Stellarium

Licensing For Commercial Purposes

Asked by Adetola Julius

I sell custom coffee mugs, canvas wall art, necklaces, shirts etc , and would like to use screenshots from Stellarium on these items for my customers especially those who would like to know how the nights looked like on special days in the past e.g. the birthdays of themselves or loved ones. I want to be able to do this without any attribution. What licensing options are available for me, if any?
Thanks.

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gzotti (georg-zotti) said : 		#1

https://github.com/Stellarium/stellarium/wiki/FAQ#Can_I_use_Stellarium_screenshots_in_my_bookwebsitecalendar_etc

Commercial exploitation without attribution seems not possible.

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Adetola Julius (dignitee) said : 		#2

On this thread, I found the following suggestion by "johannes" (2008-01-14) which completely the exact information I am extracting from the Stellarium screenshot:
"And yes, you are right, you are allowed to use the output of a GPL program as you have stated above. Nevertheless you should write from where the screenshot is, even though the GPL license does not force you to do so. And yes, when the screenshot contains only stars, labels, atmosphere, grids, text and similar, the GPL grants you the right to use the screenshot without restrictions."

https://sourceforge.net/p/stellarium/discussion/278769/thread/a8246348/

For my work, I am using only the stars, labels, atmosphere and nothing - no texture. Kindly clarify whether I still need any attribution.

Many thanks.

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gzotti (georg-zotti) said : 		#3

I am not a lawyer.

"Nevertheless you should write from where the screenshot is."

This is called "ethical behaviour" or "good manners".

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Adetola Julius (dignitee) said : 		#4

Many thanks. I quite agree with you. I will look at how to embed the attribution, if not in the ad copy, but in the final product.

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Jorge Zylberberg (jorge-a-z) said : 		#5

Hi Adetola,

I believe this answers your question: https://sourceforge.net/p/stellarium/discussion/278769/thread/a8246348/

Anonymous - 2015-06-10
I think its actually quite easy. GPL states that:

"""
This screenshot is of a program that has been released under a free software license. As a derivative work of that program, this screenshot falls under the same license.

Free software license: GPL
Note: if the screenshot shows any work that is not a direct result of the program code itself, such as a text or graphics that are not part of the program, the license for that work must be indicated separately.
"""

This means, that since Stellarium is GPL'ed, if you simply install the package and nothing else, and use it and only it to make a screenshot, you can use it in any way you like, even without crediting anyone.

If that's not true because Aexl or others put some conditions on their graphics, either these graphics must be removed from the package, or the license changed.