Tascam BD-R2000 - Manual (Page 107)

107
Others
Finally, software patents pose a constant threat to the
existence of any free program. We wish to make sure that
a company cannot effectively restrict the users of a free
program by obtaining a restrictive license from a patent
holder. Therefore, we insist that any patent license obtained
for a version of the library must be consistent with the full
freedom of use specified in this license.
Most GNU software, including some libraries, is covered
by the ordinary GNU General Public License. This license,
the GNU Lesser General Public License, applies to certain
designated libraries, and is quite different from the ordinary
General Public License. We use this license for certain
libraries in order to permit linking those libraries into non-free
programs.
When a program is linked with a library, whether statically or
using a shared library, the combination of the two is legally
speaking a combined work, a derivative of the original library.
The ordinary General Public License therefore permits such
linking only if the entire combination fits its criteria of freedom.
The Lesser General Public License permits more lax criteria
for linking other code with the library.
We call this license the "Lesser" General Public License
because it does Less to protect the user's freedom than the
ordinary General Public License. It also provides other free
software developers Less of an advantage over competing
non-free programs.
These disadvantages are the reason we use the ordinary
General Public License for many libraries. However, the
Lesser license provides advantages in certain special
circumstances.
For example, on rare occasions, there may be a special need
toencourage the widest possible use of a certain library, so
that it becomes a de-facto standard. To achieve this, non-free
programs must be allowed to use the library. A more frequent
case is that a free library does the same job as widely used
non-free libraries. In this case, there is little to gain by limiting
the free library to free software only, so we use the Lesser
General Public License.
In other cases, permission to use a particular library in non-
free programs enables a greater number of people to use a
large body of free software. For example, permission to use
the GNU C Library in non-free programs enables many more
people to use the whole GNU operating system, as well as its
variant, the GNU/Linux operating system.
Although the Lesser General Public License is Less protective
of the users' freedom, it does ensure that the user of a
program that is linked with the Library has the freedom and
the wherewithal to run that program using a modified version
of the Library.
The precise terms and conditions for copying, distribution
and modification follow. Pay close attention to the difference
between a "work based on the library" and a "work that uses
the library". The former contains code derived from the library,
whereas the latter must be combined with the library in order
to run.
GNU LESSER GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE
TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR COPYING,
DISTRIBUTION AND MODIFICATION
0. This License Agreement applies to any software library or
other program which contains a notice placed by the copyright
holder or other authorized party saying it may be distributed
under the terms of this Lesser General Public License (also
called "this License"). Each licensee is addressed as "you".
A "library" means a collection of software functions and/or
data prepared so as to be conveniently linked with application
programs (which use some of those functions and data) to
form executables.
The "Library", below, refers to any such software library
or work which has been distributed under these terms. A
"work based on the Library" means either the Library or any
derivative work under copyright law: that is to say, a work
containing the Library or a portion of it, either verbatim or
with modifications and/or translated straightforwardly into
another language. (Hereinafter, translation is included without
limitation in the term "modification".)
"Source code" for a work means the preferred form of the
work for making modifications to it. For a library, complete
source code means all the source code for all modules it
contains, plus any associated interface definition files, plus
the scripts used to control compilation and installation of the
library.
Activities other than copying, distribution and modification are
not covered by this License; they are outside its scope. The
act of running a program using the Library is not restricted,
and output from such a program is covered only if its contents
constitute a work based on the Library (independent of the
use of the Library in a tool for writing it). Whether that is true
depends on what the Library does and what the program that
uses the Library does.
1. You may copy and distribute verbatim copies of the
Library's complete source code as you receive it, in any
medium, provided that you conspicuously and appropriately
publish on each copy an appropriate copyright notice and
disclaimer of warranty; keep intact all the notices that refer
to this License and to the absence of any warranty; and
distribute a copy of this License along with the Library.
You may charge a fee for the physical act of transferring a
copy, and you may at your option offer warranty protection in
exchange for a fee.
2. You may modify your copy or copies of the Library or any
portion of it, thus forming a work based on the Library, and
copy and distribute such modifications or work under the
terms of Section 1 above, provided that you also meet all of
these conditions:
a) The modified work must itself be a software library.
b) You must cause the files modified to carry prominent
notices stating that you changed the files and the date of
any change.
c) You must cause the whole of the work to be licensed at
no charge to all third parties under the terms of this License.