GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE
GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE
Version 3, 29 June 2007
Copyright © 2007 Free Software F oundation, Inc. "
http://fsf.org/"
Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verba tim copies of this license
document, but cha nging it is not allowed.
Preamble
The GNU General Public License is a free, c opyleft license for software and other kinds of works.
The licenses for most software and other practical works are designed to take away your
freedom to share an d change the works. By contrast, the GNU Gen eral Public License is
intended to guarantee your free dom to share and change all versions of a program–to make
sure it remains free software for all its users. We, the Free Software Foundation, use the
GNU General Public License for most of our software; it applies also to any other work
released this way by its authors. You can apply it to y our programs, too .
When we speak of free software, we are referring to freedom, not p rice. Our General Public Licenses
are designed to make sure that you have the freedom to distribute copies of free software (and charge
for t hem if you wish), that you receive source code or can get it if you want it, that you can change
the software o r use pieces of it in new free pro grams, and that you know you can do these things.
To protect your rights, w e need to prevent others from denying you these rights or asking you
to surrender the rights. Therefore, you have certain responsibilities if you distribute copies of
the software, or if you modify it: responsibilities to re spect the freedom of ot hers.
For example, if you distribute copies of such a program, whether gratis or for a fee, you must pass
on to the recipients the same freedoms that you received. You must make sure that they, too,
receive or can get the source code. And you must show them these terms so they know the ir rights.
Developers that use the G NU GPL protect your r ights with two steps: (1) assert copyright on the
software, and (2) offer you this License giving you legal permission to copy, distribute and/or modify it.
For the developers’ and aut hors’ protection, the GPL clearly explains that there is no warranty for this
free software. F or both users’ and a uthors’ sake, the GPL requ ires that modified versions be marked
as changed, so that their problems will not be attributed erroneously to authors of previous versions.
Some d evices are designed to deny users access to install o r run modified versions of the software
inside them, a lthough the manufa cturer can do so. T his is fundamentally incompatible with the aim
of protecting users’ freedom to change the software. The systematic pattern of such abuse occurs
in the area of products for individuals to use, which is precisely where it is most unacceptable.
Therefore, we have designed this version of the GPL to prohibit the practice for those products.
If such problems arise substantially in other domains, we stand ready to extend this provision to
those domains in future versions of the GPL, as neede d to protect the freedom of users.
Finally, every program is threatened constantly by software patents. States should not
allow patents to restrict development and use of software o n general-purpose computers,
but in tho se that do, we wish to avoid the special danger that patents applied to a
free pro gram could make it effectively proprietary. To prevent this, the GPL assures
that patents cannot be used to render the program non-free.
The precise terms and conditions for copyin g, distribution and modification follow.
Fujitsu 83
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