Hi guys,

I want to use kword in my company application, how do go and do this without having to donate all the propietary code of my company. Can somebody help me out, I'm trying to read the GPL but I can't make heads or tails of it.

thanks in advance

I take it you are building an application that makes use of parts of KOffice source code and libraries?

There are two licenses used in KOffice: GPL and LPGL. You can use LGPL'ed libraries in your proprietary application, but if you have to make changes to those libraries, you have to give them back. Your application can stay closed. KWord and all the plugins for KWord (like the import/export plugins or the text handling plugin) are LGPL. For the GPL'ed parts of KOffice, if you use those in your application, you have to release all of your application under the GPL. However, those parts are likely not relevant for you.

If you are still unsure about these issues or need help getting started with the KOffice source: KO GmbH is a company created by KOffice community members and can offer you consultancy on these topics and help you get started with your KOffice-based application. See http://kogmbh.com/contact.html for more information.

thank you boudewijn for replying on this so fast.

But it's not quite clear to me. Since kword uses libraries of koffice (libkostore, libkoodf, libkomain...), doesn't that mean that when I use kword in my app I need to release my app under GPL? You stated that the Koffice parts aren't relevant to me and I should be able to use only the kword parts but what about these libraries, do I need to include those in my app? I don't mind donating the modifications I will do on kword but certainly not the propietary code of my company app.

edit: Looking at the source code of koffice I see a header on every file, that it is release under GNU Library General Public Licence, which is succeeded by Lesser GPL. Does this mean that the KOffice part is also LGPL?

KOffice libs are LGPL.

It depends on what you mean by using KWord in your app. If you directly use KWord inside your app you have to put the app under LGPL. If your app make use of some external libs you can keep the license (for example if you write a plugin that links to the librarys).

Maybe you could give a bit more details about how you intend to use KWord in your app (In case that it's confidential KO GmbH could help).

well, I have an app that has several tabs in one of those tabs I want to generate a report of some calculations done by the app. This tab should have an interface like kword with some functionality like 2 column text, add pictures and tables....So I'm not sure what part of koffice/kword I need exactly and if it is possible at all.
Does anybody have a good api reference manual for this?

http://www.koffice.org/developer/apidocs/

Looks like it is recent.

Of course, these licenses only affect you if you plan on redistributing the result. If you use the application internally without distributing it/selling it, then you can keep all the source code.

If you are using KOffice libraries to e.g. sell a word processor of your own creating, then the application itself can be proprietary but you are required to keep the libraries available under the LGPL and release the changes you make.

It looks like the parts of KWord you require are the flake component and flake shapes. I'm not sure about the license of these components - I've a hunch they're under the LGPL, but I wouldn't go acting off my word until someone else confirms...