1Sat Apr 23 2005 2 3This files attempts to clarify the licensing situation for the SANE 4distribution. In case of doubt, the copyright information contained 5in each file overrides what is said here. 6 7SANE consists of three parts each of which has its own licensing 8terms: 9 10 * The frontend programs. 11 12 These programs are generally protected by the GNU General Public 13 License. (See file COPYING.) 14 15 * The backend libraries. 16 17 Most backend libraries are protected by the GNU General Public License 18 (see file COPYING), but as an exception, it is permissible to link against 19 such a library without affecting the licensing status of the program 20 that uses the libraries. For details, see the copyright notice at the 21 head of the backend files (e.g., backend/dll.c). 22 23 Note that not all of the backends apply the exception and that some have 24 additional licensing constraints. E.g., the DC210 backend uses JPG code 25 that is licensed as described in README.djpeg. 26 27 * The SANE API and network protocol as put forth in the standard document. 28 29 The standard is considered to be in the public domain. Anyone is free 30 to implement SANE interface conforming applications or libraries in 31 any way he or she sees fit. 32 33 The standard is maintained at https://gitlab.com/sane-project/standard 34 and published at https://sane-project.gitlab.io/standard/. 35 36Frequently Asked Questions about the SANE licensing: 37 38 * Why don't you use the GNU LPGL ? 39 40 The reason SANE isn't licensed under the GNU LGPL is very simple: the 41 GNU LGPL didn't exist at the time SANE was first released. So, the SANE 42 Exception was added to the GNU GPL. 43 44 * Why don't you relicense SANE, now that the GNU LGPL is available ? 45 46 To relicense the various pieces of code composing SANE, each and every 47 copyright holder needs to agree with the relicensing. Unfortunately, some 48 of the (original) backend authors cannot be contacted any longer, for 49 various reasons; not to mention each and every contributor who sent in a 50 patch. This effectively makes it impossible for the SANE Project to 51 relicense SANE. 52