Difference between revisions of "Explanation of the licenses"

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Latest revision as of 10:47, 18 April 2021

This article explains the licenses of DMXControl, the manuals and our other projects.

Explanation of the licenses

The programs DMXControl 2 and DMXControl 3 and also the manuals for both software have certain license conditions under which they may be used. These conditions are displayed during the installation, are in the file "License.txt" in the program folders of DMXControl 2 and DMXControl 3 or in the case of the manual on the second page of the PDF.

But this is all written so confusingly and what should "Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 Germany License" mean to me? To get some light in the dark and to explain what you are allowed to do with DMXControl 2 & 3 and the manuals and what not, we wrote the following article for you. It describes some of the points listed in the license. However, the article does not replace the licenses and does not contain all descriptions to all conditions in the licenses.

DMXControl 2 and 3

License text

The following excerpt is taken from the licenses of DMXControl 2 and DMXControl 3:

You may use and/or distribute the software only subject to the following conditions:

* You may use this software on any number of computers for as long as you like.
* You may not modify the program files in any way
* You must include all the files that were in the original distribution
* You may not decompile or otherwise reduce the Software to a human readable form.
  Beside from that is decompiling for the purpose of writing a plugin permitted.
* You may not sell the software or charge a distribution fee, except to recover the media costs
* You understand and agree with this license and with the disclaimer of warranty and the limitation of liability printed below.

The software may be bundled and distributed together with other software products but the same conditions apply. You do not need to seek our permission first. But a note telling us about your software is wanted. Comments and contributions for improvement of documentation can be provided at the forum and wiki of DMXControl.de.

But: What does this mean?

When may you use DMXControl

You can be reassured first of all. You may download, install and use DMXControl (no matter which version) as often as you want. Exactly this is written in the first point of the license conditions.

Can you give DMXContol to friends, acquaintances etc.?

Yes, you may. Again, it doesn't matter how often you pass on the installation file. You don't have to ask for permission and just simply pass DMXControl to your friend, acquaintances etc. However, you have to pass on all files that were in the installation file. This is stated in point 3 of the license conditions. You can copy your own DDFs as often as you want and give them to others. After all, you have made the DDF and may therefore also determine whether you want to pass it or not.

Can you demand a consideration for sharing DMXControl?

No! The developers have invested a lot of work and time (several years) into the programs. They did this in their spare time and make the result of their work publicly available for free. It would be very unfair, if you would demand such a consideration like e.g. money for the passing of the software. Therefore DMXControl (no matter which version) must be passed on without any consideration. Only the costs for the data medium (e.g. a blank CD) can be returned. Both is fixed in the point 5 of the license conditions.

Does it matter if you earn money by using DMXControl?

You are allowed to use DMXControl, no matter if you get money for your work at an event or not. This is part of the previously mentioned point 5 of the license condition about the fact that nobody earns money with the distribution and thereby with the work of the developers of DMXControl. On events you don't get money for sharing DMXControl, but for your work as DJ, LJ, etc.. Thereby you use DMXControl only as a tool to do your work. Therefore there are no restrictions here. If you earn a lot, we would be happy if you would give a small donation to DMXControl Projects e.V., so that we can continue the project. But you are not obligated to do so.

May DMXControl also be used in discos, bars etc.

Also commercial and non-commercial institutions like discos, bars, schools, offices, clubs etc. are allowed to use DMXControl free of charge at any kind of events. But we would be glad about a small donation, so that we can pay the maintenance costs for the server infrastructure, programming tools, etc. and continue the project. Furthermore, we would be very pleased about a small report about the corresponding event in the form of a small user report here in the Wiki.

Are you allowed to make changes to DMXControl?

No! This is absolutely forbidden. Also the reverse engineering of DMXContol and to make the sourc code visible again is forbidden! Both is fixed in point two and point four of the license conditions. DMXControl is freeware, but not OpenSource, so that there is always only one official current version. Otherwise there would be many different versions, each with different advantages and disadvantages. Furthermore, the disclosure of the source code is unfair to the developers who have put a lot of work and time into the development. If you find a bug or have a change request, you can post it in the bugtracker[1]. The developers will then try to find solutions for them. If you really want to actively contribute to the development of DMXControl, you can contact us via info@dmxcontrol-projects.org and after a familiarization phase there is the possibility that you are allowed to actively work on the source code.


Manual (PDF / Wiki)

License

The manuals of DMXControl 2 and 3 are under the so-called "Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 Germany License". This means that you are allowed to copy and publish the manuals as a whole. However, this is bound to a few conditions:

Name attribution

You must always mention the names of the authors of the manuals. But it is enough if the names of the authors are in the PDF manual itself (on page 2).

Non-Commercial

The manual may not be used for commercial purposes, i.e. you may not ask for any consideration for the distribution. You may only charge the cost of the medium (e.g. blank CD) on which you distribute the manual. However, the manual may be used as an aid at commercial and non-commercial events of any kind, just like DMXControl. Generally applies here: Everywhere, where DMXControl may be used as a tool, you may also use the manual as a tool.

No editing

You are not allowed to edit the manual! This is very important because we want to prevent different versions of the manual. Therefore the manual pages in the wiki are protected and can only be edited by the authors. If you have found a bug in the manual or if you would like to have an addition at a certain place, then please add a ticket in the manual bug tracker[2] so that we can check this and add it accordingly.

References