Licence FAQ

Q:

If I buy a remove licence we can remove all mention of CMSimple in source code and display?

A:

You may not change or delete the copyright notice in the comment of the files, but please add the information, that the site is licensed by you or your company. Also, remember that the commercial licence is bound to the use of CMSimple at a specific domain name.

Q:

The AGPL3 section 13 requires, that if you modify this program, your modified version must prominently offer all users interacting with it an opportunity to receive the source of your modified version by providing access to it from a network server at no charge, through some standard or customary means of facilitating copying of software. I'm all for sharing the template I make and modifications. I'm just not sure how I'm expected to go about doing that?

A:

The interface could display a "Source" link that leads users to an archive of the code. Or you could make an menu item 'Download' with link to a zipped file with your mods.

I am not interested in including other copyright holders code in CMSimple, because then I won't have the full copyright on it. I'll leave it up to users of CMSimple to contact the siteowners, if they want a modification not available to download. If they are denied getting the modification, they may ask me to get me involved.

It is questionable, which kind of modifications falls under AGPL, and which falls under other copyright restrictions. I believe template modifications fall under the AGPL - it could be a violation of the copyrights on graphics used with the template to make it a part of an AGPL system. Therefore I recommend commercial licence for most sites.

Q:

As a Reseller may I sell CMSimple under a different name?

A:

You are allowed to sell CMSimple as a part of a hosting or design product under a different name, but you should somewhere in your marketing information write, that the solution is based on CMSimple.

You are not allowed to change or remove the copyright statement in the top of cms.php - but you could add a statement, that it is manifactured by you.

Q:

May I sell CMSimple under a different name under AGPL?

A:

If you wish to sell solutions setup in CMSimple under the AGPL3 licence, remember that you must keep a convenient and prominently visible feature on every generated page that displays the CMSimple Legal Notices. The required link to the CMSimple Legal Notices must be static, visible and readable, and the text in the CMSimple Legal Notices may not be altered.

Q:

If I have more than one CMSimple site at one domain, do I need additional commercial licenses?

A:

The licence is bound for one domain. As long as only one domain is pointing to the installations (no matter which technology is used), you may have as many subsites or subdomains as you like at that domain covered by one commercial licence.

Please note: You cannot register free or commercial domain name services like co.uk or de.vu - only subdomains to these.

Q:

If I have more than one domain pointing to the same site, do I need to pay for an additional licence for that?

A:

The commercial licence is bound for one domain. If other domains are pointing to the installation (no matter which technology is used), you'll have to purchase licenses for these domains.

Q:

If I change my domain name, can I have the domain name for my licence changed?

A:

The domain registered for a commercial licence is not subject to be changed.

Why should I care about the licence?

A:

You are allowed to use CMSimple for free, if you keep the CMSimple Legal Notices feature or replace this with the "Powered by CMSimple" link to cmsimple.org under the Linkware Licence, and you are free not to use CMSimple. Nobody are forced to use CMSimple. The script is copyrighted material, and violating the licence is against international law.

Q:

If the code in CMSimple contains fragments of code by other developers except Peter Harteg, then Peter is not allowed to distribute this under any other license except AGPL 3. So distributing under a so called "Commercial License" would be copyright infringement?

A:

True. All code in CMSimple is written by Peter Andreas Harteg. Only exception is the language files, but there is no Legal Notices requirement for the use of these stated by the translators.

Q:

Any modified version or fork to CMSimple should leave the CMSimple Legal Notices intact, but can they add something more to the Legal Notices (ie. the name of the fork)?

A:

Yes.

Q:

If I get a copy of CMSimple under AGPL 3 License, but without obligation for displaying Legal Notices in user interfaces, because I paid for a commercial licence, am I allowed to distribute it under the same terms, without any Legal Notices in user interfaces?

A:

No, because the commercial licence is bound to use on a specific domain name, so you are NOT allowed to distribute it without the Legal Notices in user interface. Exactly same way, as you are not allowed to distribute Microsoft Word to all you friends and family, just because you bought a copy for your own computer.

Q:

If I purchase a commercial licence, am I allowed to publish the modifications I make?

A:

You are more than welcome to publish modifications you make, as long as you keep the CMSimple Legal Notices intact as it is in the distributed AGPL version at cmsimple.org. At the commercial licensed site you are also allowed NOT to publish your changes, elsewise required by AGPL. If you use your modifications at other sites, you are requried to publish the modifications at these sites, unless you purchase commercial licenses for these sites.

Q:

If the customer is using CMSimple under the AGPL, you can't oblige them to put restrictions on their modifications, when they didn't have these restrictions, when they got access to the product.

A:

The AGPL requires the user to keep the CMSimple Legal Notices feature, which is in the originally distributed CMSimple version. The commercial licence does not allow distribution of code used at the licensed domain without the Notices feauture.

Q:

Is it OK to change CMSimple Legal Notices?

A:

No, you are required to keep the "Appropriate Legal Notices" intact as specified in AGPL3 section 5(d) and 7(b). Also, you need to keep an convenient and prominently visible feature that displays these notices, as defined in AGPL3 section 0.

You are allowed to change the title of the menu item for the CMSimple Legal Notices to some other terms with same meaning, ie. "Copyright Notice", "Legal Information" or localize it to the language of the page. This is done as Admin under "Settings" -> "Edit configuration" -> "menu_legal".

If you are upgrading from an earlier version of CMSimple to version 3.1 preserving the config.php file, you need to add this line in config.php:

$cf['menu']['legal']="CMSimple Legal Notices";

If you make modifications of CMSimple, you are allowed to add your own Appropriate Legal Notices to the modified version, ie. at the same page after the CMSimple Legal Notices.

 Please write peter@harteg.dk if you got a question about the licence.