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not the original version, so that the original author's reputation will not
be affected by problems that might be introduced by others.
Finally, software patents pose a constant threat to the existence of any
free program. We wish to make sure that a company cannot effectively
restrict the users of a free program by obtaining a restrictive license from
a patent holder. Therefore, we insist that any patent license obtained for
a version of the library must be consistent with the full freedom of use
specified in this license.
Most GNU software, including some libraries, is covered by the ordinary
GNU General Public License. This license, the GNU Lesser General Public
License, applies to certain designated libraries, and is quite different
from the ordinary General Public License. We use this license for certain
libraries in order to permit linking those libraries into non-free programs.
When a program is linked with a library, whether statically or using
a shared library, the combination of the two is legally speaking a
combined work, a derivative of the original library. The ordinary
General Public License therefore permits such linking only if the entire
combination fits its criteria of freedom. The Lesser General Public License
permits more lax criteria for linking other code with the library.
We call this license the "Lesser" General Public License because it does
Less to protect the user's freedom than the ordinary General Public
License. It also provides other free software developers Less of an
advantage over competing non-free programs. These disadvantages are
the reason we use the ordinary General Public License for many libraries.
However, the Lesser license provides advantages in certain special
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