<\/strong>As part of the twillo project, con\u00adsid\u00ader\u00ada\u00adtion was given to using the text edit\u00ading pro\u00adgram CKEd\u00adi\u00adtor. This is licensed under the GNU Gen\u00aderal Pub\u00adlic License (GPL) ver\u00adsion 2 or later(https:\/\/github.com\/ckeditor\/ckeditor4\/blob\/master\/LICENSE.md;<\/a> https:\/\/www.gnu.org\/licenses\/gpl.html<\/a> ). Twillo is an open project. We strive to use open source soft\u00adware with few restric\u00adtions. The fol\u00adlow\u00ading three ques\u00adtions there\u00adfore arose dur\u00ading the intro\u00adduc\u00adtion of the pro\u00adgram: <\/p>\n\n GNU Gen\u00aderal Pub\u00adlic License (GPL) is an open license in the sense of an open source ini\u00adtia\u00adtive despite a strict \u201ccopy\u00adleft\u201d.<\/p>\n\n Open source licenses are divided into three dif\u00adfer\u00adent lev\u00adels when imple\u00adment\u00ading the \u201ccopy\u00adleft\u201d prin\u00adci\u00adple:<\/p>\n\n Strict \u201ccopy\u00adleft\u201d means<\/strong>: If soft\u00adware under a strict \u201ccopy\u00adleft\u201d license is com\u00adbined with your own soft\u00adware and dis\u00adtrib\u00aduted, the over\u00adall result must be passed on under the strict license, the so-called viral effect<\/strong>. This oblig\u00ada\u00adtion applies even if only a small part of soft\u00adware with a strict \u201ccopy\u00adleft\u201d is used to pro\u00adduce your own soft\u00adware. As long as the CKEd\u00adi\u00adtor is only used as part of the project and not fur\u00adther devel\u00adoped, the strict \u201ccopy\u00adleft\u201d is irrel\u00ade\u00advant. <\/p>\n\n The ver\u00adsion note \u201cGPL v.2 or later\u201d is not ambigu\u00adous, but is com\u00admon for the licens\u00ading of soft\u00adware.<\/p>\n\n Accord\u00ading to sec\u00adtion 9 GPL v2 and sec\u00adtion 14 para. 2 GPL v3, the devel\u00adop\u00aders of the orig\u00adi\u00adnal pro\u00adgram have two options to spec\u00adify under which license version(s) of the GPL the code may be used: <\/p>\n\n Not con\u00adtrac\u00adtu\u00adally stip\u00adu\u00adlated, but also rec\u00adog\u00adnized: Deci\u00adsion for a spe\u00adcific license ver\u00adsion (e.g. Linux-Ken\u00adnel: GPLv2). How\u00adever, such a deci\u00adsion does not nor\u00admally appear to make sense, as this does not guar\u00adan\u00adtee that the license terms can be adapted to chang\u00ading cir\u00adcum\u00adstances. <\/p>\n\n If the GPL soft\u00adware is edited, the edi\u00adtors are ini\u00adtially bound by the ver\u00adsion notice of the orig\u00adi\u00adnal soft\u00adware. They can\u00adnot change this if the orig\u00adi\u00adnal code is affected. How\u00adever, if inde\u00adpen\u00addent code is devel\u00adoped that is not mixed with the orig\u00adi\u00adnal code (e.g. saved in a sep\u00ada\u00adrate file), it is pos\u00adsi\u00adble to assign a sep\u00ada\u00adrate pro\u00adgram part to a sep\u00ada\u00adrate release note. In this case, the sep\u00ada\u00adrate release note may dif\u00adfer from the release note of the orig\u00adi\u00adnal author. <\/p>\n\n Regard\u00adless of the ver\u00adsion notice<\/strong>, licensees must com\u00admit to a spe\u00adcific license ver\u00adsion. If they wish to switch to a new license ver\u00adsion when it is pub\u00adlished, this can have both pos\u00adi\u00adtive and neg\u00ada\u00adtive con\u00adse\u00adquences for them (e.g. the new ver\u00adsion grants more rights than the pre\u00advi\u00adous ver\u00adsion or restricts old rights and pro\u00advides for new oblig\u00ada\u00adtions in return). <\/p>\n\n If the licensees decide to com\u00adply with the new license ver\u00adsion from now on, the new terms of use shall apply. They hereby declare their accep\u00adtance of a new license agree\u00adment under the amended con\u00addi\u00adtions. This deci\u00adsion does not nec\u00ades\u00adsar\u00adily have to be doc\u00adu\u00admented exter\u00adnally. This means that it will usu\u00adally be dif\u00adfi\u00adcult for out\u00adsiders to assess which license ver\u00adsion applies to the respec\u00adtive users. How\u00adever, this knowl\u00adedge can be par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlarly impor\u00adtant for licen\u00adsors if they want to take action against a user for vio\u00adlat\u00ading the GPL and the poten\u00adtial vio\u00adla\u00adtion lies in an action that would be per\u00admit\u00adted under one license ver\u00adsion but not under another. The fol\u00adlow\u00ading applies here: If the licensees take actions that are only per\u00admit\u00adted under a new license ver\u00adsion (i.e. if it con\u00adtains more exten\u00adsive pow\u00aders), they hereby tac\u00aditly declare that they wish to switch to the new license ver\u00adsion. This results in the con\u00adclu\u00adsion of a license agree\u00adment under the amended con\u00addi\u00adtions. If you do not com\u00adply with any fur\u00adther legal oblig\u00ada\u00adtions, this will result in a breach of the GPL and the rights under the license will expire. <\/p>\n\n We rec\u00adom\u00admend using the cur\u00adrent ver\u00adsion 3, which was intro\u00adduced in 2007 and has sev\u00aderal advan\u00adtages over ver\u00adsion 2 from 1991, in par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar its improved com\u00adpat\u00adi\u00adbil\u00adity with other licenses. The cur\u00adrent ver\u00adsion 3 has been adapted to new legal require\u00adments and has filled the gaps in the old ver\u00adsion (patent com\u00adpen\u00adsa\u00adtion, inter\u00adna\u00adtion\u00adal\u00adiza\u00adtion and reme\u00addies for license infringe\u00adments). <\/p>\n\n The GPLv3 of June 29, 2007 con\u00adtains the basic inten\u00adtion of the GPLv2, but the lan\u00adguage of the license text has been changed con\u00adsid\u00ader\u00adably and is much more exten\u00adsive due to tech\u00adni\u00adcal and legal changes and the inter\u00adna\u00adtional exchange of licenses. <\/p>\n\n The new license ver\u00adsion con\u00adtains a num\u00adber of new clauses<\/strong>. These address issues that were not or only insuf\u00adfi\u00adciently reg\u00adu\u00adlated in ver\u00adsion 2 of the GPL. The fol\u00adlow\u00ading overview presents the most impor\u00adtant new reg\u00adu\u00adla\u00adtions: <\/p>\n\n a) GPLv3 con\u00adtains com\u00adpat\u00adi\u00adbil\u00adity rules<\/strong> that make it eas\u00adier than before to com\u00adbine GPL code with code pub\u00adlished under other licenses (relax\u00adation of the strict \u201ccopy\u00adleft\u201d effect). This applies in par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar to code under the Apache license v. 2.0. GPLv3 is com\u00adpat\u00adi\u00adble with the fol\u00adlow\u00ading licenses, among oth\u00aders: <\/p>\n\n Apache License, Ver\u00adsion 2<\/p>\n\n Affero Gen\u00aderal Pub\u00adlic License, Ver\u00adsion 3 (see sec\u00adtion 13 of the GPLv3)<\/p>\n\n Lesser Gen\u00aderal Pub\u00adlic License, Ver\u00adsions 2, 2.1 and 3 (LGPL)<\/p>\n\n BSD license with\u00adout adver\u00adtis\u00ading clause<\/p>\n\n CeCILL (CONTRAT DE LICENCE DE LOGICIEL LIBRE CeCILL)<\/p>\n\n Artis\u00adtic License 2.0<\/p>\n\n Zope Pub\u00adlic License, Ver\u00adsion 2.0 and 2.1<\/p>\n\n b) Reg\u00adu\u00adla\u00adtions on dig\u00adi\u00adtal rights man\u00adage\u00adment<\/strong> have been added. This is intended to pre\u00advent GPL soft\u00adware from being mod\u00adi\u00adfied at will because users invoke the legal reg\u00adu\u00adla\u00adtions in order to be pro\u00adtected by tech\u00adni\u00adcal pro\u00adtec\u00adtion mea\u00adsures (such as DMCA or Copy\u00adright Direc\u00adtive). <\/p>\n\n c) In con\u00adtrast to v2, the cur\u00adrent ver\u00adsion includes a cure clause <\/strong>. <\/strong>Accord\u00ading to this, a breach of the license can be cured \u2014 the licensees retain their rights \u2014 if they act in accor\u00addance with the law.<\/p>\n\n d) GPLv3 con\u00adtains an explicit patent license<\/strong>. When licens\u00ading a pro\u00adgram with GPL, both copy\u00adrights and patents can now be licensed, inso\u00adfar as this is nec\u00ades\u00adsary for the use of the licensed code. This does not grant a com\u00adpre\u00adhen\u00adsive patent license. Fur\u00adther\u00admore, the new patent clause aims to pro\u00adtect users from the con\u00adse\u00adquences of agree\u00adments between patent hold\u00aders and GPL licensees that only ben\u00ade\u00adfit some of the licensees. Accord\u00ading to the patent clause, licensees are obliged to ensure that either every user can enjoy the ben\u00ade\u00adfits (patent license or exemp\u00adtion from claims) or that no one can ben\u00ade\u00adfit from them <\/p>\n\n e) In con\u00adtrast to GPLv2, GPLv3 makes it clear that there is no oblig\u00ada\u00adtion to dis\u00adclose the source code for ASP use of GPL pro\u00adgrams<\/strong> as long as no copy of the soft\u00adware is sent to the client. If the copy\u00adleft effect is to be extended to ASP use, the Affero Gen\u00aderal Pub\u00adlic License, Ver\u00adsion 3 (AGPL) must be applied, which dif\u00adfers from the GPLv3 only in this respect. <\/p>\n\n Applic\u00ada\u00adble law:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n Accord\u00ading to inter\u00adna\u00adtional copy\u00adright law, the so-called coun\u00adtry of