I'm designing a software as a service project which will only be accessed online. I may have a hard dependency on an executable which is covered by GNU GPL (v2 or later).
I understand that my code, if I were ever to distribute it, must be distributed under the GPL terms as well. I am pretty sure that running the service over the network is not conveying/distributing the code. Thus, am I correct in thinking that I may use the GPL dependency without having to disclose all my code?
Just so I can provide a concrete example: Let's say I'm designing on online document processing system, kind of like Google Docs. I want to be able to upload basically any file type into the system and have it get converted to whatever internal format. Instead of trying to scratch out a converter, I'd rather use an existing program I know about that allows for the conversion. This program is an executable with GNU GPL v2 (or later) licensing. Can I legally have a software-as-a-service without providing my source code?
Best Answer
From the description you have provided, the answer is "no, you don't have to disclose." You are either relying upon the output of the GPL'd executable or you are treating it as a system, which are two exceptions to the viral nature of the GPL. Dig into the GPL FAQ and you'll find your answers based upon the specifics of your scenario.