[GRASS-user] Questions about GRASS license and other more restrictive licenses

[Hamish]

are you distributing GRASS? do you combine your scripts with GRASS and
ship it as a single product? if so, the GPL applies and you have a choice
of either distributing the entire package using GPL and GPL-compatible
licenses, or not ship GRASS with it.

what is the nature of the informatic platform?

the license below is clearly not GPL-compatible.

Your scripts are by you, and so you own the copyright and can use,
license & distribute those however you like; but as you do not hold
copyright over the GRASS software you must respect the terms it
comes with if you wish to distribute a bundled-GRASS to others.

If you do not distribute GRASS (in whole or in part), then its license
is irrelevant.


regards,
Hamish


rabotin wrote:
> I've got a question concerning the license of GRASS.
> I'm working for a public french research center (INRA :
> French National Institute for Agricultural Research) ; we
> have developped a series of scripts in shell and perl
> languages for GRASS.
> These procedures are made for an informatic platform which
> is able to download under a license more restrictive than
> GPL license .
> And these procedures for GRASS will be accessible for
> download under this license too.
> So my question is : is this kind of license (a license more
> restrictive than GPL license) compatible with developing
> shell scripts for GRASS (as GRASS license is GPL license) or
> not ?
> Thanks for any informations you can provide
> 
> Here you can read the following lines in the license
> provided with the informatic platform (and this license will
> be the same for these GRASS scripts) :
> 
> 2) License of the software
> ==========================
> a) INRA grants to You by this agreement a non-exclusive,
> world-wide and
> royalty-free license to use the software to the end
> described hereunder
> in the domain of the license, as long as You will comply
> with the terms and conditions of this agreement.
> b) You are authorised to download, install, execute the
> software on your
> computer within the limit of one license for one computer
> (one hard disk).
> c) Except specific and written agreement of INRA, You are
> not allowed to download, install or execute the software on a server.
> d) You are not authorised to rent, sell, sublease,
> distribute, assign,
> transfer, license, sublicense or otherwise share the
> software or one of INRA’s rights on the software.
> e) You are authorised to make a back-up copy of the
> software provided
> You will not use it on any else computer. You are
> responsible of the
> physical security of this copy and of the software.
> f) You may personalize the set up of the software or extend its
> functions. As well, You may translate, adapt, fix, modify
> the software
> when theses acts are necessary for the use of the software
> in accordance with this agreement.
> g) INRA reserves the right to correct errors and to determine the
> specific forms to which the following acts will be submitted:
> The copy of the source code of the software or the
> translation of this
> code are allowed when they are essential for the good
> working order of
> the software with other softwares and when they are
> essential for the
> use of the software in the domain of the license.
> Furthermore, You are not authorized to reverse engineer,
> disassemble or decompile the software.
> Necessary information for good working order with other
> softwares is
> available by INRA, without implying as regard to INRA any
> undertaking
> to supply any assistance or services associated with the
> software.
> h) You are not authorised to extract (that is transfer
> permanently or
> temporarily) whole or a part of the content of the software
> (data) onto
> an other medium, by any mean and in any form. Moreover, you
> are neither
> authorised to re-use (that is to put at the public’s
> disposal) whole or
> a part of the content of the software (data) whatever the
> form may be.
> i) Your are allowed to produce supplementary modules for
> the software,
> to improve or adapt the software provided however that the
> use of these
> modules, supplementary versions, improvements, additions or
> upgrades
> will be used in accordance with this agreement and strictly
> in the
> domain of the licence.
> In particular, You undertake to communicate these
> improvements or
> modules to INRA and to allow INRA to use them for its own
> research
> purposes.
> If the improvements or modules are dependant upon the
> software
> (according to code de la propriété intellectuelle), You
> may not disclose
> or transfer them to third parties without the prior and
> written consent
> of INRA on the forms of this distribution.
> If the improvement or modules are not dependant upon the
> software
> (according to code de la propriété intellectuelle), You
> may disclose
> and transfer them to third parties, provided You indemnify
> and hold
> harmless INRA with respect to any suit, claim or proceeding
> brought by a third party.
> 
> Michael Rabotin
> 
> -- *********************************
> 
> Michaël Rabotin
> Ingénieur d'étude en géomatique
> 
> Laboratoire d'étude des Interactions Sol, Agrosystème et
> Hydrosystème
> UMR LISAH SupAgro-INRA-IRD
> Bat. 24
> 2 place Viala
> 34060 Montpellier cedex 1 FRANCE
> 
> Téléphone :  33 (0)4 99 61 23 85
> Secrétariat : 33 (0)4 99 61 22 61
> Fax : 33 (0)4 67 63 26 14
> E-mail : rabotin at supagro.inra.fr
> 
> *********************************
> 
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