Samsung SCX-8128NA-XAA User Manual

Page 177

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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

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