osforge.com

Trolltech(R), a provider of leading application development software, today announced that it will extend its successful dual-licensing business model to include the Qt(R) cross-platform application development framework for the Microsoft Windows operating system. The availability of Qt for Windows under the open source GNU General Public License (GPL) will bring the benefits of open source software to the Windows environment, fueling the development of open source applications for the mainstream PC market. Qt for Windows is already widely used for commercial software development.

"Based on the huge success Trolltech has realized through dual licensing Qt on the Linux and Mac OS X platforms, we are confident that by releasing an open source version of Qt for Windows, Qt will become one of the premier development environments for Windows applications," said Eirik Chambe-Eng, Trolltech president and co-founder. "Trolltech's business is strong, and we are thrilled that we are now in a position to meet the enormous community demand for an open source license option for Qt on Windows."

Trolltech's dual licensing model is based on the principle of fair exchange: users who want to donate their source code to the open source community can use the open source version and must license their software under the GPL. Users who write commercial proprietary software must purchase a license and may freely choose how to license and profit from their software.

Qt for Windows will be available under both a commercial license and the open source GPL license starting with the next major production release of Qt, version 4.0, which is expected in the second quarter of 2005. With the GPL availability of Qt for Windows, Trolltech will offer dual licensing of Qt on all supported platforms.

Windows Most Popular Qt Platform

Qt is an industry-leading toolkit for cross-platform graphical user interface (GUI) software development on the desktop. With Qt, developers can write applications once and deploy on any major desktop operating system, including many versions of Windows, Linux/Unix and Mac OS X, all from the same code base. Thousands of programs have been built using Qt, including software from some of the world's largest organizations, such as Adobe, AMD, Synopsys, Walt Disney Feature Animation and Volvo.

While Qt for Windows has not been previously available under an open source license, it has been available under a commercial license for commercial application development since 1995. Windows is currently the most popular platform for Qt commercial development, with Linux a close second.

Stacey Quandt, senior business analyst and open source practice leader for the Robert Francis Group, commented: "The Windows market is ripe for an influx of open source software, and a mature, platform-independent toolkit like Qt can spur a renaissance of development. As a rising tide floats all boats, this expanding ecosystem of Qt applications will also increase commercial Qt development on Windows, and broaden cross-platform opportunities."

Dual Licensing Creates Strong Open Source Business

Through its dual-licensing business model, Trolltech has established a profitable, stable business based on the integration of commercial license sales with open source software. Dual-licensed software is sold under a commercial license for proprietary development in a commercial context and is also released under the GPL for open source development projects. Developers of applications under the GPL must freely distribute the complete source code of their applications, making it available for end users to modify, recompile and redistribute, thus fostering the ongoing community development upon which open source is built. Trolltech's commercially-licensed customers gain benefits traditionally associated with commercial software, such as add-on products, technical support directly from the Qt's core developers, and the right to earn income from selling proprietary Qt-based software.

Trolltech's dual-licensing model combines the software quality assurance and distribution benefits of an open source model with the software licensing revenue model of a traditional commercial software vendor.

"Dual licensing is a win-win for all, as technology vendors can purchase and license commercially-supported software that has been tested and proven by a huge open source community," said Marten Mickos, CEO at MySQL AB. "Similarly, the open source community benefits from software that is backed by a stable organization."

About Trolltech

Trolltech provides leading software for cross-platform application development on the desktop and for embedded Linux environments. The company's flagship products are Qt, a cross-platform software development framework for the desktop; and Qtopia, a customizable application platform and user interface for Linux-based consumer devices. Trolltech software is the foundation for thousands of leading products worldwide, many from Global 2000 companies. Trolltech is a second-generation open source company, with dual licensing that supports open source values and methodology in a profitable, sustainable business. For more information about Trolltech, please go to http://www.trolltech.com.

Trolltech, Qt, Qtopia and the Qt logo are registered trademarks of Trolltech AS in Norway and/or other countries worldwide. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.