To download the code, you must agree to the following license:

Copyright 2010, GreenSock, Inc.

"NO CHARGE" NON-EXCLUSIVE SOFTWARE LICENSE AGREEMENT
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PLAIN ENGLISH SUMMARY:

  1. You may use the code at no charge in commercial or non-commercial web sites, games, components, applications, and other software as long as end users are not charged a fee of any kind to use your product or gain access to any part of it. If your client pays you a one-time fee to create the site/product, that's perfectly fine and qualifies under the "no charge" license. If end users are charged a usage/access/license fee, please sign up for a corporate Club GreenSock membership which comes with a special commercial license granting you permission to do so. See http://www.greensock.com/club/ for details.
  2. Use at your own risk. No warranties are offered.
  3. Please respect the copyright.

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LEGALESE:

This is a legal agreement between you (either an individual or a single entity) and GreenSock, Inc. ("GREENSOCK") for the proprietary GreenSock ActionScript code known as TweenLite, TweenMax, TweenNano, TimelineLite, TimelineMax, LoaderMax, and other code that is available for download at http://www.greensock.com (this code and documentation, as well as any updates which may at GREENSOCK's sole discretion be provided to you from time to time, are referred to in this Agreement as "PROGRAM") By downloading, copying, or otherwise using the PROGRAM, you agree to the terms and conditions of this Agreement. If you do not agree to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, please do not download or use the PROGRAM.

I. LICENSE
A. Subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, GREENSOCK hereby grants you a non-exclusive, worldwide, non-transferable right to use the PROGRAM in web sites, games, components and other software applications for which the end user is NOT charged any fees. If you would like to use the code in a commercially licensed software product for which end users are charged a fee (either for usage or access), simply sign up for a corporate Club GreenSock membership at http://www.greensock.com/club/.

II. LIMITATION OF LICENSE AND RESTRICTIONS
A. You agree that you will not disclose, sell, rent, or license the PROGRAM's source code or any derivative works thereof to any third party without the prior written consent of GREENSOCK. Derivative works are defined as modifications that add substantive functionality to the PROGRAM and do not include bug fixes or other minor modifications required to operate the PROGRAM as originally intended. Distribution of the source code as part of your Work Product is acceptable so long as the recipients agree to the terms of this Agreement. You agree not to modify or delete GREENSOCK'S existing copyright notice located in the source code.

B. You may use, duplicate, and distribute the compiled object code as embedded in a Work Product created by you, either for your own use or for distribution to a third party so long as end users of the Work Product are not charged a fee for usage of or access to any portion of the Work Product. Please see http://www.greensock.com/licensing/ for descriptions of Work Products that qualify for the "No Charge" license.

III. CONSIDERATION
A. The license rights granted to you under this Agreement are at no charge, but only in the following circumstances: If on your own behalf or on behalf of a third party you incorporate the PROGRAM into a web site, game, software application, program or any component thereof (collectively, "Work Product"), which in the case of a web site, must be accessible to internet users without payment of a fee of any kind, and in the case of a software application, game, program or component, neither you nor anyone to whom you distribute the Work Product charges a user a fee of any kind to use such Work Product or application, game, program or component into which such Work Product is embedded. The foregoing shall apply regardless of whether you are paid to create such Work Product.

B. In the event your intended use of the PROGRAM does not meet the criteria for the "no charge" license rights set forth in the immediately preceding paragraph, then you are not licensed to use the PROGRAM under this Agreement and must license the PROGRAM under GREENSOCK'S separate fee-based Software License Agreement which is granted to corporate Club GreenSock members (see http://www.greensock.com/club/ for details).

IV. TITLE AND OWNERSHIP
A. The PROGRAM is licensed, not sold, and is protected by copyright laws and international treaty provisions. You acknowledge that no title to the intellectual property in the PROGRAM is transferred to you. You further acknowledge that title and full ownership rights to the PROGRAM, including all intellectual property rights therein, will remain the exclusive property of GREENSOCK and you will not acquire any rights to the PROGRAM except as expressly set forth in this Agreement. You agree that any copies of the PROGRAM you make will contain the same proprietary notices which appear on and in the PROGRAM. You agree that GREENSOCK may identify you as a licensee unless you make a written request otherwise. GREENSOCK hereby grants to you the right to disclose that your product, game, software application, component, or other Work Product makes use of GREENSOCK code (for example, "Powered by TweenLite").

V. DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY AND LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
A. THE PROGRAM IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. GREENSOCK DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE FUNCTIONS CONTAINED IN THE PROGRAM WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS OR THAT OPERATION WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR FREE. GREENSOCK shall not be liable for special, indirect, incidental, or consequential damages with respect to any claim on account of or arising from this Agreement or use of the PROGRAM, even if GREENSOCK has been or is hereafter advised of the possibility of such damages. Because some states do not allow certain exclusions or limitations on implied warranties or of liability for consequential or incidental damages, the above exclusions may not apply to you. In no event, however, will GREENSOCK be liable to you, under any theory of recovery, in an amount in excess of $250. Notwithstanding anything else in this agreement, you agree to indemnify GREENSOCK, its assignees, and licensees, and hold each of them harmless from and against any and all claims, demands, losses, damages, liabilities, costs, and expenses, including legal fees arising out of or resulting from any negligent act or omission by you.

