Re: GPL/LGPL confusion
I am not a lawyer, so please do not rely on this as legal
advice. I am also not a Debianite, but I will cc this message to
debian-legal so they can avoid duplication of effort.
>Okay, I've gone through debian-legal archives, I've looked on the FSF site
>and the summary is that I'm rather confused.
>1. Can I package an LGPL library foo that links with a GPL library bar?
Yes. The restrictions of the LGPL are a subset of the
restrictions of the GPL, even when it comes to the right to add
remaining restrictions of the GPL (due to section 3 of the LGPL),
so it does not violate section 6 of the GPL.
However, as your allude to in your second question, if your
library requires the GPL'ed library, the net effect will be almost the
same as if your library were GPL'ed. It will only be legal to link
GPL-compatible programs with your library (this includes more than
just GPL'ed programs,
>2. If so, is it appropriate to put a notice in the copyright file for foo
>that this library links with a GPL library and thus any software that links
>with foo must be GPL-compatible?
As a matter of politeness and good documentation, yes.
Adam J. Richter __ ______________ 4880 Stevens Creek Blvd, Suite 104
adam@yggdrasil.com \ / San Jose, California 95129-1034
+1 408 261-6630 | g g d r a s i l United States of America
fax +1 408 261-6631 "Free Software For The Rest Of Us."
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