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RTEMS License

I want to use RTEMS or eCOS as commercial purpose, I may have to make any modification on it, and embbed it on the machine selled.

  1. If I don't want to pay any money, will I have to open-source of my modification code?

  1. If I will pay for it, and don't wannna open my source (for millitary purpose), How much should I pay, who will I pay to?

Thanks for your help.

Reply to
Noah
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AFAIK, Open Source means, you have to make your sources available to your customer (on request). But in a military project this might be the case anyway.

Also, you have to disclose derived work, i.e. if you modify the Open Source software you have to provide the modifications.

But in case of an (RT)OS, I doubt, that you have to disclose the application: See commercial applications running on Linux.

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Reply to
42Bastian Schick

In both cases, RTEMS and eCOS can and are used for commercial projects.

Please go to the web sites for rtems / eCos and read the details of the licenses. You will find under no obligation to release the source code for your application.

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Best regards

Paul

Reply to
Quokka

Yes. RTEMS and eCos use a GPL license with an additional exception clause that explicitly allows you to build applications that run on top of the RTOS without the application needing to be GPL'd. However, changes to the RTOS itself still must be GPL'd.

I think the exception is identical for both RTEMS and eCos, but I haven't compared them side-by-side. You can find them here:

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For RTEMS, you'd have to ask OAR Corporation.

For eCos, you'd have to ask eCosCentric, Red Hat, and/or the FSF. I'm not sure which entity owns it now; there was talk of it being transferred to the FSF, but I'm not sure whether that was completed.

What RTOS changes are you making that you don't want to share?

Reply to
Eric Smith

My target system may have to change many.

Chages may made from VHDL CPU code (open source too) to RTOS system/application. Because my company need to use one of them as commercial purpose, so we don't want our source to be open in order 'to protect the benifit of our company's effort' on it. I cannot not sure what modification will made now, As I know the system will be VERY important/expensive application. Maybe it's an aerospace application.

Reply to
Noah

Hello Noah,

You should look at the rtems web site and license conditions and if you are still worried you should get in touch with Oarcorp. The people there are very helpful and will explain to you exactly what your open source obilgations would be.

You can use RTEMS with a closed source application, as per the license file on their website.

Also here is a link to some applications that use RTEMS, some of which are aerospace related.

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Regards

Paul

Reply to
Quokka

Well, if you don't want to provide your kernel changes back, you should buy a commercial kernel rather than using RTEMS or eCos.

Reply to
Eric Smith

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