I'm developing a Java application that utilizes several third party open source libraries. I'm adding a section to my app's "About" dialog that lists the components and their license notices.
For those that use the same license, do I have to repeat the same license text for each one? For example, I use several components that are all released under the Apache 2 license. Do I have to list the Apache 2 license terms for each one, or just say "Foo, Bar, and Baz are used under the terms of the Apache 2 License" and list the actual terms once?
Thanks. Just want to do the right thing.
Best Answer
IANAL and questions like this are always best put to a lawyer but:
The best source of information regarding this would be the websites of the organisations for the licences. Sometimes they contain FAQs that answer these questions. If not you'll have to refer to the licences themselves e.g. http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0.html which contains:
Notice that there are more conditions than merely including the licence file. Sometimes these conditions can be quite strict e.g. for the GPL.
So, to answer your question more directly: In the About dialog you may want to mention which components (and licences) are included in your application, however I would be surprised if it is required (many applications would not even have an About dialog). Generally speaking, you just need to keep files like the licence file and in this case the 'NOTICE' file in your distribution (as well as meeting any the other conditions like those of modified files).
That being said, I also like to give credit to the giants whose shoulders I stand on by including their logos/names in the splash screen, About dialog etc.