[R] Question on if i am allowed to do something

[Marc Schwartz]

On May 23, 2012, at 6:51 PM, Duncan Murdoch wrote:

> On 12-05-23 1:31 PM, Giannis Mamalikidis wrote:
>> Hello all.
>> 
>> I would like to know: provided that I absolutely state that R is not mine
>> and I also include the R’s License which will be shown so people know R and
>> R’s license,
>> (provided the above) am I allowed to include R’s folder (the folder that has
>> its binaries) on my freeware program or not?
> 
> R is licensed under the GPL v 2 or 3.  The recommended packages that come with it are separately licensed, but are also (mainly) GPL.  So just follow the terms of that license, which is included with R.
> 
> Duncan Murdoch


Just to add on to Duncan's reply, you might want to review the GPL FAQ (and possibly consult a lawyer):

  http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html

The use and distribution of R within your 'freeware' can place certain obligations on you, including possibly requiring that you license your application with a GPL compatible license and make the source code of your application available in situations where your application is 'linked' to R. If you do not intend to make your own source code available, you should be very clear on what the GPL requires of you before proceeding.

Regards,

Marc Schwartz