
APPENDIX
To protect each distributor, we want
to make it very clear that there is no
warranty for the free library. Also, if the
library is modified by someone else
and passed on, the recipients should
know that what they have is not the
original version, so that the original
author’s reputation will not be affected
by problems that might be introduced by
others.
Finally, software patents pose a constant
threat to the existence of any free
program. We wish to make sure that a
company cannot effectively restrict the
users of a free program by obtaining a
restrictive license from a patent holder.
Therefore, we insist that any patent
license obtained for a version of the
library must be consistent with the full
freedom of use specified in this license.
Most GNU software, including some
libraries, is covered by the ordinary GNU
General Public License. This license,
the GNU Lesser General Public License,
applies to certain designated libraries,
and is quite different from the ordinary
General Public License. We use this
license for certain libraries in order to
permit linking those libraries into non-free
programs.
When a program is linked with a library,
whether statically or using a shared library,
the combination of the two is legally
speaking a combined work, a derivative of
the original library. The ordinary General
Public License therefore permits such
linking only if the entire combination fits
its criteria of freedom. The Lesser General
Public License permits more lax criteria
for linking other code with the library.
We call this license the “Lesser” General
Public License because it does Less
to protect the user’s freedom than
the ordinary General Public License.
It also provides other free software
developers Less of an advantage over
competing non-free programs. These
disadvantages are the reason we use the
ordinary General Public License for many
libraries. However, the Lesser license
provides advantages in certain special
circumstances.
For example, on rare occasions, there
may be a special need to encourage the
widest possible use of a certain library,
so that it becomes a de-facto standard.
To achieve this, non-free programs must
be allowed to use the library. A more
frequent case is that a free library does
the same job as widely used non-free
libraries. In this case, there is little to gain
by limiting the free library to free software
only, so we use the Lesser General Public
License.
In other cases, permission to use a
particular library in non-free programs
enables a greater number of people to
use a large body of free software. For
example, permission to use the GNU C
Library in non-free programs enables
many more people to use the whole GNU
operating system, as well as its variant,
the GNU/Linux operating system.
Although the Lesser General Public
License is Less protective of the users’
freedom, it does ensure that the user of a
program that is linked with the Library has
the freedom and the wherewithal to run
that program using a modified versionof
the Library.
The precise terms and conditions for
copying, distribution and modification
follow. Pay close attention to the
difference between a “work based on the
library” and a “work that uses the library”.
The former contains code derived from
the library, whereas the latter must be
combined with the library in order to run.
GNU LESSER GENERAL PUBLIC
LICENSE
TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR COPYING,
DISTRIBUTION AND MODIFICATION
0. This license agreement applies to
any software library or other program
which contains a notice placed by the
copyright holder or other authorized
party saying it may be distributed
under the terms of this Lesser General
Public License (also called “this
license”). Each license is addressed as
“you”.
A “library” means a collection of
software functions and/or data
prepared so as to be conveniently
linked with application programs (which
use some of those functions and data)
to form executables.
The “Library”, below, refers to any such
software library or work which has been
distributed under these terms. A “work
based on the Library” means either
the Library or any derivative work under
copyright law: that is to say, a work
containing the library or a portion of it,
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