Re: [Opencxx-users] Re: License issues

[Grzegorz J. <ja...@he...>]

On Sun, 26 Sep 2004, Stefan Seefeld wrote:

> Grzegorz Jakacki wrote:
>
> > Merging code enhancements means creating derivative work of code covered
> > by LGPL. Such work can only be distributed under LGPL (or GPL). This
>
> sorry, but that's entirely false, both, for GPL as well as LGPL.

Are you implying that I can create a derived work of LGPL code and
distribute it under license different from GPL and LGPL, e.g. existing
OpenC++ license?

> > means that you have to fulfill certain obligations if you want to
> > distribute a program that uses the library (see LGPL item 6)
>
> this isn't the same as what you said above. Nothing forces you to change
> your license just because you link to LGPL code.

I don't understand what you are challenging. Clients have to fulfill certain
obligations if they link against LGPL-ed library:

Section 5:

  (...) linking a "work that uses the Library" with the Library creates an
  executable that is a derivative of the Library (because it contains
  portions of the Library), rather than a "work that uses the library".
  The executable is therefore covered by this License. Section 6 states terms
  for distribution of such executables. (...)

Section 6:

  As an exception to the Sections above, you may also combine or link a
  "work that uses the Library" with the Library to produce a work containing
  portions of the Library, and distribute that work under terms of your
  choice, provided that the terms permit modification of the work for the
  customer's own use and reverse engineering for debugging such
  modifications.

  You must give prominent notice with each copy of the work that the Library
  is used in it and that the Library and its use are covered by this
  License. You must supply a copy of this License. If the work during
  execution displays copyright notices, you must include the copyright
  notice for the Library among them, as well as a reference directing the
  user to the copy of this License. Also, you must do one of these things:

    a) Accompany the work with the complete corresponding machine-readable
       source code for the Library including whatever changes were used in
       the work (which must be distributed under Sections 1 and 2 above);
       and, if the work is an executable linked with the Library, with the
       complete machine-readable "work that uses the Library", as object
       code and/or source code, so that the user can modify the Library and
       then relink to produce a modified executable containing the modified
       Library.  (It is understood that the user who changes the contents of
       definitions files in the Library will not necessarily be able to
       recompile the application to use the modified definitions.)

    b) Use a suitable shared library mechanism for linking with the Library.
       A suitable mechanism is one that (1) uses at run time a copy of the
       library already present on the user's computer system, rather than
       copying library functions into the executable, and (2) will operate
       properly with a modified version of the library, if the user installs
       one, as long as the modified version is interface-compatible with the
       version that the work was made with.

    c) Accompany the work with a written offer, valid for at least three
       years, to give the same user the materials specified in Subsection
       6a, above, for a charge no more than the cost of performing this
       distribution.

    d) If distribution of the work is made by offering access to copy from a
       designated place, offer equivalent access to copy the above specified
       materials from the same place.

    e) Verify that the user has already received a copy of these materials
       or that you have already sent this user a copy.

  For an executable, the required form of the "work that uses the Library"
  must include any data and utility programs needed for reproducing the
  executable from it. However, as a special exception, the materials to be
  distributed need not include anything that is normally distributed (in
  either source or binary form) with the major components (compiler, kernel,
  and so on) of the operating system on which the executable runs, unless
  that component itself accompanies the executable.

  It may happen that this requirement contradicts the license restrictions
  of other proprietary libraries that do not normally accompany the
  operating system. Such a contradiction means you cannot use both them and
  the Library together in an executable that you distribute.

> It is true however that
> for the part of the code that is covered by LGPL you have to follow some
> rules (such as the ones you refer to).

Consequently, if I include part of your LGPL-ed code into OpenC++ I cannot
distribute the merged code under existing OpenC++ license.

> Also note that we are *not* talking about GPL here.

Of course. I mentioned GPL, because LGPL allows redistribution of the
library under LGPL *or* GPL (at redistributor's will). The statement "Such
work can only be distributed under LGPL" would be incorrect, thus I had to
mention GPL.

BR
Grzegorz

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