Does Python license permit embedding in commercial product ?

Joshua Macy l0819m0v0smfm001 at sneakemail.com
Thu Oct 11 17:39:46 EDT 2001


Russell Turpin wrote:

> This is sort of the opposite case of wanting to sell a program
> written in Python, which clearly is allowed.  Consider a 
> commercial product that needs a scripting language.  One 
> obvious way to achieve this, which I'm sure all here would
> encourage, is to (a) embed Python in the product, then when
> a script for the product is invoked to (b) create a code object
> from the script, (c) bind Python variables to appropriate 
> internal state, (d) execute the code object, and (e) update
> internal state from Python variables. 
> 
> All of this can be done without modifying Python's source
> code. (I hope. I haven't actually tried this, but the principle
> seems clear.) The question is whether doing so infringes on 
> Python's license, given that the product is commercially sold,
> and maybe even some of the scripts subsequently provided. My
> naive reading is that this is OK. But I thought I would seek
> the broader opinion here.
> 
> (Obviously, if we do extend Python in any way, we'll release 
> *that* code. But that's not currently in the plans.)
> 
> Russell
> 


Yes.

>From the FAQ:

"In particular, if you honor the copyright rules, it's OK to use Python 
for commercial use, to sell copies of Python in source or binary form, 
or to sell products that enhance Python or incorporate Python (or part 
of it) in some form. I would still like to know about all commercial use 
of Python!"

So you're okay even if you end up modifying Python somehow to fit your 
application.

Joshua




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