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LGPL
Here is the notice describing your license to the GeoTools code (from our developers guide):
GeoTools - The Open Source Java GIS Toolkit
http://geotools.org
(C) 2004-2008, Open Source Geospatial Foundation (OSGeo)
This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; version 2.1 of the License.
This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU Lesser General Public License for more details.
The actual text of the license itself should be included with the library as a file LICENSE or can be obtained from the website of the Free Software Foundation, here.
SOSNOKILLLICENSE
The file DateUtils requires that this license be included with your GeoTools documentation.
Copyright (c) 2002-2004, Dennis M. Sosnoski.
All rights reserved.
Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification,
are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:
- Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this
list of conditions and the following disclaimer. - Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice,
this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation
and/or other materials provided with the distribution. - Neither the name of JiBX nor the names of its contributors may be used
to endorse or promote products derived from this software without specific
prior written permission.
THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS" AND
ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED
WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE
DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT OWNER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR
ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES
(INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES;
LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON
ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT
(INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS
SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
Apache License v2.0
The module extension/xsd/xsd-core requires that this license be included with your GeoTools documentation.
Copyright 2003, 2004 The Apache Software Foundation
Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
You may obtain a copy of the License at
http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
limitations under the License.
Questions
Can I use GeoTools in my Commercial Project?
Yes. This is one of the reasons we chose the LGPL license. You can build a Commercial application which uses GeoTools as a library and re-distribute your application under any license you choose. Your users will get a license to your application under the terms of your license and a license to the GeoTools library under the terms of the LGPL. You only need to give your users some way to get the source code of the GeoTools library, most easily by pointing your users to the servers of the GeoTools project.
However, if you choose to modify the GeoTools library itself, then you have to publish the source code to those changes---the easiest way to do that will be to submit those changes back to the GeoTools project so the changes can be incorporated into the core source code.
Can I use GeoTools in my GPL Project?
Yes. This is one of the reasons we chose the LGPL license. You can build a free software application which uses GeoTools as a library and re-distribute your application under the GPL license. Your users will get a license to your application under the terms of the GPL and a license to the GeoTools library under the terms of the LGPL. You only need to give your users some way to get the source code of the GeoTools library, either by pointing your users to the servers of the GeoTools project or by giving them the GeoTools code in the same way you give them the code to your GPL application.
However, if you choose to modify the GeoTools library itself, then you have to publish the source code to those changes---the easiest way to do that will be to submit those changes back to the GeoTools project so the changes can be incorporated into the core source code.
Note that this means you can use GeoTools as a library but you cannot incorporate GeoTools code directly into your GLP application. Legally, the latter amounts to re-licensing GeoTools under a new license and you do not have the right to do so.
What restrictions are there on my use of GeoTools?
None. You can read, run, copy, or do anything else you want to do with the GeoTools code. This is one of the four core freedoms of free software which we grant you under the LGPL: the freedom to use the software for any purpose you choose.
The only restrictions of the LGPL come when you are re-distributing GeoTools, that is when you are passing it on to someone else either on its own or as part of a larger product, such as when you share it or sell it.
What restrictions are there on my re-distribution of GeoTools?
Technically, you have to provide everyone who receives a copy of GeoTools from you with some way to get the source code to the library. In practice, pointing those users to the Geotools project itself is considered an adequate solution.
However, if you are re-distributing a modified version of GeoTools then you need to provide users with access to the modified code. This means that you must give your users some way to get the modified code such as by publishing it yourself. An alternative way to provide your users with the modifications would be to work with us to get your changes integrated into the GeoTools library---you could then use the new library directly. The best way to do this would be to open a change request on our issue tracker and add to that request a code patch containing your changes.
What should I do if I am still unsure what I am allowed to do?
You can clarify any questions you have by sending us questions to the user mailing list:
geotools-gt2-users[at the sourceforge listserver]lists.sourceforge.net