ZeroCLicensing
At ZeroC, we are dedicated to open-source software, and we release all of our products under popular open-source licenses:
GPLv2 for Ice
BSD 3-Clause for the Ice Builders and other utilities
GPLv2 is a great license for open-source projects. If you want to use Ice for a commercial product or a closed-source project, you will typically need to purchase a Commercial License.
Which Ice License is Right for You?
Your Project
GPLv2 License
Commercial License
Open-source software licensed under GPLv2
Open-source software licensed under other terms
Commercially licensed software
Free or paid app published in the Apple App Store
Frequently Asked Questions
- How can I obtain a Commercial License?
- Please contact us.
- How much does a Commercial License cost?
- We offer several commercial licenses, and the most suitable license depends on the specifics of your project. Please contact us to discuss your project and license requirements. Our most popular commercial license for software companies is a license based on gross-revenue: the annual license fee is a small fraction of the gross revenue you generate from Ice-based products each year.
- Do you offer Commercial Licenses for Cloud deployments?
- Yes! We publish several AMIs in the Amazon Web Service (AWS) Marketplace with a built-in Commercial License. See Ice for AWS for more information.
- What does it mean to "distribute" an application?
- Distributing an application includes giving it to customers, contractors, parent companies, subsidiaries, or any other legal entity. Note that when licensing Ice under GPLv2, you can distribute your Ice-based application under GPLv2 only if all of its dependencies have open-source licenses compatible with GPLv2.
- What does it mean to "link" with Ice?
- Linking with Ice means to link your software with any Ice library, either directly or indirectly, statically or dynamically, at compile time or run time.