Why is Cyclone3 open source?
Cyclone3 developer believe that the future of software is in open development models and open source projects. It is not an advantage to have closed source project which tries to integrate with third party closed or open projects. It is our choice to make software free and open as it is the future of IT.
GNU General Public License (GPL) ensures that the development of Cyclone3 and related derivations of the project stay open and free. No company (including Comsultia, Ltd.) has control over its distribution and users are free to choose between using and supporting Cyclone3 or any other related product. GPL protects the software project from central control and gives the developers and users the freedom to make Cyclone3 better as they desire.
Comsultia, Ltd - the original developer of Cyclone3 supports the development of Cyclone3 as it has long standing plans which rely on Cyclone3 but it also wants Cyclone3 to grow beyond the company.
What happens when i have commercial license from XY company?
If you are the customer of a commercial company (eg. WebCom, Comsultia, ...) you do not need to pay for Cyclone3 but you probably will pay for professional services (support, upgrade, hosting, hot line,...). Cyclone3 sources are free but that does not mean they cannot be used for commercial purposes. For you as customer it only opens more ways in solutions.
Can I sell Cyclone3 based solutions to my clients?
Indeed. Cyclone3 is a free product, you can decide your own price and give your clients services required for running Cyclone3 (hosting, support, development, documentation, deployment, etc..).
But keep in mind: Every change and development you do in Cyclone3 source code must have its source code freely available.
I am developing web portals in Cyclone3, do I need to report?
No! You can sell Cyclone3 based web portals, intranet systems and any other products based on Cyclone3. As long as you do not modify Cyclone3 source code (which should not be needed for web development purposes) you can sell any work based on Cyclone3 without letting us know and we will be glad that you do so. If you make modifications to the source of Cyclone3 or add features (not making new addons) you are bound to release their source under GPL. We will be grateful if you share your modifications with our developers so we can integrate them to the official distribution a maintain this modifications.
Can I sell Cyclone3 based proprietary products?
Sure. Unless you change anything in the Cyclone3 source you can create whatever proprietary commercial product you desire. It is possible with developing new addons (applications or extensions). As addon can be developed for example document management feature, integration of third-party ERP system, etc...
You can sell any Cyclone3 based software as long as you make all modifications and Cyclone3 source code freely available under the GPL licence (without developed addons). Please do not forget to give Cyclone3 credit in you project eg. name your project "CoolSoft DMS (Cyclone3 powered)" or mention Cyclone3.org in help and about dialogs. Don't forget that your product is based on Cyclone3.
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