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QA Navigation Source-Open License

Although our Software is distributed with the source code, the license we grant does not apply to the definition of Open Software as defined by the Open Software Initiative. Our license differs from Open Source Licenses, like the GPL, in two ways:

  • The user is not entitled to re-distribute the changed software without written permission.
  • The user is not entitled to form and redistribute a new product based on our software.

We think that we have good reasons for our position, which we would like to explain.

To start with, the non-industrial license is free and besides the limitation of the redistribution you are free to do with the code whatever you want.

On the other side we too have to pay our bills. We do not have a cash cow or sponsor in our back. And if our software helps you to improve your productivity, we think it's only fair that we should benefit from it, too.

Paying us for our product has also an advantage for you: as long as we make a profit from it we are motivated to provide you service for the product. With a product developed by volunteers you do not have any influence on the speed or direction of the product developed.

Our intention is to collect new solutions based on the SLM and redistribute them for free. Doing this centrally, out of one hand guarantees a synergetic, best of breed compilation of tools, instead of diverging and competing projects.