On Thu, 04 Mar 2004, Marek Habersack wrote: > if we have two source files A and B producing object files A and B, > with both of them calling (linking to in effect) some GPL API, A > being derived from B (e.g. a C++ class that descends from a class > defined in B), A being MPL and B being GPL? If A is derived from B and B is GPL, then A must be distributable under the terms of the GPL. > cryptlib is distributed under a dual license that allows free, open-source > use under a GPL-like license and closed-source use under a standard > ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ > commercial license. In addition, cryptlib is free for use in low-cost, > ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ > non-open-source applications such as shareware, and for personal and > research use. Exact terms are given at the bottom of this page. License summaries are evil. In general, you have to ignore them when you're actually analyzing the license. In this case, they're talking about the fact that it's GPLed, but if you don't want to follow the GPL, we've got nifty license B that can be applied to closed-source vendors and random non-profits and shareware. Debian will basically ignore license B, and proceed to distribute under the GPL. [Additional grants of permision to selected groups don't change the DFSG-Freeness of a work, so long as all individuals can exercise the rights guaranteed to them under the DFSG.] > Note that the above doesn't state whether a commercial project can > choose whichever license, but it seems to make it clear that open > source is bound to their OSI-compatible license _and_ closed-source > to their commercial license (which would break clauses #5 and #6 of > DFSG, since it wouldn't be a voluntary choice of the licensee). No, it doesn't imply that. Dual licensing doesn't mean that you can pick and choose who the licenses apply to unless the licenses themselves have that property. Don Armstrong -- It has always been Debian's philosophy in the past to stick to what makes sense, regardless of what crack the rest of the universe is smoking. -- Andrew Suffield in 20030403211305.GD29698@doc.ic.ac.uk http://www.donarmstrong.com http://rzlab.ucr.edu
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