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GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE
Version 2, June 1991
Copyright (C) 1989, 1991 Free Software Founda-
tion, Inc.,
51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-
1301 USA
Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute
verbatim copies
of this license document, but changing it is not
allowed.
Preamble
The licenses for most software are designed to
take away your freedom to share and change it.
By contrast, the GNU General Public License is
intended to guarantee your freedom to share and
change free software--to make sure the software
is free for all its users. This General Public
License applies to most of the Free Software
Foundation’s software and to any other program
whose authors commit to using it. (Some other
Free Software Foundation software is covered by
the GNU Lesser General Public License instead.)
You can apply it to your programs, too.
When we speak of free software, we are referring
to freedom, not price. Our General Public Li-
censes are designed to make sure that you have
the freedom to distribute copies of free software
(and charge for this service if you wish), that you
receive source code or can get it if you want it,
that you can change the software or use pieces
of it in new free programs; and that you know you
can do these things.
To protect your rights, we need to make restric-
tions that forbid anyone to deny you these rights
or to ask you to surrender the rights. These
restrictions translate to certain responsibilities for
you if you distribute copies of the software, or if
you modify it.
For example, if you distribute copies of such a
program, whether gratis or for a fee, you must
give the recipients all the rights that you have.
You must make sure that they, too, receive or can
get the source code. And you must show them
these terms so they know their rights.
We protect your rights with two steps: (1) copy-
right the software, and (2) offer you this license
which gives you legal permission to copy, distrib-
ute and/or modify the software.
Also, for each author’s protection and ours, we
want to make certain that everyone understands
that there is no warranty for this free software.
Also, for each author’s protection and ours, we
want to make certain that everyone understands
that there is no warranty for this free software.
If the software is modified by someone else and
passed on, we want its recipients to know that
what they have is not the original, so that any
problems introduced by others will not reflect on
the original authors’ reputations.
Finally, any free program is threatened constantly
by software patents. We wish to avoid the danger
that redistributors of a free program will individu-
ally obtain patent licenses, in effect making the
program proprietary. To prevent this, we have
made it clear that any patent must be licensed for
everyone’s free use or not licensed at all.
The precise terms and conditions for copying,
distribution and modification follow.
GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE
TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR COPYING,
DISTRIBUTION AND MODIFICATION
0. This License applies to any program or other
work which contains a notice placed by the
copyright holder saying it may be distrib-
uted under the terms of this General Public
License. The “Program”, below, refers to any
such program or work, and a “work based on
the Program” means either the Program or
any derivative work under copyright law: that
is to say, a work containing the Program or a
portion of it, either verbatim or with modifi
-
cations and/or translated into another lan-
guage. (Hereinafter, translation is included
without limitation in the term “modification”.)
Each licensee is addressed as “you”.
Activities other than copying, distribution
and modification are not covered by this
License; they are outside its scope. The act
of running the Program is not restricted, and
the output from the Program is covered only
if its contents constitute a work based on the
Program (independent of having been made
by running the Program). Whether that is
true depends on what the Program does.
1. You may copy and distribute verbatim cop-
ies of the Program’s 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 give any
other recipients of the Program a copy of
this License along with the Program.
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.