B. GREENSOCK may, at its sole discretion, provide support services related to the PROGRAM, but has no obligation to do so.

VI. TERMINATION
If you at any time fail to abide by the terms of this Agreement, GREENSOCK shall have the right to immediately terminate the license granted herein, require the return or destruction of all copies of the PROGRAM from you and certification in writing as to such return or destruction, and pursue any other legal or equitable remedies available.

VII. MISCELLANEOUS
A. This Agreement shall be construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Illinois. In the event of any dispute between you and GREENSOCK with respect to this Agreement, we both agree that if we cannot resolve the dispute in good faith discussion, either of us may submit the dispute for resolution to arbitration with the American Arbitration Association before a single arbitrator using the AAA Rules for Commercial Arbitration. The arbitrator's decision is final and can be enforced in any court with jurisdiction over such matters.

B. This agreement represents the complete and exclusive statement of the agreement between GREENSOCK and you and supersedes all prior agreements, proposals, representations and other communications, verbal or written, between them with respect to use of the program. This agreement may be modified only with the mutual written approval of authorized representatives of the parties.

C. The terms and conditions of this Agreement shall prevail notwithstanding any different, conflicting, or additional terms or conditions which may appear in any purchase order or other document submitted by you. You agree that such additional or inconsistent terms are deemed rejected by GREENSOCK.

D. GREENSOCK and you agree that any xerographically or electronically reproduced copy of this Agreement shall have the same legal force and effect as any copy bearing original signatures of the parties.

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Licensing

To understand the business benefits of getting a corporate Club GreenSock membership which comes with a special commercial license, click here. There is also an article titled Licensing: “Free” != Better that explains why the GreenSock licensing model serves you and the rest of the community better than an MIT (or similar) license would.

The standard “No Charge” license that comes with most GreenSock classes is perfectly sufficient for most projects, but corporate Club GreenSock memberships come with a special license that permits usage in commercial applications/components/web sites for which multiple users are charged a usage/access/license fee. How do you know whether or not you need the special license? Here are some guidelines:

Example scenarios

 Corporate Membership Required?
The code will be used in a commercial (or non-commercial) web site that is freely accessible to anyone on the internet (where no fees are charged to enter or use the site/application).
 No
The code will be used in a 100% free game or component (no portions or features of the game require any payment to “unlock”)
 No
The code will be used in a commercial game, web site, component, or software product for which a usage/access/license fee is collected from multiple users.
 Yes

The basic rule of thumb is if multiple end users are charged a fee for your product that uses GreenSock code, you need the special license that comes with a corporate Club GreenSock membership. Otherwise, you don’t.

Why Invest in the GreenSock Platform?

It actually makes quite a bit of business sense. Click here to find out why (there’s a “return on investment” calculator and a list of some factors you should consider from a business perspective).

FAQ

  1. Did the license recently change? I thought the code was completely open source and free.
    No, this is not a recent change. However, I have tried to do a better job of clarifying the terms since about version 7 of TweenLite.
  2. How much does It cost?
    There are 4 different corporate levels based on the number of developers that will have access to the code, all of which come with a license to use GreenSock code in commercial applications/sites. Please see the Club GreenSock page for pricing details.
  3. How do I get a license?
    Just sign up for a corporate Club GreenSock membership at the level that corresponds to the number of developers in your organization. That’s it! If you prefer to use a different payment method, just contact us.
  4. For how long must I maintain my corporate membership?
    As long as your product is being actively sold/licensed. The commercial license is tied to your corporate membership, so when it lapses, so does the license. Products that you already sold do NOT suddenly become violations of the terms of use, though – you just can’t continue to sell products that use GreenSock code after the license expires. If you don’t want to worry about any expirations, you can simply get the one-time fee (permanent) membership.
  5. If I use the code in more than one product, do I need more than one membership?
    No. The commercial license that comes with corporate Club GreenSock memberships applies to an unlimited number of products that your organization develops/sells (see the terms of the license for specifics). Please be sure, however, to get the appropriate membership level based on the number of developers in your organization.
  6. When determining the appropriate membership level, do I need to include only full-time developers? What if my company doesn’t have any?
    You must include any freelancers, consultants, subcontractors, etc. in addition to full-time developers.
  7. Can I redistribute the code with my application?
    Yes, you can redistribute the tweening-related classes as long as the source code files haven’t been altered and end users agree to honor the terms of your license agreement with GreenSock, meaning they cannot resell the raw GreenSock code or circumvent the license or copyright in any way, although they are allowed resell your work product that uses GreenSock code.
  8. I don’t want to pay annually. Can I pay a higher one-time fee for the membership and not have to renew it?
    Absolutely. Click the “one-time fee” link next to the “subscribe” buttons on the Club GreenSock page.
  9. Who do I talk to if I have questions?
    Just e-mail questions@greensock.com with questions.

