Help understanding licenses

General JUCE discussion
1

Did some research (this forum, the official JUCE website, and Google) and then asked Claude a few more questions to make sure I understand most of what I need to know when it comes to licenses. i wanted to save you all some time and patience, because I would guess this has been asked multiple times, so here’s what I got so far and I hope someone can confirm or challenge my final understanding (from a solo-developer perspective, not a company):

  • Starting with JUCE 8, plugins built with the free license no longer show the temporary “Made with JUCE”
  • Using the free license I can either make my plugins free or paid
  • Free license, by itself, doesn’t require the plugin to be open source or have the code public (I’m aware that there’s other variables, but the license itself doesn’t force these, but more on this below)
  • A license covers as many plugins as I want to build (this is because I came across this very old thread from 2014 and that made me question if it’s still “a thing”? What exactly is the distinction between single and multi product license? - #2 by jules)
  • I can use the free license, as long as the revenue and/or funding in the last 12 months is up to $20k (all plugins combined), so if I release my plugin on Mar 1 2027 and on Aug 1 2027 the revenue is above $20k, I need to upgrade to a paid plan right away, or make the plugin open source (not just public code).
  • Monthly subscription vs perpetual license: subscription users always get the latest updates (as long as they are subscribed), whereas perpetual license is forever, only on that version (e.g. if I buy a perpetual license for JUCE 8, I will get all JUCE versions for free, forever, such as 8.1, 8.2, etc, but NOT JUCE 9)

This is all I can think of at the moment. If anything I mention is not accurate, please feel free to share your feedback.

Thanks!

2

JUCE is dual licensed under both the JUCE license and the AGPLv3.

You would need to get a paid plan to retain a valid JUCE license, otherwise you must use JUCE under the terms of the AGPLv3.

Otherwise the rest of your points are correct.

1 Like
3

Thank you for checking this for me, Tom.

I’m a bit confused… the way you phrase it, especially with the last “Otherwise the rest of your points are correct.” almost makes it sound like that specific point you quoted, is wrong?

My point was that once I hit $20k in the previous 12 months, I’m left with only 2 options moving forward: upgrade to a paid plan, or make my plugin’s code open source (not just public, because being public doesn’t necessarily mean open source for others to use), right?

It seems like we are both saying the same thing, but you are just adding more context, not necessarily saying I was wrong?

Let me know if I’m missing something…
Thanks again!

4

or make my plugin’s code open source (not just public, because being public doesn’t necessarily mean open source for others to use), right?

You must use JUCE under the terms of the AGPLv3. There is more to the AGPLv3 than just making your source code available.

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5

I see. So what you mean is that I’m oversimplifying that option?

If so, I’m still only left with 2 options, right? Either pay or, as you said, use JUCE under the terms of the AGPLv3. Correct? Which technically (and one part of the AGPLv3), makes the code open for others, if I want to still use it for free?

This is all new to me, at least the deep stuff that comes with it, that’s why I want to do things properly before I even start releasing products. To be honest, my goal is to then upgrade to a paid plan, anyway. Just trying to understand and create a conversation that maybe others in the future with the same questions, can easily understand.

Let me know if I got it right this time?

6

That is correct.

1 Like
7

Great! Really appreciate your time and help! :raising_hands: