Appendix – LG 32LV2400 User Manual

Page 52

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51

APPENDIX

To protect each distributor, we want

to make it very clear that there is no

warranty 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,

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