1) Can we use OpenEMR for our clients and charge them for the installations?

Yes.

What you can do:

You can charge for your time for installation and any hardware you provide.

You can charge for IT maintenance of the operating system and installation of OpenEMR upgrades, maintaining back ups etc.

You can charge for making software modifications to the system as needed.

What you must do:

You must provide the source code in plain text to your clients.

You must provide a copy of the General GPL license. The General GPL license is actually included with the OpenEMR release.

What you can not do:

You can not charge a fee for the OpenEMR package. Your clients must get the OpenEMR software for free and in plain text. (This does not include software improvements that you or your company create.)

You can cannot mix OpenEMR with modules that are proprietary or closed source. For example you can only use modules that are also open source. Open Source means that the software is released to the client in plain text.

Optional:

If you modify the system you can charge for your efforts. We do ask that you consider releasing your improvements back to the project under the General GPL licensing.

2) What are the Terms and conditions of the System ?

The software is free, subject only to the restrictions listed above.

3) As per the website OPENEMR is open source so can we change the logos, functionality of the software, as we are having sms, other solutions that can be implemented?

Yes.

With the exception that you may not remove the GPL license. The other terms and conditions listed above must be followed. If you incorporate other open source software it is legally easiest to use licenses that are similar. As examples Mozilla has its own Open Source license but it allows activities that are not permitted under the General GPL. So technically using software modules with Mozilla style licenses is not a problem as long as they do not conflict with the General GPL. But things can get very sticky in a way that it is difficult to operate legally. So in general it is better to only combine similar licenses.

You can charge for the changes in functionality. But the OpenEMR software must remain under the GPL license. The problem that comes up is that if you do not release your code back to the project, every time we release a new version you have to update your version with the changes that you made. The only other option is to not upgrade your OpenEMR as the new releases come out. Releasing your code back to the project under the GPL licensing means that each subsequent upgrade already includes your changes.

4) What license fee or other charges we have to pay OpenEMR team for the above modifications and implementations? None.

The software is free and open source, subject to the restrictions listed above.

Sincerely,

Samuel T. Bowen, MD President, OSMS