Using third-party GPL code for a closed-source internal project

Question

If I use the GPL software in my internal / private source application, should I make the source public? let's say on the Internet?

Answer 1

This issue is specifically addressed in the GPL FAQ , and it says that you are allowed to use the GPLed software within the company without its legal distribution, you are not required to release the source or binary file outside the company.

You are talking about what Richard Stallman (the man behind the Wildebeest) calls "private software." For private software, any license that allows you to use the code works because you are not distributing it. Both the Free Software Foundation and the Open Source Initiative support that you can always use the software privately.

Answer 2

In short, the GPL requires that you offer access to the source code to anyone you make the binary available to. If the application is intended for internal use only, this is probably not a problem, since you probably are not worried that your internal users are requesting or using the source.

Edit: Please note that in order to comply with the GPL, you are still required to offer the source code (even if no one accepts the offer), and you could probably log in if the internal user insists on receiving a copy of your source, and you are not ready to give them one.

Edit: I did not understand that the GPL FAQ excludes the internal use of redistribution, which makes David Thornley's answer much better this is mine. I think I will leave my answer, because it covers the wider problem of limited distribution.

Answer 3

If you do not qualify anything as an “issue”, you have no GPL obligation.

Personally, using proprietary software is not certianly counted. Providing some software to another group or unit in the same company is also not considered a release.

However, time and use can lead to some changes. It should be clear that any attempt to release code outside the company will require a GPL compatible license.

Answer 4

In addition, the version of the GPL that is relevant to the code matters. Version 3 of the GPL specifically addresses things like web services (where the user usually doesn’t receive binaries), which version 2 wasn’t.