GNU Lesser General Public License v3.0
Weak copyleft license allowing linking to proprietary software
CopyleftPopularity: 35%
โ Permissions
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Commercial use
The licensed material and derivatives may be used for commercial purposes.
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Modification
The licensed material may be modified.
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Distribution
The licensed material may be distributed.
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Patent use
This license provides an express grant of patent rights from contributors.
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Private use
The licensed material may be used and modified in private.
โ Conditions
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License and copyright notice
A copy of the license and copyright notice must be included.
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Disclose source
Source code must be made available when the licensed material is distributed.
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Same license
Modifications must be released under the same license.
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State changes
Changes made to the licensed material must be stated.
โ Limitations
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Liability
This license includes a limitation of liability.
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Warranty
This license explicitly states that it does not provide any warranty.
License Description
LGPL v3.0 is a weak copyleft version of GPL that allows proprietary software to link to LGPL code, but modifications to the LGPL code itself must still be open sourced.
Use Cases
Suitable for libraries and frameworks where you want wide adoption but want to keep the core code open source.
Considerations
- โ ๏ธModifications to LGPL code must be open sourced
- โ ๏ธCan be dynamically linked by proprietary software
- โ ๏ธStatic linking requires special handling
- โ ๏ธIncludes patent protection clauses
Notable Projects
GNU C Library
Qt
FFmpeg
Hibernate