Appendix – LG 47LD500 User Manual

Page 52

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52

APPENDIX

for the free library. Also, if the library is

modified by someone else and passed

on, the recipients should know that what

they have is not the original version, so

that the original author’s reputation will

not be affected by problems that might be

introduced by others.
Finally, software patents pose a constant

threat to the existence of any free program.

We wish to make sure that a company

cannot effectively restrict the users of a

free program by obtaining a restrictive

license from a patent holder. Therefore, we

insist that any patent license obtained for

a version of the library must be consistent

with the full freedom of use specified in

this license.
Most GNU software, including some

libraries, is covered by the ordinary GNU

General Public License. This license,

the GNU Lesser General Public License,

applies to certain designated libraries, and

is quite different from the ordinary General

Public License. We use this license for

certain libraries in order to permit linking

those libraries into non-free programs.
When a program is linked with a library,

whether statically or using a shared library,

the combination of the two is legally

speaking a combined work, a derivative of

the original library. The ordinary General

Public License therefore permits such

linking only if the entire combination fits

its criteria of freedom. The Lesser General

Public License permits more lax criteria for

linking other code with the library.
We call this license the “Lesser” General

Public License because it does Less

to protect the user’s freedom than the

ordinary General Public License. It also

provides other free software developers

Less of an advantage over competing

non-free programs. These disadvantages

are the reason we use the ordinary General

Public License for many libraries. However,

the Lesser license provides advantages in

certain special circumstances.
For example, on rare occasions, there may

be a special need to encourage the widest

possible use of a certain library, so that it

becomes a de-facto standard. To achieve

this, non-free programs must be allowed

to use the library. A more frequent case

is that a free library does the same job as

widely used non-free libraries. In this case,

there is little to gain by limiting the free

library to free software only, so we use the

Lesser General Public License.
In other cases, permission to use a

particular library in non-free programs

enables a greater number of people to use

a large body of free software. For example,

permission to use the GNU C Library in

non-free programs enables many more

people to use the whole GNU operating

system, as well as its variant, the GNU/

Linux operating system.
Although the Lesser General Public

License is Less protective of the users’

freedom, it does ensure that the user of a

program that is linked with the Library has

the freedom and the wherewithal to run

that program using a modified versionof

the Library.
The precise terms and conditions for

copying, distribution and modification

follow. Pay close attention to the difference

between a “work based on the library” and

a “work that uses the library”. The former

contains code derived from the library,

whereas the latter must be combined with

the library in order to run.
GNU

LESSER

GENERAL

PUBLIC

LICENSE
TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR COPYING,

DISTRIBUTION AND MODIFICATION
0. This license agreement applies to any

software library or other program which

contains a notice placed by the copyright

holder or other authorized party saying

it may be distributed under the terms

of this Lesser General Public License

(also called “this license”). Each license

is addressed as “you”.
A “library” means a collection of

software functions and/or data prepared

so as to be conveniently linked with

application programs (which use some

of those functions and data) to form

executables.
The “Library”, below, refers to any such

software library or work which has been

distributed under these terms. A “work

based on the Library” means either the

Library or any derivative work under

copyright law: that is to say, a work

containing the library or a portion of it,

either verbatim or with modifications

and/or translated straightforwardly

into another language. (Hereinafter,

translation is included without limitation

in the term “modification”.)
“Source code” for a work means the

preferred form of the work for making

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