Stefan Hoops: 2007-02-08 12:00:00 +0000
This article attempts to clarify the impact of the COPASI license on the distribution of 3rd party software which utilizes COPASI source code or is linked against libraries created with the COPASI source package. Such software is hereafter referred to as DERIVED SOFTWARE. This article is meant as a guide and does not replace in any way the license distributed with the source code.
The DERIVED SOFTWARE must acknowledge the use of COPASI in a prominent place. Minimally, this should be done in the About Dialog of a graphical user interface or the start message of a command-line application. It is good practice to include the COPASI version in the acknowledgment. Other places for acknowledging the use of COPASI are the installation procedure and the documentation.
The distribution package of the DERIVED SOFTWARE must include the COPASI license. In addition the distributor has the responsibility to make any user aware of the COPASI license especially the restriction to non-commercial use. Informing the user of the COPASI license should be done in at least one of the following places: the distributor’s download page, the installation procedure, the About Dialog of a graphical user interface or the start message of a command-line application.
DERIVED SOFTWARE which is created with modified source code of COPASI may not be distributed as this constitutes a redistribution of a modified version of COPASI, which is prohibited by the license accompanying the source code. If you have made changes and want to include them in the COPASI source code distribution you can send these alterations to contribute@copasi.org requesting that. Note that their inclusion depends on many criteria and may be declined by the authors, but we are interested to further the use of COPASI and thus are very motivated to work with anyone.
Commercial use of any DERIVED SOFTWARE is not allowed since the license distributed with the COPASI source code allows only non-commercial use. A distributor of DERIVED SOFTWARE must assure that any users of their software are aware of this restriction. If you intend to make DERIVED SOFTWARE available for commercial users you need to contact us at: license@copasi.org