pro\u00adtec\u00adtion prin\u00adci\u00adple<\/strong> applies to infringe\u00adments with a for\u00adeign con\u00adnec\u00adtion. Accord\u00adingly, the copy\u00adright law of the coun\u00adtry for whose ter\u00adri\u00adtory copy\u00adright pro\u00adtec\u00adtion is claimed applies. If copy\u00adright pro\u00adtec\u00adtion is sought for Ger\u00adman ter\u00adri\u00adtory, Ger\u00adman copy\u00adright law applies. <\/p>\n\n Exam\u00adple: If a for\u00adeign author seeks injunc\u00adtive relief under copy\u00adright law due to an infringe\u00adment of rights in Ger\u00admany, Ger\u00admany is the coun\u00adtry of pro\u00adtec\u00adtion. The injunc\u00adtive relief is based on Sec\u00adtion 97 (1) UrhG. <\/em><\/p>\n\n Con\u00adclu\u00adsion of con\u00adtract:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n The exact point in time at which the con\u00adtract is con\u00adcluded is impor\u00adtant, as the pro\u00advi\u00adsions of the GPL with its rights and oblig\u00ada\u00adtions come into effect from this point in time. If the user receives the soft\u00adware includ\u00ading the license file, this does not yet con\u00adsti\u00adtute a license agree\u00adment. Accord\u00ading to Ger\u00adman con\u00adtract law, this requires two con\u00adcur\u00adring dec\u00adla\u00adra\u00adtions of intent, offer and accep\u00adtance. In addi\u00adtion, the con\u00adtent of the con\u00adtract must be clearly defin\u00adable. The con\u00adtrac\u00adtual offer lies in the attached license agree\u00adment and is there\u00adfore eas\u00adily deter\u00adminable. This is an offer to any\u00adone. The offer is only accepted when the user can rea\u00adson\u00adably read the text of the con\u00adtract and vis\u00adi\u00adbly man\u00adi\u00adfests accep\u00adtance of the offer to the out\u00adside world. The license agree\u00adment is there\u00adfore only con\u00adcluded when the user mod\u00adi\u00adfies or passes on the pro\u00adgram<\/strong> (i.e. makes use of the rights of use from the license). Pass\u00ading on means, for exam\u00adple, that the soft\u00adware is offered to third par\u00adties for down\u00adload or CD-ROMs with the pro\u00adgram are pro\u00adduced. <\/p>\n\n Rights of use:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n If the license terms are not observed by the user, this can lead to the expiry of the right to use and dis\u00adtrib\u00adute the soft\u00adware, Sec\u00adtion 158 (1) BGB. In this case, the licen\u00adsor has a claim for injunc\u00adtive relief against the user under Sec\u00adtion 97 (1) sen\u00adtence 1 UrhG. In addi\u00adtion to civil law claims, a vio\u00adla\u00adtion of license terms in the event of dis\u00adtri\u00adb\u00adu\u00adtion of the soft\u00adware may have crim\u00adi\u00adnal law con\u00adse\u00adquences for the user pur\u00adsuant to Sec\u00adtions 106, 108 UrhG. <\/p>\n\n Under Ger\u00adman licens\u00ading law, the expi\u00adra\u00adtion of the license results not only in the expi\u00adra\u00adtion of the license vis-\u00e0-vis the soft\u00adware man\u00adu\u00adfac\u00adturer, but also vis-\u00e0-vis its customers\/users. In con\u00adtrast to the dis\u00adtri\u00adb\u00adu\u00adtion of tan\u00adgi\u00adble prop\u00aderty, there is no \u201cacqui\u00adsi\u00adtion of rights in good faith\u201d for intel\u00adlec\u00adtual prop\u00aderty. This means that the end user does not acquire any rights to the soft\u00adware in good faith if he\/she did not know or should not have known of the license infringe\u00adment. <\/p>\n\n Rights and oblig\u00ada\u00adtions:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n Impor\u00adtant: The fol\u00adlow\u00ading overview is for guid\u00adance only and rep\u00adre\u00adsents the most impor\u00adtant rights and oblig\u00ada\u00adtions under GPLv2 and v3. For all rights and oblig\u00ada\u00adtions, please refer to the offi\u00adcial text of the license in Eng\u00adlish: <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n for GPL v2: https:\/\/www.gnu.org\/licenses\/old-licenses\/gpl\u20112.0<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n
<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n1. is the GPL license compatible with the openness of the project?<\/h2>\n\n
\n
\n
<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n2. is the license notice: \u201cGPLv2 or later\u201d not ambiguous?<\/h2>\n\n
\n
<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\nSpecial features of the \u201cany later\u201d version note<\/h3>\n\n
Recommendation: License version 3<\/h3>\n\n
What\u2019s new in the current version?<\/h3>\n\n
3. what are the special legal features and pitfalls of the GPL?<\/h2>\n\n