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2026

GNU Free Documentation License v1.2 only

Also known as GFDL 1.2, GFDL-1.2, GFDL-1.2-only, GNU FDL 1.2.

Commercial use
allowed
Share alike
required
Attribution
required (keep the copyright and license notices)
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Write this as a license text (needs an account) DALICC reads the model above and writes what it permits, requires and prohibits in plain English. Without an account, the Text download above writes the model out from the vocabulary.

Canonical URI https://dalicc.net/licenselibrary/GFDL-1.2-only

Permissions

  • Charge distribution fee from the text The text says: "However, you may accept compensation in exchange for copies." Charging a fee for the act of providing a copy of the work to someone else.
  • Commercial use from the text The text says: "However, you may accept compensation in exchange for copies." Using the work to generate income, directly or indirectly, for example by selling it or by using it in advertising.
  • Derivative works from the text Distributing an adaptation of the work and making it available to the public.
  • Derive from the text Creating a new work from the work, such as a translation, adaptation or arrangement of it or of a part of it.

    Duties

    • Attribution from the text Giving credit to the copyright holders or authors of the work, in the form the licensor asks for.
    • Modification notice from the text Marking a changed work as changed, saying how it differs from the original and keeping earlier notices of change.
    • Notice from the text Notice: keeping the license and copyright notices with every copy.
    • Rename from the text Giving a modified or derived work a name that tells it apart from the original.
    • Source code from the text Providing access to the source code of the work with every copy distributed.
  • Display from the text Showing the work to the public without making a copy the viewer keeps.
  • Distribute from the text Providing copies of the work to the public or to anyone else.

    Duties

    • Attribution from the text Giving credit to the copyright holders or authors of the work, in the form the licensor asks for.
    • Notice from the text Notice: keeping the license and copyright notices with every copy.
    • Source code from the text Providing access to the source code of the work with every copy distributed.
  • Modified works from the text The text says: "However, you may accept compensation in exchange for copies." Distributing a modified version of the work that does not amount to a new, derivative work.
  • Modify from the text The text says: "However, you may accept compensation in exchange for copies." Altering the work, for example by updating it, without creating a new work; an alteration that creates a new work is Derive.

    Duties

    • Attribution from the text Giving credit to the copyright holders or authors of the work, in the form the licensor asks for.
    • Modification notice from the text Marking a changed work as changed, saying how it differs from the original and keeping earlier notices of change.
    • Notice from the text Notice: keeping the license and copyright notices with every copy.
    • Rename from the text Giving a modified or derived work a name that tells it apart from the original.
    • Source code from the text Providing access to the source code of the work with every copy distributed.
  • Present from the text Performing the work in public, including by broadcast or other communication to the public.
  • Reproduce from the text The text says: "However, you may accept compensation in exchange for copies." Making copies of the work in any form.

Prohibitions

  • Apply technical protection measures from the text Not permitted: Apply technical protection measures. The text says: "You may not use technical measures to obstruct or control the reading or further copying of the copies you make or distribute." Applying technological measures that control access to the work or its use.
  • Change license from the text Not permitted: Change license. Replacing the license of the work, or of an adaptation, with another license, or changing its terms.
  • Promote from the text Not permitted: Promote. The text says: "The author(s) and publisher(s) of the Document do not by this License give permission to use their names for publicity for or to assert or imply endorsement of any Modified Version." Using the name or trademarks of the licensor or of contributors to endorse or promote a product.
  • Sublicense from the text Not permitted: Sublicense. The text says: "You may not copy, modify, sublicense, or distribute the Document except as expressly provided for under this License." Granting a third party rights in the work under a license of the licensee's own, rather than passing on the original license.

License-wide duties

  • Share alike from the text The text says: "You may copy and distribute a Modified Version of the Document under the conditions of sections 2 and 3 above, provided that you release the Modified Version under precisely this License, with the Modified Version filling the role of the Document, thus licensing distribution and modification of the Modified Version to whoever possesses a copy of it." Adaptations have to be licensed under the same license or one the license names as compatible.

What applies by default

The statements above are the library's reading of this license: each is marked with the sentence it rests on, or as a library convention where the text is not explicit. The statements below are the ones the DALICC reasoner supplies for acts the license says nothing about, from the default rules of the dependency graph it reasons with. Each one names the legal source it rests on. None of it is in the record.

No default rule of that graph reaches this license: it speaks about every act the rules are about.

Further terms

These are the things the license says about itself beyond the acts it permits, forbids and requires: when it ends, how long there is to put a breach right, which law governs it, and so on. A term that comes from the DALICC vocabulary links to its definition.

Or later version option
No
Sublicense survival
Yes
Terminates on breach
Yes

Clauses

Warranty disclaimer

The Document may include Warranty Disclaimers next to the notice which states that this License applies to the Document. These Warranty Disclaimers are considered to be included by reference in this License, but only as regards disclaiming warranties: any other implication that these Warranty Disclaimers may have is void and has no effect on the meaning of this License.

Additional clauses

If you publish printed copies (or copies in media that commonly have printed covers) of the Document, numbering more than 100, and the Document's license notice requires Cover Texts, you must enclose the copies in covers that carry, clearly and legibly, all these Cover Texts: Front-Cover Texts on the front cover, and Back-Cover Texts on the back cover. Both covers must also clearly and legibly identify you as the publisher of these copies. The front cover must present the full title with all words of the title equally prominent and visible. You may add other material on the covers in addition. Copying with changes limited to the covers, as long as they preserve the title of the Document and satisfy these conditions, can be treated as verbatim copying in other respects. If the required texts for either cover are too voluminous to fit legibly, you should put the first ones listed (as many as fit reasonably) on the actual cover, and continue the rest onto adjacent pages.

Info

Target asset types
Creative work (i.e. text, picture, sound, movie), Software
Region / jurisdiction
Worldwide
Validity
Perpetual
Source
https://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/fdl-1.2.html
Legal code
https://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/fdl-1.2.html
This description is published under
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
Publisher
Free Software Foundation
SPDX identifier
GFDL-1.2-only on the SPDX license list
DALICC identifier
GFDL-1.2-only

This record is published under CC BY 4.0. Credit it as: DALICC License Library, DALICC - Verein zur Förderung der Rechtssicherheit in der Datenbewirtschaftung, https://dalicc.net, CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The license it describes belongs to its publisher.

Use this license

Everything below is generated from this record. Replace the example address with the address of your own work.

JSON sidecar 

{
  "license-uri": "https://dalicc.net/licenselibrary/GFDL-1.2-only",
  "license-title": "GNU Free Documentation License v1.2 only",
  "spdx-id": "GFDL-1.2-only",
  "attribution": "Copyright (c) [year] [copyright holder]",
  "asset": null,
  "generated-by": "DALICC"
}

RDF, Turtle 

@prefix cc: <http://creativecommons.org/ns#> .

<https://example.org/my-work>
    cc:license <https://dalicc.net/licenselibrary/GFDL-1.2-only> .

RDF, JSON-LD 

{
  "@context": {
    "cc": "http://creativecommons.org/ns#"
  },
  "@id": "https://example.org/my-work",
  "cc:license": {
    "@id": "https://dalicc.net/licenselibrary/GFDL-1.2-only"
  }
}

HTML attribution 

<p>This work is licensed under <a href="https://dalicc.net/licenselibrary/GFDL-1.2-only" rel="license">GNU Free Documentation License v1.2 only</a>.</p>

This license asks for attribution, so the credit line is part of it.

Badge DALICC badge for GNU Free Documentation License v1.2 only

Markdown 

[![License: GNU Free Documentation License v1.2 only](https://dalicc.net/license-library/GFDL-1.2-only/badge.svg)](https://dalicc.net/license-library/GFDL-1.2-only)

HTML 

<a href="https://dalicc.net/license-library/GFDL-1.2-only"><img src="https://dalicc.net/license-library/GFDL-1.2-only/badge.svg" alt="License: GNU Free Documentation License v1.2 only"></a>

Review

Written from the license text by
Giray Havur
Written on
2026-09-22
Second review
not yet done
Record changed since this review
yes (version 2, 2026-09-24)
Findings
14 recorded, 12 applied to the record, 0 proposed

The record models version 1.2 of the GNU Free Documentation License as the only reading. It has the same shape as the record for version 1.1 and the same shape as GnuFreeDocumentationLicense, the record for version 1.3: cc:ShareAlike as a license-wide duty, dalicc:ChangeLicense prohibited, attribution, notice and source on distribute, modify and derive, and the modification notice and the distinct title on modify and derive. Version 1.2 is the first version that mentions Warranty Disclaimers, so this record carries the dalicc:WarrantyDisclaimer literal that the version 1.3 record also carries.

14 findings

  • info Rubric 1 spdx:licenseId applied

    File name, identifier, SPDX identifier and the local name of the IRI are the same string, GFDL-1.2-only. The SPDX list splits version 1.2 into GFDL-1.2-only and GFDL-1.2-or-later. This record is the only reading; the or-later reading is a record of its own that copies this one.

  • info Rubric 2 odrl:target applied

    One odrl:AssetCollection of dct:type dalicc:CreativeWork and dcmitype:Software, the pair the version 1.3 record carries. Section 1 applies the license to "any manual or other work, in any medium". The review of the version 1.3 record proposes dcmitype:Text instead of dcmitype:Software; this record keeps the pair so that the Free Documentation License records stay uniform until that proposal is decided.

  • major Rubric 3 odrl:permission applied

    Section 2 grants the copying right: "You may copy and distribute the Document in any medium, either commercially or noncommercially", and adds "you may publicly display copies". Section 1 states that the license notice "grants a world-wide, royalty-free license, unlimited in duration, to use that work under the conditions stated herein". Section 4 grants the right to copy and distribute a Modified Version and section 8 treats translation as a kind of modification. The record permits odrl:reproduce, odrl:distribute, odrl:display, odrl:present, odrl:modify, odrl:derive, cc:DerivativeWorks, dalicc:ModifiedWorks and cc:CommercialUse, and dalicc:chargeDistributionFee from "However, you may accept compensation in exchange for copies" in section 2.

  • minor Rubric 3 odrl:permission applied

    Section 2 names public display and lending, not public performance. odrl:present is carried because the library pairs odrl:display with odrl:present on 459 of its 460 records and because the version 1.3 record carries both.

  • major Rubric 4 odrl:prohibition applied

    Section 4 requires "that you release the Modified Version under precisely this License" and section 2 that "you add no other conditions whatsoever to those of this License", so dalicc:ChangeLicense is prohibited. Section 2 states "You may not use technical measures to obstruct or control the reading or further copying of the copies you make or distribute", which is dalicc:applyTechnicalProtectionMeasures. Section 9 states "You may not copy, modify, sublicense, or distribute the Document except as expressly provided for under this License", so dalicc:sublicense is prohibited.

  • minor Rubric 4 odrl:prohibition applied

    dalicc:promote is prohibited on the strength of the last paragraph of section 4: "The author(s) and publisher(s) of the Document do not by this License give permission to use their names for publicity for or to assert or imply endorsement of any Modified Version."

