Compliance Checklist
This compliance checklist can help you avoid some of the common errors encountered when releasing a product that contains code under the GNU GPL licence.
This is not legal advice. If you have doubts consult a legal advisor.
GNU GPL Vendor Checklist
Basic guidelines:
- Make sure the source code of the software is available to users.
- Make sure you do not claim the software is the copyright of your company. This is not true if you include Free Software copyrighted by third parties in the product.
- Make sure you are distributing the correct version of the source code. The source code has to be exactly the same version as the executable (object) code actually shipped.
- Make sure you include the source code for any derivative works of the GNU GPL code you are using, not just of the third-party GNU GPL components themselves.
- Make sure you include the scripts used to control compilation and installation.
- If the toolchain is released and contains tools under the GNU GPL (like the GCC compiler), the source code for those tools must also be released.
Before shipping the product:
- Make sure your purchasing contracts require suppliers to disclose the presence of any GPL software and to supply all the materials you need to comply once you ship.
- Make sure that if your supplier turns out to not comply with the GPL they agree to rectify the situation in a timely fashion.
Shipping the product:
- Make sure a copy of the GNU GPL licence is shipped with the product.
- Make sure a copy of the source code is shipped with the product or that you include a written offer to provide the source code on a physical media like a CD ROM for no more than the cost of production and shipping.
- Remember you cannot offer a download link to the source code instead of a written offer to ship the source code on physical media. You can supplement the written offer with a reference to a download site. This may reduce the number of requests for source code.
- Remember that if your product is downloaded from the Internet, linking to a licence text or source code on servers other than your own is only allowed for non-commercial distributions.
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