Serender KKY (ERP) License Statement and Terms of Use

General Statement

Serender KKY (ERP) is a core software platform developed with an open source software philosophy, providing an enterprise resource planning (ERP) infrastructure.

The project is managed by the Serender KKY Community (Ministry of Industry and Technology, Teknosol, 2AG), and the source code for the software is released under the GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL) version 3.0.

This license allows the Serender KKY core product to be freely used, studied, developed, and shared; however, it requires that the software be used in accordance with the license terms.

Terms of Use and Distribution (LGPL v3 Summary)

Serender KKY (ERP) is licensed under the LGPL 3.0.

The fundamental provisions of this license are based on the following principles:

a) Free Use

Users may use the Serender KKY core free of charge in their commercial and non-commercial projects.

b) Source Code Access

Any user may access, examine, and use the source code of the software in their own projects, in accordance with the LGPL license.

c) Modifications and Contributions

Users may modify or add new features to the Serender KKY core.

However, any modifications or derivative versions must be released under the same LGPL 3.0 license.

d) Use as a Library

The Serender KKY core can be integrated into other software as a standalone library.

In this case, the entire software using the core does not need to be open source; only modifications to the core are subject to the LGPL license.

e) License Continuation

By using the software, each user accepts the terms of the LGPL 3.0.

The full text of the license can be viewed in the official GNU version: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/lgpl-3.0.html

Principles for Use with Commercial Products

The Serender KKY Community (Ministry of Industry and Technology, Teknosol, 2AG) embraces a structure that allows commercial products to develop together with the open source ecosystem.

a) Use in Commercial Products

The Serender KKY core can be used as the core infrastructure of commercial ERP solutions.

Commercial software developers may license their products as closed source as long as they integrate the core as a standalone library.

b) Sharing of Modifications

If a commercial software developer makes changes to the core itself, the source code for the changes must be openly shared. However, new modules, add-ons, or services running on top of the core may be distributed under a commercial license.

c) Trademark and Reputation Use

The Serender KKY brand belongs to the Serender KKY Community (Ministry of Industry and Technology, Teknosol, 2AG).

Third parties using or extending the open source version may not use the software's name or logo in commercial promotional materials without the prior written permission of Serender Yazılım.

d) License Compliance

Each developer contributing to the Serender KKY (ERP) project is deemed to have accepted the terms of the Contributor License Agreement (CLA) when submitting their contribution.

This agreement ensures the license compliance of all code used in the project.

Legal Disclaimer

Serender KKY (ERP) is provided AS-IS (as is).

The Serender KKY Community (Ministry of Industry and Technology, Teknosol, 2AG) does not provide any warranty or undertaking regarding the software's suitability for a particular purpose, error-free operation, or uninterrupted operation.

By using the software, the user is deemed to have accepted these terms.

Violation Notification

In the event of a violation of the Serender KKY (ERP) license terms, project managers and community members will assess the situation and, if necessary, may initiate license revocation or legal action.

Using or integrating software without understanding the terms of a license may unknowingly constitute a license violation.

License violations can have different consequences depending on the nature of the violation:

Legal sanctions: Copyright infringement lawsuits, monetary damages, or criminal proceedings.
Access restrictions: Loss of access to software updates, security patches, or community support.
Reputation loss: Damage to corporate credibility and loss of trust from business partners.

Furthermore, license violations in open source communities: This could harm the project's reputation, contribution culture, and sustainability.

📩 If you believe you've detected a license violation, please contact the Serender KKY Community (Ministry of Industry and Technology, Teknosol, 2AG).

FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

Question: What is Serender ERP core licensing?

Answer: Serender ERP core has been released under LGPL 3.0. This means:

• Anyone can use the core as a library.

• However, if someone changes the core code, they must share those changes back as open source.

• A company developing a commercial ERP can simply "release" the core without modifying it. If someone links their own module via a "namic link" (e.g., DLL, NuGet, API), it can remain closed source.

Question: Can someone else take the Serender ERP core and create their own ERP?

Answer: Only by complying with the LGPL (the core must remain open source)

Question: Can the commercial module written on top of the Serender ERP core remain closed source?

Answer: Yes, the core can remain open source, but the modules can remain closed source.

Question: Under the LGPL 3.0 licensing model, the code can be used, but it must be integrated as a library. What is the explanation?

Answer: Someone else cannot embed the Serender open source ERP core into their own closed source product, but they can use it by linking.

What does "integrating as a library" mean? Let's explain this with simple, technical, and ERP-specific examples:

A software can use another software in two ways:

Type of integration	What happens	Situation under the LGPL
Static Linking	The core code is embedded (compiled) within other software.	❌ Prohibited. Because the core code is now within the closed product; the user cannot separate it.
Dynamic Linking	The core remains as a separate file (DLL, .so, NuGet, API). Other software only links to it.	✅ Free. Because the user can modify this core and replace it with their own version.

Let's Explain with an ERP Example

Core Serender Project:

• Serender.Core → LGPL 3.0 licensed core.

Includes user management, authorization, multi-language support, etc.

Serender Commercial Product:

• Serender.Enterprise → Serender paid ERP version (closed) (source).

_____________**_____

🚫 Static Link (Forbidden)

Let's say you compile your commercial product like this:

using Serender.Core;

public class SalesModule {

var auth = new VeraAuthService(); // directly in the core code

}

And when this code compiles, it includes the source code of Serender.Core (e.g., it embeds the .cs code, not the .dll file).

In this case, the LGPL says:

"You embedded the core.

Now the user cannot modify the core code."

Then you have to release that code as open source."

So, if your closed product is statically combined with LGPL code, your code must also be open sourced.

_____________**_____

✅ Dynamic Link (Free)

But if you build the commercial product like this:

// Serender.Enterprise

var core = Serender CoreFactory.Create();

core.Initialize();

and you exclude the core code as a separate Serender.Core.dll,

the user can put their own version of Serender.Core there if they wish.

In this case:

• The core remains LGPL licensed.

• Your commercial code can remain closed.

That's exactly what "integrating as a library" means:

LGPL code becomes a separate library (library) and have the closed product only link to it.

_____________**_____

In summary

Situation	Result according to LGPL
Embedding core code in the application (static linking)	🟢 The application must also be open source
Calling core code externally (dynamic linking, DLL, API, NuGet)	🟢 The application may remain closed
Making changes to the core code and distributing it	🔵 Must share changes open source