IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT DISTRIBUTING
SOFTWARE FROM ARTIFEX
If you want to distribute Ghostscript® technology,
you've come to the right place: Artifex is the exclusive
commercial licensing agent for Ghostscript software.
You should know that there is no "public domain"
version of Ghostscript. All versions of Ghostscript
are provided under one of the three licenses described
below. If you plan to distribute Ghostscript, you
should understand the differences between these
licenses. The kind of distribution you plan to make
of Ghostscript, as explained below, will determine
whether you need a commercial license from Artifex.
Please note that the following rules apply even
if you ship a free demonstration version of your
own product or application. An "application," as
referenced below, can be any type of software product
or application, tool, system or utility.
VERSIONS OF GHOSTSCRIPT ARE LICENSED UNDER THREE
TYPES OF LICENSES . . .
1. Artifex Ghostscript. Artifex Ghostscript is
any version of Ghostscript licensed for commercial
use and distribution under an Artifex Commercial
License. Artifex is the exclusive commercial licensing
agent for Ghostscript software.
2. AFPL Ghostscript. AFPL Ghostscript (currently
version 8.11) can be licensed for use under the
Aladdin Free Public License (the "AFPL"). AFPL Ghostscript
was previously known as Aladdin Ghostscript.
3. GPL Ghostscript. GPL Ghostscript (currently
version 7.05) can be licensed under the GNU General
Public License (the "GNU GPL").
IF YOUR ENTIRE APPLICATION IS LICENSED TO THE
PUBLIC UNDER EITHER THE AFPL OR THE GNU GPL, YOU
CAN DISTRIBUTE AFPL GHOSTSCRIPT OR GNU GHOSTSCRIPT,
RESPECTIVELY, WITH YOUR APPLICATION WITHOUT A COMMERCIAL
LICENSE . . .
If your application, including all of its source
code, is licensed to the public under the AFPL or
the GNU GPL, you are authorized to ship AFPL Ghostscript
or GPL Ghostscript, respectively, with your application
under the terms of those license agreements. You
do not need a commercial license from Artifex. The
terms of the GNU GPL and the AFPL include the requirement
that your application be licensed as a whole at
no charge to all third parties. Moreover, the entire
application must be licensed to the public under
the GNU GPL or AFPL respectively.
IF YOUR APPLICATION IS NOT LICENSED TO THE PUBLIC
UNDER THE AFPL OR THE GNU GPL AND YOU PLAN TO DISTRIBUTE
GHOSTSCRIPT SOFTWARE. . .
If your application (including its source code)
is not licensed to the public under the GNU GPL
or AFPL, you are not authorized to ship GPL or AFPL
Ghostscript with your application under the terms
of the GNU GPL or AFPL, respectively, if any one
of the following is true:
These criteria apply to your application as a whole.
Even if only one section of your application satisfies
one of these criteria, you are not authorized to
ship GPL or AFPL Ghostscript with your application
unless your application, including all of its source
code, is licensed to the public under the GNU GPL
or AFPL, respectively.
If your application (including its source code)
is NOT licensed to the public under the AFPL or
the GNU GPL and you intend to distribute Ghostscript
(either internally or externally) for use with and
usable by your application, you MUST first obtain
a commercial license from Artifex.
Examples of Distribution:
Some examples of distribution requiring a commercial
license include:
1. Distributing Ghostscript (or any component thereof)
within your non-AFPL and non-GNU GPL application.
2. Distributing Ghostscript on the same media
with your non-AFPL and non-GNU GPL application for
use with and by your application.
3. Distributing Ghostscript embedded within hardware.
DOES ARTIFEX RECOMMEND THE COMMERCIAL LICENSE?
Artifex recommends that all commercial entitie
that wish to distribute Ghostscript enter into the
Artifex Commercial License with Artifex. Not only
does it free you from having to conform to the requirements
and restrictions of the AFPL and GPL licenses, but
it also provides you with additional protections
and rights, such as support. AFPL Ghostscript and
GNU Ghostscript are provided "AS-IS" without warranties
or support of any kind.
To
obtain a copy of the Aladdin Ghostscript Free Public
License, please click here: AFPL
To
obtain a copy of the GNU General Free Public License,
please click here: GPL
STILL HAVE QUESTIONS? Please feel free to contact
us at:
