GNU General Public License, Version 2

Also known as GNU GPL, GNU GPL Version 2, GNU GPL v2, GNU GPLv2, GNU General Public License, GNU General Public License 2, GNU General Public License Version 2, GPL Version 2, GPL-2.0.

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/GPL-2.0-only

Permissions

Charge distribution fee from the text
Commercial use from the text
Derivative works from the text
Derive from the text
Duties
- Attribution from the text
- Modification notice from the text
- Notice from the text
- Source code from the text
Display from the text
Distribute from the text
Duties
- Attribution from the text
- Notice from the text
- Source code from the text
Modified works from the text
Modify from the text
Duties
- Attribution from the text
- Modification notice from the text
- Notice from the text
- Source code from the text
Present from the text
Reproduce from the text

Prohibitions

Change license from the text

License-wide duties

Share alike from the text

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.

Promote by default rule (adopted)

This license says nothing about Promote, and the graph applies this reading in all jurisdictions it covers: it is not permitted unless the license permits it.

A licence that says nothing about endorsement is read as not allowing it: the licence gives the licensee no right to use the licensor's name or marks in a way that states or implies that the licensor endorses the licensee or its product, while stating truthfully that a work is based on or uses the licensed work is a different act that this rule does not decide. A copyright licence grants rights in the work, and the right to use a name or a trademark is a separate right under trademark law and the protection of names, which a silent copyright licence does not pass on. Combining a licence that is silent about endorsement with one that permits it shows a conflict marked as coming from this rule.

Basis Trademark and name rights are separate from copyright: Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 article 9 lets the proprietor of an EU trade mark prevent all third parties not having his consent from using the sign in the course of trade, and Directive (EU) 2015/2436 article 10, 15 U.S.C. 1114 and 1125(a), section 12 BGB and section 43 ABGB protect marks and names in the same way. The library's evidence is Creative Commons 4.0 section 2(b)(2): Patent and trademark rights are not licensed under this Public License. A copyright licence that is silent grants no right to use the licensor's name or marks to suggest endorsement (Worldwide)

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
Terminates on breach: Yes

Clauses

Warranty disclaimer

BECAUSE THE PROGRAM IS LICENSED FREE OF CHARGE, THERE IS NO WARRANTY FOR THE PROGRAM, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW. EXCEPT WHEN OTHERWISE STATED IN WRITING THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND/OR OTHER PARTIES PROVIDE THE PROGRAM "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE OF THE PROGRAM IS WITH YOU. SHOULD THE PROGRAM PROVE DEFECTIVE, YOU ASSUME THE COST OF ALL NECESSARY SERVICING, REPAIR OR CORRECTION.

Limitation of liability

IN NO EVENT UNLESS REQUIRED BY APPLICABLE LAW OR AGREED TO IN WRITING WILL ANY COPYRIGHT HOLDER, OR ANY OTHER PARTY WHO MAY MODIFY AND/OR REDISTRIBUTE THE PROGRAM AS PERMITTED ABOVE, BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR DAMAGES, INCLUDING ANY GENERAL, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE PROGRAM (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OF DATA OR DATA BEING RENDERED INACCURATE OR LOSSES SUSTAINED BY YOU OR THIRD PARTIES OR A FAILURE OF THE PROGRAM TO OPERATE WITH ANY OTHER PROGRAMS), EVEN IF SUCH HOLDER OR OTHER PARTY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

Accepting warranty or additional liability

You may charge a fee for the physical act of transferring a copy, and you may at your option offer warranty protection in exchange for a fee.

Info

Target asset types: Software
Region / jurisdiction: Worldwide
Validity: Perpetual
Source: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/gpl-2.0.html
Legal code: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/gpl-2.0.html
This description is published under: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
Publisher: Free Software Foundation
SPDX identifier: GPL-2.0-only on the SPDX license list
Version: 2.0
DALICC identifier: GPL-2.0-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/GPL-2.0-only",
  "license-title": "GNU General Public License, Version 2",
  "spdx-id": "GPL-2.0-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/GPL-2.0-only> .

RDF, JSON-LD

{
  "@context": {
    "cc": "http://creativecommons.org/ns#"
  },
  "@id": "https://example.org/my-work",
  "cc:license": {
    "@id": "https://dalicc.net/licenselibrary/GPL-2.0-only"
  }
}

HTML attribution

<p>This work is licensed under <a href="https://dalicc.net/licenselibrary/GPL-2.0-only" rel="license">GNU General Public License, Version 2</a>.</p>

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

Badge

Markdown

[![License: GNU General Public License, Version 2](https://dalicc.net/license-library/GPL-2.0-only/badge.svg)](https://dalicc.net/license-library/GPL-2.0-only)

HTML

<a href="https://dalicc.net/license-library/GPL-2.0-only"><img src="https://dalicc.net/license-library/GPL-2.0-only/badge.svg" alt="License: GNU General Public License, Version 2"></a>

Review

Status: Reviewed against the license text
Last checked: 2026-09-15
Reviewer: Giray Havur
Verdict: corrected during the review
Record changed since this review: yes (version 2, 2026-09-24)
Findings: 8 recorded, 4 applied to the record, 0 proposed, 1 settled in a later version

The record models GPL version 2 as a copyleft software license: all six core permissions, a license-wide share-alike duty, source-code, attribution and notice duties on distribute, modify and derive, and a prohibition on changing the license. That matches the legal text. The SPDX identifier was missing and the right to charge for distribution was not modelled; both were added.

7 findings

minor Rubric 1 spdx:licenseId applied

The record carried no SPDX identifier although its own id is the SPDX list id. Added the non deprecated id GPL-2.0-only.
major Rubric 3 odrl:permission applied

Section 1 states: "You may charge a fee for the physical act of transferring a copy, and you may at your option offer warranty protection in exchange for a fee." The record did not permit dalicc:chargeDistributionFee, so a compatibility check would treat paid redistribution as unlicensed. Added.
info Rubric 5 odrl:duty none

The license-wide cc:ShareAlike duty and the cc:SourceCode duties on distribute, modify and derive are supported by sections 2(b) and 3 and are modelled identically in GPL-3.0-only, LGPL-3.0-only and AGPL-3.0.
gap Rubric 8 vocabulary none

Section 7 (the "liberty or death" clause) and section 4 (automatic termination on breach) cannot be expressed. Proposed terms: dalicc:terminationOnBreach, dalicc:patentFreedomCondition.
info Rubric 10 family none

GPL-2.0-only, GPL-3.0-only and LGPL-3.0-only are the "-only" halves of SPDX pairs. Whether the library should also carry the "-or-later" variants is one decision for the whole family, recorded once in the review group report.
major Rubric 10 record applied

Standard-license addition of 2026-09-15, decision 9: the record was corrected against its new siblings and versioned. The review's finding on family consistency: both clause literals began and ended with a space, and the record did not carry section 1 of the text, 'You may charge a fee for the physical act of transferring a copy, and you may at your option offer warranty protection in exchange for a fee', which the two new LGPL 2.x records carry as dalicc:WarrantyOrLiabilityAcceptance.
minor Rubric 4 odrl:prohibition applied

dalicc:promote was prohibited and no sentence of this text supports it. The statement was the library's reading of a legal default, that a copyright licence which says nothing about endorsement grants no right to it, and it sat in 519 of 581 records as a house convention. That reading is now an adopted dalicc:DefaultRule of the core dependency graph, which supplies it to every licence that is silent about the action, so a compatibility check reaches the same answer and the record states only what the text states. Removed on 2026-09-23; see section 13 of docs/LICENSE_REVIEW.md.

Settled in version 2 (1)

settled odrl:prohibition

dalicc:promote is prohibited although GPL version 2 has no trademark or endorsement clause. This is the library-wide default (332 of 343 records) and was left untouched, but it is not text-supported here.

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.

Version 2 current2026-09-24 Giray Havur

The content review of 2026-09-15 added 1 identification detail, 1 permission and 1 statement, recorded the relation to the record this one was adapted from and recorded the review state. Later changes brought it in line with its family and its text in the verification of 2026-09-15, corrected it against its text on 2026-09-23, left endorsement to the default rule of the core dependency graph, recorded which sentence of the text each statement rests on and named the license the record itself is published under.

View version 2 JSON-LD Turtle RDF/XML
14 changes
- added dalicc:licenseVersion "2.0"
  
  Port relation The 2026-09-15 review made the relation between a jurisdiction port and the record it was adapted from explicit in the data.
- added dalicc:orLaterVersionOption "false"^^xsd:boolean
  
  Review decision Review decision 6: the four GNU records model the '-only' reading, so the or-later option is recorded as false rather than left unsaid.
- added dalicc:reviewStatus dalicc:Reviewed
  
  Review state Every record records how far it has come in the editorial workflow and when it was last checked against the legal text.
- added dalicc:reviewedOn "2026-09-15"^^xsd:date
  
  Review state Every record records how far it has come in the editorial workflow and when it was last checked against the legal text.
- added dalicc:variantKind "version"
  
  Port relation The 2026-09-15 review made the relation between a jurisdiction port and the record it was adapted from explicit in the data.
- added permission dalicc:chargeDistributionFee
  
  Review finding Section 1 states: "You may charge a fee for the physical act of transferring a copy, and you may at your option offer warranty protection in exchange for a fee." The record did not permit dalicc:chargeDistributionFee, so a compatibility check would treat paid redistribution as unlicensed. Added.
- added spdx:licenseId "GPL-2.0-only"
  
  Review finding The record carried no SPDX identifier although its own id is the SPDX list id. Added the non deprecated id GPL-2.0-only.
- changed dalicc:LiabilityLimitation "IN NO EVENT UNLESS REQUIRED BY APPLICABLE LAW OR AGREED TO IN WRITING WILL ANY COPYRIGHT HOLDER, OR ANY OTHER PARTY WHO MAY MODIFY AND/OR REDISTRIBUTE THE PROGRAM AS PERMITTED ABOVE, BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR DAMAGES, INCLUDING ANY GENERAL, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE PROGRAM (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OF DATA OR DATA BEING RENDERED INACCURATE OR LOSSES SUSTAINED BY YOU OR THIRD PARTIES OR A FAILURE OF THE PROGRAM TO OPERATE WITH ANY OTHER PROGRAMS), EVEN IF SUCH HOLDER OR OTHER PARTY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES."
  