  • major Rubric 5 odrl:duty applied

    Section 4 requires a Modified Version to be released "under precisely this License, with the Modified Version filling the role of the Document", which is whole-work reciprocity, so cc:ShareAlike hangs off the odrl:Set. cc:Attribution and cc:Notice are duties on distribute, modify and derive, from section 2 and from section 4 items D and F. cc:SourceCode carries the Transparent copy requirement of section 3. dalicc:modificationNotice sits on modify and derive from section 4 item I, and dalicc:rename from section 4 item A, "Use in the Title Page (and on the covers, if any) a title distinct from that of the Document". Section 4 item O of this version adds "Preserve any Warranty Disclaimers", which is quoted with the rest of the list.

  • minor Rubric 5 odrl:duty applied

    The version 1.3 record hangs a duty whose odrl:action is dct:source on distribute, modify and derive. dct:source is not an action, the validator reports it, and cc:SourceCode already sits beside it, so this record does not repeat it.

  • major Rubric 6 dalicc:WarrantyDisclaimer applied

    Section 1 of version 1.2 reads: "The Document may include Warranty Disclaimers next to the notice which states that this License applies to the Document. These Warranty Disclaimers are considered to be included by reference in this License, but only as regards disclaiming warranties: any other implication that these Warranty Disclaimers may have is void and has no effect on the meaning of this License." The paragraph is quoted verbatim in dalicc:WarrantyDisclaimer, exactly as the version 1.3 record quotes it. Strictly it defines what a Warranty Disclaimer is and says how one is read, rather than disclaiming anything itself, and the license gives no limitation of liability, so dalicc:LiabilityLimitation is absent.

  • minor Rubric 6 dalicc:additionalClauses applied

    Ten clauses are quoted verbatim: the Cover Texts and the Transparent copy of section 3, the conditions A to O of section 4, the optional invariant designation and the Endorsements and cover text additions of section 4, the combination rule of section 5, the collections of section 6, the aggregation of section 7, the translation of section 8 with its paragraph on preserved titles, the termination of section 9 and the future revisions of section 10. The lettered list of section 4 is flattened onto one line with the letters kept.

  • info Rubric 7 cc:jurisdiction applied

    The text names no legal system, and section 1 calls the license "world-wide" and "unlimited in duration", so cc:jurisdiction stays dalicc:worldwide and dalicc:validityType stays dalicc:perpetual. Section 9 gives automatic termination on breach (dalicc:terminatesOnBreach true) and keeps the licenses of parties downstream alive so long as they comply (dalicc:sublicenseSurvival true). There is no cure period.

  • gap Rubric 8 dalicc:additionalClauses none

    The same four duties as in version 1.1 have no vocabulary term: preserving the Invariant Sections (section 4 item L), carrying the Cover Texts (section 3), providing a Transparent copy with quantity Opaque copies (section 3) and keeping the History section (section 4 item I). Proposed terms: dalicc:invariantSections, dalicc:coverTexts, dalicc:transparentCopy, dalicc:historySection. Version 1.2 adds one more with no term, section 4 item O, "Preserve any Warranty Disclaimers"; the existing dalicc:noWarrantyNotice is about attaching a notice, not about preserving one, so it would be bent rather than used. All are quoted in dalicc:additionalClauses.

  • info Rubric 9 record none

    The consistency check of app.services.composer with the axioms of dg_default returned an empty conflict list.

  • info Rubric 10 record applied

    The record is statement for statement the same as GFDL-1.1-only except that it carries dalicc:WarrantyDisclaimer, which version 1.1 has no sentence for, and that its quoted clauses are the version 1.2 wording. Against GnuFreeDocumentationLicense it adds the same six statements as GFDL-1.1-only and leaves out the three duty nodes whose action is dct:source.

Report an issue The review record as JSON The review checks the model against the license text. It is not legal advice.

History

This license model has 2 versions. Version 2 is the one served today; every earlier version keeps its own address, so a conclusion drawn from one of them can still be checked against it.

  1. Version 2 current2026-09-24 Giray Havur

    The changes since version 1 recorded which sentence of the text each statement rests on, named the license the record itself is published under and removed the quotes that do not name the act they support.

