Legacy ImageMagick Discussions Archive

I would like to share a binary Windows installer of ImageMagick along with a free software package I wrote. After the installer of my software, I would like to run the Image Magick installer automatically. I read in the installation dialog of the ImageMagick installer that sharing of the package is forbidden, however it can be included in my software according to the license. Now I'm a little puzzled, if I am allowed to include a full installer in my software package.

As you suggest, the ImageMagick license does not prevent you from doing what you posted about. The installer is a separate package from ImageMagick and perhaps it has different licensing requirement. Post the text that is causing you confusion here so we can review it.

Here is the Text that confused me from the installer dialog:
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Before we get to the text of the license lets just review what the license says in simple terms:

It allows you to:

* freely download and use ImageMagick software, in whole or in part, for personal, company internal, or commercial purposes;
* use ImageMagick software in packages or distributions that you create.

It forbids you to:

* redistribute any piece of ImageMagick-originated software without proper attribution;
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Also I could'nt find any official file reppository of old installers, which made me wonder if the distribution on other channels than the Image magick web site is forbidden.

You are most likely misreading the license. Feel free to redistribute ImageMagick just be sure to give proper credit by including a copy of the license somewhere within your distribution. We're flexible. Some folks simply say "Includes ImageMagick, http://www.imagemagick.org.

ImageMagick does not have a GPL license. Instead it has a GPL-compatible license. Have you read http://www.imagemagick.org/script/license.php? Your questions are answered there but we include the salient points here for convenience:

Lets just review what the license says in simple terms:

• It allows you to:
  
  * freely download and use ImageMagick software, in whole or in part, for personal, company internal, or commercial purposes;
  * use ImageMagick software in packages or distributions that you create.
  
  It forbids you to:
  
  * redistribute any piece of ImageMagick-originated software without proper attribution;
  * use any marks owned by ImageMagick Studio LLC in any way that might state or imply that ImageMagick Studio LLC endorses your distribution;
  * use any marks owned by ImageMagick Studio LLC in any way that might state or imply that you created the ImageMagick software in question.
  
  It requires you to:
  
  * include a copy of the license in any redistribution you may make that includes ImageMagick software;
  * provide clear attribution to ImageMagick Studio LLC for any distributions that include ImageMagick software.
  
  It does not require you to:
  
  * include the source of the ImageMagick software itself, or of any modifications you may have made to it, in any redistribution you may assemble that includes it;
  * submit changes that you make to the software back to the ImageMagick Studio LLC (though such feedback is encouraged).
  
  A few other clarifications include:
  
  * ImageMagick is freely available without charge;
  * you may include ImageMagick on a DVD as long as you comply with the terms of the license;
  * you can give modified code away for free or sell it under the terms of the ImageMagick license or distribute the result under a different license, but you need to acknowledge the use of the ImageMagick software;
  * the license is compatible with the GPL.

Are we allowed to bundle the installer with our package, and adding instructions in our documentation how to install/use it, or do we need to ask them to download it and install it themself?

You can include the installer in your package or you can ask your users to download it from the ImageMagick site. However, for convenience, most folks just include the ImageMagick DLL's along side their own. ImageMagick, by default, builds an "uninstalled" version which does not require an installer nor do you need to update the Windows registry.

Are there any other licenses of Imagemagick, a commercial version? Or can we sponsor the project some how to be able to use your product in our?

The same license applies to free and commercial offerings. ImageMagick includes a couple of additional licenses in the NOTICE file. All of these are MIT/BSD licenses which are not restrictive and do not add any additional burden to the ImageMagick license.

Regarding sponsorships. You do not need to sponsor ImageMagick to use it. Here is our standard sponsor blurb for those that want to sponsor the project:

• ImageMagick Studio LLC is a no-profit organization and in most cases pays for the privilege of producing free software out of our own pockets. To help defray costs associated with network bandwidth, development software, computer hardware, taxes, legal, and other expenses we accept sponsorships from individuals or companies like yourself. We recognize any sponsorships by adding a round-robin click-thru text on each ImageMagick web page (http://www.imagemagick.org) and a fixed text and/or icon on the ImageMagick sponsor page (http://www.imagemagick.org/script/sponsors.php). Other sponsorship options are available.