Re: Does using automake+autoconf require my project to be GPL'ed?

[Bob Friesenhahn]

On Mon, 9 Mar 2009, almkglor wrote:
> I'm building an open-source project that is currently under a permissive MIT
> license.  Since the project is getting complex, I'm thinking of using
> Automake+Autoconf to help handle portability.
>
> What I'd like to know is, does using Automake+Autoconf require me to license
> distributions built using them with the GPL?

In case there is some confusion, GPL limits the distribution of built 
applications, it does not limit the distribution of source code.  GPL 
would only apply to a built application if it incorporated GPL source 
code.  In some cases a GPLed tool might emit GPLed code as part of its 
output which becomes part of the program and then an exception is 
required.  The missing script is not incorporated in the built 
application and the missing script is itself source code.

The exceptions included with autoconf, automake, and libtool, are 
designed to allow using packages to use these tools without requiring 
the package itself to become GPL.

Bob
--
Bob Friesenhahn
address@hidden, http://www.simplesystems.org/users/bfriesen/
GraphicsMagick Maintainer,    http://www.GraphicsMagick.org/