KDE Free Qt Foundation

Trolltech and KDE Free Qt Foundation Announce Amended and Restated Software License Agreement

(July 23, 2004) Trolltech, developer of Qt, the leading cross-platform development framework upon which KDE is based, and the KDE Free Qt Foundation (the Foundation) today announced the signing of an Amended and Restated Software License Agreement (the Agreement).

The Foundation was formed in 1998 by Trolltech and KDE e.V., which represents KDE in certain legal and financial matters, to provide assurances to free software developers developing with Qt should Qt development cease.

The revised Agreement continues to honour the original purposes of the Foundation. In particular, should Trolltech ever discontinue making regular releases of the Qt Free Edition for any reason - including a buyout or merger of Trolltech or the liquidation of Trolltech - the Qt Free Edition will be released under the BSD license and optionally under one or more other Open Source Licenses designated by the Board of the Foundation.

The amendments are aimed at modernizing the Agreement in light of developments occurring after the original agreement was executed - including the release of the Qt Free Edition under the GPL and QPL in October 2000 - and at improving the accuracy of the parties' understanding, thereby ensuring that the Agreement continues to operate in the best interest of both parties. The major amendments include improved precision in the definitions of the Qt product releases, the clarification of licensing terms, and the addition of possible termination of the Agreement under certain limited circumstances.

"Third-party software development is a crucial element of KDE's continued future success, and the restated Agreement encourages both Open Source and proprietary software developers and enterprises to develop with KDE and/or Qt on the X Window System by providing a practical solution should Trolltech be unable to continue developing Qt", explained Martin Konold, a KDE board member on the Foundation and a key figure in the formation of the Foundation and execution of the original agreement in 1998. "As with the release of Qt under the GPL and QPL, we are very delighted that Trolltech has again demonstrated its ongoing support of, and commitment to, Open Source software development, and to the KDE project in particular."

"Maintaining a close connection with the Open Source community is essential to the success of Trolltech," said Matthias Ettrich, director of software tools development at Trolltech. "The amended Agreement provides an excellent framework for a continued and mutually rewarding relationship between Trolltech and the KDE Free Qt Foundation."

About the KDE Free Qt Foundation

The KDE project, via KDE e.V., and Trolltech, the creators of Qt, announced the formation of the KDE Free Qt Foundation in June 1998. The purpose of the Foundation is to assure the availability of Qt for free software development now and into the future. The Foundation is controlled by a Board, which consists of two KDE e.V. representatives and two Trolltech representatives; in many cases, the KDE e.V. representatives break a voting tie. The governing document of the Foundation is available online (Page 1, Page 2).

For further information, please contact:

Trolltech AS Tonje Sund +47 21 60 48 78 press@trolltech.com

KDE Martin Konold +49 7071 940353 press@kde.org