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    12 changes

    • changed duty cc:ShareAlike

      was duty cc:ShareAlike

      Manual edit The statement now quotes the sentence of the licence text it rests on: "You may copy and distribute a Modified Version of the Document under the conditions of sections 2 and 3 above, provided that you release the Modified Version under precisely this License, with the Modified Version filling the role of the Document, thus licensing distribution and modification of the Modified Version to whoever possesses a copy of it."

    • changed permission cc:CommercialUse

      was permission cc:CommercialUse

      Manual edit The statement now quotes the sentence of the licence text it rests on: "However, you may accept compensation in exchange for copies."

    • changed permission dalicc:ModifiedWorks

      was permission dalicc:ModifiedWorks

      Manual edit The statement now quotes the sentence of the licence text it rests on: "However, you may accept compensation in exchange for copies."

    • changed permission dalicc:chargeDistributionFee

      was permission dalicc:chargeDistributionFee

      Manual edit The statement now quotes the sentence of the licence text it rests on: "However, you may accept compensation in exchange for copies."

    • changed permission odrl:modify with duties [cc:Attribution, cc:Notice, cc:SourceCode, dalicc:modificationNotice, dalicc:rename]

      was permission odrl:modify with duties [cc:Attribution, cc:Notice, cc:SourceCode, dalicc:modificationNotice, dalicc:rename]

      Manual edit The statement now quotes the sentence of the licence text it rests on: "However, you may accept compensation in exchange for copies."

    • changed permission odrl:reproduce

      was permission odrl:reproduce

      Manual edit The statement now quotes the sentence of the licence text it rests on: "However, you may accept compensation in exchange for copies."

    • changed prohibition dalicc:ChangeLicense

      was prohibition dalicc:ChangeLicense

      Manual edit The statement now quotes the sentence of the licence text it rests on: "You may copy and distribute the Document in any medium, either commercially or noncommercially, provided that this License, the copyright notices, and the license notice saying this License applies to the Document are reproduced in all copies, and that you add no other conditions whatsoever to those of this License."

    • changed prohibition dalicc:applyTechnicalProtectionMeasures

      was prohibition dalicc:applyTechnicalProtectionMeasures

      Manual edit The statement now quotes the sentence of the licence text it rests on: "You may not use technical measures to obstruct or control the reading or further copying of the copies you make or distribute."

    • changed prohibition dalicc:promote

      was prohibition dalicc:promote

      Manual edit The statement now quotes the sentence of the licence text it rests on: "The author(s) and publisher(s) of the Document do not by this License give permission to use their names for publicity for or to assert or imply endorsement of any Modified Version."

    • changed prohibition dalicc:sublicense

      was prohibition dalicc:sublicense

      Manual edit The statement now quotes the sentence of the licence text it rests on: "You may not copy, modify, sublicense, or distribute the Document except as expressly provided for under this License."

    • added dct:license <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/>

      Manual edit Every record is published under CC BY 4.0. cc:license names the record DALICC keeps of that licence; dct:license now names it by the address Creative Commons publishes it at, so that a consumer matching the canonical IRI finds it.

    • changed prohibition dalicc:ChangeLicense

      was prohibition dalicc:ChangeLicense

      Manual edit Removed the quoted evidence of prohibition dalicc:ChangeLicense: the quoted sentence does not name the act. The statements stay, read from the text without a linked quote.

  2. Version 1

    Created from the license text on 2026-09-22 (GNU copyleft family (GPL, LGPL, AGPL, FDL)).

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Every change names the reason behind it: a finding of the content review, one of its library-wide decisions, the metadata that review wrote onto every record, or a hand edit. None of it is legal advice.

Variants

1 record in the library model this same legal text with one thing changed: the option of a later version, an exception that lifts one condition, or a rider that adds one. Each of them is a license of its own and is listed like any other. See variant in the glossary.

Nothing on this page is legal advice. What a license means is decided by its text; ask a legal advisor before you rely on it.