Selling applications on Android market.

[armakapo]

Hi, just have a quick question here about license.
I'm developing a few stuff for Android and I'm using part of leJOS on my projects. Do you know if it's possible for me to sell those applications on the Android market? Just want to be sure, I really don't know a lot about licenses and stuff.
Thanks in advance!

[Shawn]

Of course you can sell it. Red hat sells Red Hat subscriptions don't they? Anyway, it says you can in the Mozilla Public License Version 1.1

You would be under the terms of that license though which is included in all distributions. That means you'd need to make your source code available. If you sold your application without providing the src code, that would negate your right to use leJOS in the first place. This it true even if you make the application free.

Well read the license for yourself. IANAL

[skoehler]

I'm not sure, which License is used by LeJOS at the moment.

But in any case: if you modify any leJOS source code in order to make it work with your application, you have to publish the modified source.

[armakapo]

I did a little modification on one of LejosDroid class' method. Should I provide only the leJOS code or my application's code, according to the license? Anyways the android market only lets you upload an .apk file, as far as I know.

[skoehler]

I did a little modification on one of LejosDroid class' method.

As far as I understand, that's purely UI code (except for the NXTCommAndroid class. You should probably simply rewrite the UI.

Should I provide only the leJOS code or my application's code, according to the license?

I'm not an expert, unfortunately. But it wouldn't make sense that you provide the modified source, if it references other source that you won't publish. However, you should simply write your own UI. As far as I understand, the leJOS Droid project consists of an example UI (lejos.android package) and an extension of the pccomms library (lejos.pc.comm package).

Anyways the android market only lets you upload an .apk file, as far as I know.

Of course you can't publish the source through the android market. You can publish source on your own homepage, on the various platforms (sourceforge, github) or you can simply contribute a patch to leJOS.

[Shawn]

Should I provide only the leJOS code or my application's code, according to the license?

I'm not an expert, unfortunately. But it wouldn't make sense that you provide the modified source, if it references other source that you won't publish. However, you should simply write your own UI. As far as I understand, the leJOS Droid project consists of an example UI (lejos.android package) and an extension of the pccomms library (lejos.pc.comm package).

From a legal standpoint, I wouldn't think simple writing the UI would negate the need to provide the src code.

For example, I don't believe I could have distributed the leJOS droid project itself via the android market without providing source. If leJOS is not used in your project at all, then that is one thing. Surely by using pccomms, you are agreeing to the terms of the license. That fact that your application will not compile without pccomms inclusion should make this clear. It means you ARE using leJOS code, does it not?

I understand that GPL has a modified version where code sometimes is distributed with a "linking exception" that allows projects to use a library without requiring src distribution, but leJOS is not under that license.

Anyway, just distribute the src. I suspect most people who use your project will just use it as is and won't try to change it. For many people, building the robot is work enough without the complexity of Android and leJOS to also deal with.

Shawn

[armakapo]

Thanks Shawn for your kind answer! I'm using pccomms library so I'll release the source code with the program when it's done, but at the moment the project is at half way.

Greetings!

[skoehler]

I would like add a link to the english wikipedia about the GPL. They is an ongoing discussion in the community about using GPL'ed libraries in a proprietary application:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GPL#Linkin ... ived_works

In the opinion of the Free Software Foundation using to a GPLed library in a proprietary application violates the GPL if you don't publish your sources (and hence agrees with Shawn).