  10. What if I develop a commercial product for my client who will be the one selling the product? Who needs the corporate membership?
    This is admittedly a gray area, but to make it easier on GreenSock customers, the policy is that the development company needs to maintain a valid corporate membership. If, for example, Company A develops a swf-based application that uses TweenLite/Max and sells it to Company B who will be licensing it to end users, Company A must maintain a corporate membership. Company B would not be required to have a corporate Club GreenSock membership. If, however, Company B prefers to maintain a membership instead, that is perfectly acceptable as long as it wouldn’t reduce the club level, meaning if the development company has 20 developers ($1,500/year membership) and Company B has 1 developer ($150/year membership), it wouldn’t be fair to circumvent the intent of the membership license agreement by Company B getting a single developer membership. They’d need to get the 20-developer level membership.
  11. Why not give the code away for free?
    I firmly believe this licensing model ultimately delivers a better end product and serves the community better. Please read my post Licensing: “Free” != Better to understand why. There is also an article on why a corporate Club GreenSock membership makes a lot of business sense here.

Comments (9) RSS

Posted by Amos on December 2, 2009

First of all, thank you SOOOO much for making TweenLite! It is the easiest and most powerful programming tool I’ve ever used (and I’ve used the Ruby language).

So, let me see if I have this right…

If I make a game that uses TweenLite, and sell said game to Company B for a one-time fee, and Company B hosts said game on a site that does not charge end users to play it, I don’t need a license?

BTW, I fully intend to get a Club Greensock membership (corporate or otherwise, as needed) as soon as I’m sure I can make money making Flash content.

Posted by admin on December 2, 2009

Good question, Amos. Yes, you got it exactly right – if you charge company B a one-time development fee for your game and they share it publicly, not charging end users any fees, you do NOT need the special license that comes with a corporate Club GreenSock membership. This is how most commercial projects happen and the standard “no charge” license covers it. If, however, you or company B were going to charge multiple end users an access/usage/license fee for the game, you’d need to get a corporate membership. Thanks for asking.

Posted by ricky on December 18, 2009

Thank you so much for TweenLite – it’s very useful and fast!

I have a question about the license: do I need to buy a corporate Club GreenSock membership if I use TweenLite to make an advertisement for my commercial website which is freely accessible to anyone? Some people will purchase things on the website, so I wasn’t sure if it requires the special license (You mentioned that if multiple end users are charged a fee, I need the license).

Posted by admin on December 18, 2009

Ricky, as long as the product/application for which multiple end users pay doesn’t directly use the GreenSock code, you do NOT need the special commercial license. So, for example, if you build a web site for a shoe company and the web site uses GreenSock code and customers can purchase shoes on the web site, that’s fine because the product/service/application they’re purchasing (shoes in this case) doesn’t use GreenSock code. If, however, you were using GreenSock code in a game that users must pay for (either to play at all or to access certain features of), you WOULD need the special commercial license that comes with a corporate Club GreenSock membership.

Posted by Bintal on July 12, 2010

Hey, following on from the answer to Ricky…

If I were to create a website that:
1) Uses Greensock software to render data (say images).
2) The website is free to browse and display these images.
3) A subscription fee applies on the website to, say, view other premium content (such as videos/music) that doesn’t explicitly use any GreenSock code above what is available freely.

Would I need a license in this case?

Posted by Jack on July 12, 2010

bintal, if absolutely no part of the “premium content” section of your site uses any GreenSock code, you wouldn’t need the special license that comes with a corporate Club GreenSock membership. Thanks for asking.

Posted by John Hutcheson on August 19, 2010

I am an independent contractor and am usually the sole flash developer on my projects. I am thinking of getting the corporate license so that I can use your libraries for the types of jobs the license covers. My question is this:

I would only purchase the single developer license, naturally. What if a client to whom I am delivering code for a project that falls under the constraints of the commercial license sometime in the future goes with a different developer or developers, but continues to use your libraries in the project without their own valid license? Who is responsible for holding the license at that point? The client and the new developers may not be aware that they need to have a license. Would this in anyway be a legal issue for me as the original developer and license holder?

Thanks.

Posted by Jack on August 19, 2010

John, you’re obviously a very conscientious developer which I really appreciate. Let me get straight to the answer:

All of your work products that are created and sold while your corporate membership is valid/active are covered by the special license. However, if your client takes your work product and redevelops it, making substantive changes and starts selling it or charging multiple customers access/usage fees for the new/enhanced product, they’d need to get a membership of their own because they’d be doing development work that leverages GreenSock code outside the scope of the product you created for them.

In terms of liability, your responsibility in that scenario is to communicate the licensing terms to them (tell them what’s out-of-bounds). I certainly don’t expect you to control them. They’re responsible for their own choices. Please just make sure they’re informed and that you abide by the license agreement (which is actually rather permissive).

Posted by Sean on August 25, 2010

TweenLite is just amazing, and so easy to use. Thanks.

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