I have developed .NET software that uses two libraries:
- Library A has MIT licence and I’m using my own version of it as I edited the source code of this library.
- Library B has Ms-PL licence and I use only the binaries.
My application will be distributed freely in binaries and source code(including the source code of library A).
Since it is my first time to distribute a public application I want to know few things:
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what Licence I should choose.
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a part from the to-be-chosen licence Eula presented to the user in the installation , what else I should do for the binaries ?
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for the source code, what should I include exactly ?
There are two main considerations for which license to choose for your application
- You must be comfortable with the license terms (the freedoms/restrictions given to users/modifiers of your software)
- The chosen license must be compatible with the licenses of all the libraries you use. This rules out the GPL license in your case, because it is incompatible with the Ms-PL.
After you have chosen a license, you can usually find a page through google explaining how to apply the license to your software.
The details differ from license to license, but generally there is a file with the full license text that you should include in your project and a text that should appear in every source file along with your copyright statement.
Software released under an open source license doesn’t generally have an EULA , but sometimes an installer shows the copyright license(s) where it would show an EULA for commercial software.
Barts answer is perfectly correct. I just want to add my own rider.
Please read the licence and make your own decision. If you don’t understand it, then perhaps you should pay a lawyer to read it for you.
The basic breakdown is this. If you make no money out of it and harm no-one then just do your best, acknowledge the work of others and don’t worry too much.
If you make money out of your product or services and/or if you may cause damage to someone or compete with someone who does, then you must take competent legal advice. That won’t protect you, but it will warn you about the risks and possibly help to mitigate them. You are at risk, even if you don’t realise it, and the more money you make the bigger the risk.