[Samba] Using libsmbclient in a commercial product

[Volker Lendecke]

On Mon, Jan 06, 2014 at 09:08:22AM +0000, Rowland Penny wrote:
> On 06/01/14 08:27, Kim Marivoet wrote:
> >Hi,
> >
> >We are looking for options to use libsmbclient in a commercial
> >product, and would like to have more information on possible ways to
> >do this, like buying a commercial license, etc.
> >Does someone know where we can find more information about this (I
> >searched around but there doesn't seem to be a lot of information out
> >there), or is there anybody within samba.org we can contact to ask
> >more details?
> >
> >Thanks in advance,
> >Kim
> Hi, my understanding is that you cannot do this, but I could be wrong ;-)
> 
> Start here: http://www.samba.org/samba/docs/GPL.html
> 
> Then go here:
> http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html#GPLInProprietarySystem

We need to distinguish between "commercial" and
"proprietary". It is perfectly possible to have commercial
free software, it's proprietary software that you can't use
libsmbclient in. But I am not a lawyer, please consult one
to get a definitive answer if you can link GPL code into
your product's code and be GPL compliant. This depends on
your commercial licensing terms.

With best regards,

Volker Lendecke

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