Closed source software made with JUCE on Linux

Commercial / Licences
1

Hello,
Am I understanding correctly that with the license purchased - I’m OK to release closed commercial software made with JUCE (without any additional libraries other than used by JUCE).
I mean that JUCE is using other libraries with their’s own licenses. Is it safe to assume that I’ll be not violating any licenses of these libraries building my application with JUCE?

1 Like
2

Hi there,

Which other libraries are you referring to?

3

Well, I think it does in a way, because it includes jpglib and pnglib in the juce_graphics module, and zlib in juce_core.

These are just those I encountered while working with JUCE, but perhaps there are others that I forgot to mention.

EDIT: ah yes, and Box2D also, which has a module on its own (juce_box2d)

4

you’re right, we include utilities that use permissive licenses in the JUCE framework, and it is safe to include them in open or closed source project as their respective licenses permits it.

5

I’m asking about x11, freetype and other dependencies for an application with GUI / threads etc

I understand that my question may sound silly\funny, but dealing with all these Linux libs\utils and the whole GPL thing is not funny.

I just want to be sure that I’m safe to use JUCE for a closed source commercial product on Linux.

6

totally understand, and your question is welcome.

It is safe to use those libraries. If you’re in doubt, we’ve included the thrid-party license terms in the libraries so you can check by yourself, but essentially, they’re all allowing to be used in close source applications otherwise we wouldn’t be using them.

1 Like
7

The only thing you must not forget is to add the same 3rd party license terms in your own license agreement.

9

Could you please describe it in little more detail?
I’m going to sell a binary executable file. How these 3rd party license terms could be applied to my app?

10

Thank you!

11

You need to abide by the licenses of the tools you use, libraries are part of them, so you need to add what is required in your release notes.
Check the JUCE license for instance.

12

Could you please help me with me to understand what should I do to make a legal commercial closed source product on Linux with JUCE.
I thought that all I need is a commercial license, but Matthieu_Brucher proposes I should add something else to that?

Sorry again for such questions, but in that area it is dangerous to miss any details.

13

I think releasing any product on Windows and OS X has these requirements too.

@jb1 Suppose I’m using the JPEGImageFormat. I assume internally it will use jpglib to read image files. The jpglib README states:

(2) If only executable code is distributed, then the accompanying
documentation must state that “this software is based in part on the work of
the Independent JPEG Group”.

So if I understand that correctly, that requires adding a note to the documentation. Are there other similar requirements for other libraries that you know of?

14

Yes, that’s true, it’s not just Linux, it’s abiding by the licenses of each product you are using, directly or indirectly.

15

I think your understanding is correct, @roeland-2, but I’ll confirm with the legal team.

It does make sense to credit open source libraries in the documentation whenever this is required by the licensing terms. In the case of JUCE (third-party libs excepted), paying a license allows not to mention that a software uses JUCE, but that does not provide the same rights over third-party libraries.

16

You may still have to mention it in the release notes if the JUCE license tells you to do it, even if you paid for it (I haven’t read the JUCE license).

17

To clarify on this point, paying customers don’t need to mention JUCE in the release notes, but they may need to mention third-party libraries. It appears to be the case for jpglib. See the jpglib README file on github.

1 Like
18

So can we please have a document with all that info?
it would be great just to cut and paste the proper text to the user manual or other app documentation.

19

For the specific case of jpglig, here are the recommendations from the README file linked earlier:

(1) If any part of the source code for this software is distributed, then this
README file must be included, with this copyright and no-warranty notice
unaltered; and any additions, deletions, or changes to the original files
must be clearly indicated in accompanying documentation.
(2) If only executable code is distributed, then the accompanying
documentation must state that “this software is based in part on the work of
the Independent JPEG Group”.
(3) Permission for use of this software is granted only if the user accepts
full responsibility for any undesirable consequences; the authors accept
NO LIABILITY for damages of any kind.