[wxPython-users] can i sell my wx application?

[iozk_Live]

hi i want know if i can sell my application written in wxpython
because th gnu license that have wxpython is free software and i not
understand about the licenses the program will have the same license?,
or i need registry other licences?

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[Nathaniel Echols]

On Sat, May 8, 2010 at 7:28 AM, iozk_Live <ioz...@gmail.com> wrote:

hi i want know if  i can sell my application written in wxpython
because th gnu license that have wxpython is free software and i not
understand about the licenses the program will have the same license?,
or i need registry other licences?

The wxPython license (actually the wxWidgets license) isn't the GPL - it's much more permissive, closer to the LGPL, and is "non-viral".  My employer has been selling our software under a proprietary license to companies for years, and the license fees fund my position.  As long as you're not modifying wxPython as part of the distribution, complying with the license is very easy.  (And just to nitpick for a moment, even the GPL doesn't prohibit selling your app either - it prevents you from stopping other people from selling it too.)

-Nat

[grunculus]

Hi,

On Sat, May 8, 2010 at 10:28 AM, iozk_Live <ioz...@gmail.com> wrote:
> hi i want know if  i can sell my application written in wxpython
> because th gnu license that have wxpython is free software and i not
> understand about the licenses the program will have the same license?,
> or i need registry other licences?

You need to follow the licenses of the tools and code you use, but
there is nothing about the GPL that prevents you from selling your
software if it's built with GPL code.

http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/gpl-2.0-faq.html#DoesTheGPLAllowMoney

HTH.

Cheers,
Scott.

[C M]

 (And just to nitpick for a moment, even the GPL doesn't prohibit selling your app either - it prevents you from stopping other people from selling it too.

 

but there is nothing about the GPL that prevents you from selling your software if it's built with GPL code.

(Taken from the two responses)

I may be wrong below, so corrections welcome:

Maybe the most inclusive way to put it is that with GPL, the OP can sell it, but not only can other people sell it, too, but they can *give it away* and OP can't legally stop them.  This makes selling a GPL licensed software problematic at best (it seems to me...anyone have comments or experience with this?).

But as Nat pointed out, the wxWidgets license (as well as the PSF license) is similar to LGPL, in that the OP can sell the application and restrict others from selling it or giving it away.

But, the OP should also note that if any other code in the application is licensed under the GPL, then the whole application has to be licensed under GPL.  If it sticks to the Python Standard Library and wxPython, though, that won't come into play.

Che

[grunculus]

Hi Che,

On Sat, May 8, 2010 at 12:45 PM, C M <cmpy...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I may be wrong below, so corrections welcome:
>
> Maybe the most inclusive way to put it is that with GPL, the OP can sell it,
> but not only can other people sell it, too, but they can *give it away* and
> OP can't legally stop them.  This makes selling a GPL licensed software
> problematic at best (it seems to me...anyone have comments or experience
> with this?).

I don't have personal experience with releasing GPL software, but have
kept up with some of the discussions.

I think your understanding is correct.

Basically, the GPL requires that any software you release have the
same "freedom" as the code you used when you created it. You cannot
limit the rights of others to use your code by applying a more
restrictive license than the starting code (if it's GPL). So, if you
use GPL code, then your released software is under the GPL. You can
sell your GPL code for $10M, but you need to release your GPL source
if asked. And as you say, someone can take your code and give it away
for free.

The GPL "freedom" cuts both ways for released software. (If the
software is never released, then many of these issues don't apply.)

This is why many commercial GPL projects charge for support or non-GPL
enhancements, rather than the basic code.

But it sounds like the GPL isn't the license of interest here anyway. ;-)

My $0.02.

Cheers,
Scott.

[iozk_Live]

so if I make a completed application and create custom controls I can
sell my application, and custom controls are under the LGPL or GPL?

[Nathaniel Echols]

On Sun, May 9, 2010 at 10:22 AM, iozk_Live <ioz...@gmail.com> wrote:

so if I make a completed application and create custom controls I can
sell my application, and custom controls are under the LGPL or GPL?

Mostly correct - if you release the custom controls under the GPL but use a proprietary license for the app, you would need to dual-license the controls.  As long as you hold all the copyrights, there is no problem with doing this.  I encourage you to use the wxWidgets license, however, since it is far more useful to the community.  (There's nothing wrong with the LGPL, but it simplifies things if you use the same license as the rest of wxPython.)

-Nat

[Christopher Barker]

iozk_Live wrote:
> so if I make a completed application and create custom controls I can
> sell my application, and custom controls are under the LGPL or GPL?

you can release your app, and your custom controls, under pretty much
any license you want, as long as you are making your custom controls by
subclassing, etc, rather than changing the wxWidgets or wxPython code
itself.

If you want to contribute your custom controls back to the community
(and if they are of general use, I hope you do), then the wxWidgets
license is the best way to do that.

-Chris





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Chris....@noaa.gov

[grunculus]

Hi,

On Sun, May 9, 2010 at 1:22 PM, iozk_Live <ioz...@gmail.com> wrote:
> so if I make a completed application and create custom controls I can
> sell my application, and custom controls are under the LGPL or GPL?

You're asking for a detailed answer to a nebulous question. :-)

AFAIK, nothing prevents you from selling your application unless the
license of the code you build upon prevents it.

As mentioned above, wxPython uses the wxWindows license -
http://www.wxwidgets.org/about/newlicen.htm

My understanding is that if you build your own controls, then the
license is based on the tools and base code you use to create the
controls. There's a lot of example wxPython code on the Wiki under a
variety of licenses -
http://wiki.wxpython.org/RecipesImagesAndGraphics?action=fullsearch&context=180&value=license&fullsearch=Text

You need to do the research yourself based on the license of the code
you start with.

HTH a little.

Cheers,
Scott.

[Robin Dunn]

On 5/8/10 9:45 AM, C M wrote:
> But as Nat pointed out, the wxWidgets license (as well as the PSF
> license) is similar to LGPL, in that the OP can sell the application and
> restrict others from selling it or giving it away.

In a nutshell, the wxWidgets license is the LGPL plus a few additional
statements or exceptions to the LGPL that give you additional permission
to distribute binary works that use or are based on wx under whatever
terms you wish. IOW, the wxWidgets license allows you to distribute
your program for free or for money, as open source or closed source,
whatever you want.

--
Robin Dunn
Software Craftsman
http://wxPython.org