  was dalicc:LiabilityLimitation " IN NO EVENT UNLESS REQUIRED BY APPLICABLE LAW OR AGREED TO IN WRITING WILL ANY COPYRIGHT HOLDER, OR ANY OTHER PARTY WHO MAY MODIFY AND/OR REDISTRIBUTE THE PROGRAM AS PERMITTED ABOVE, BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR DAMAGES, INCLUDING ANY GENERAL, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE PROGRAM (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OF DATA OR DATA BEING RENDERED INACCURATE OR LOSSES SUSTAINED BY YOU OR THIRD PARTIES OR A FAILURE OF THE PROGRAM TO OPERATE WITH ANY OTHER PROGRAMS), EVEN IF SUCH HOLDER OR OTHER PARTY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. "
  
  Manual edit The review's finding on family consistency: both clause literals began and ended with a space, and the record did not carry section 1 of the text, 'You may charge a fee for the physical act of transferring a copy, and you may at your option offer warranty protection in exchange for a fee', which the two new LGPL 2.x records carry as dalicc:WarrantyOrLiabilityAcceptance.
- changed dalicc:WarrantyDisclaimer "BECAUSE THE PROGRAM IS LICENSED FREE OF CHARGE, THERE IS NO WARRANTY FOR THE PROGRAM, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW. EXCEPT WHEN OTHERWISE STATED IN WRITING THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND/OR OTHER PARTIES PROVIDE THE PROGRAM \"AS IS\" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE OF THE PROGRAM IS WITH YOU. SHOULD THE PROGRAM PROVE DEFECTIVE, YOU ASSUME THE COST OF ALL NECESSARY SERVICING, REPAIR OR CORRECTION."
  
  was dalicc:WarrantyDisclaimer " BECAUSE THE PROGRAM IS LICENSED FREE OF CHARGE, THERE IS NO WARRANTY FOR THE PROGRAM, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW. EXCEPT WHEN OTHERWISE STATED IN WRITING THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND/OR OTHER PARTIES PROVIDE THE PROGRAM \"AS IS\" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE OF THE PROGRAM IS WITH YOU. SHOULD THE PROGRAM PROVE DEFECTIVE, YOU ASSUME THE COST OF ALL NECESSARY SERVICING, REPAIR OR CORRECTION. "
  
  Manual edit The review's finding on family consistency: both clause literals began and ended with a space, and the record did not carry section 1 of the text, 'You may charge a fee for the physical act of transferring a copy, and you may at your option offer warranty protection in exchange for a fee', which the two new LGPL 2.x records carry as dalicc:WarrantyOrLiabilityAcceptance.
- added dalicc:WarrantyOrLiabilityAcceptance "You may charge a fee for the physical act of transferring a copy, and you may at your option offer warranty protection in exchange for a fee."
  
  Manual edit The review's finding on family consistency: both clause literals began and ended with a space, and the record did not carry section 1 of the text, 'You may charge a fee for the physical act of transferring a copy, and you may at your option offer warranty protection in exchange for a fee', which the two new LGPL 2.x records carry as dalicc:WarrantyOrLiabilityAcceptance.
- added dalicc:terminatesOnBreach "true"^^xsd:boolean
  
  Manual edit The licence ends on breach and the record now says so. Section 4: "Any attempt otherwise to copy, modify, sublicense or distribute the Program is void, and will automatically terminate your rights under this License." LGPL-2.1-only already carried the flag on the same sentence of its own section 8.
- removed prohibition dalicc:promote
  
  Manual edit The endorsement prohibition rested on no sentence of the text; the default rule for endorsement now supplies it.
- changed permission dalicc:chargeDistributionFee
  
  was permission dalicc:chargeDistributionFee
  
  Manual edit The statement now quotes the sentence of the licence text it rests on: "You may charge a fee for the physical act of transferring a copy, and you may at your option offer warranty protection in exchange for a fee."
- 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.
Version 1

The version this model had before the content review of 2026-09-15.

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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

7 records 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.

GNU General Public License v2.0 or later Or-later form, version 2.0
GNU General Public License, Version 2 with Classpath exception 2.0 With an exception, version 2.0
GNU General Public License, Version 2 with Font exception 2.0 With an exception, version 2.0
GNU General Public License, Version 2 with GCC Runtime Library exception 2.0 With an exception, version 2.0
GNU General Public License, Version 2 with Linux Syscall Note With an exception, version 2.0
GNU General Public License, Version 2 with OpenJDK Assembly exception 1.0 With an exception, version 2.0
GNU General Public License, Version 2 with Universal FOSS Exception, Version 1.0 With an exception, version 2.0

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.