Re: [Discuss-gnuradio] License for libs linked in OOT

[Marcus Müller]

Hi Forest,

I'm pretty sure it's not quite like that:

It does exchange data structures and calls into GR/gets called from GR,
so it needs a GPLv3-compatible license, but not necessarily the GPLv3
itself.

In essence, fully agree with Sylvain's POV.

Cheers,
Marcus

On 17.07.2016 21:32, Forest Crossman wrote:
> Jan,
>
> If your OOT module uses GNU Radio data structures or function calls
> (i.e., the API), then it can only be distributed under the GPL. This
> is because the work is "based on" GNU Radio[1]. Since a work "based
> on" a GPL'd work can only be distributed under the same license[2],
> your OOT module would have to be licensed under the GPLv3+. It works
> the same way in Wireshark, where any plugins developed for it can only
> be distributed under the GPLv2+ or the GPLv3+.
>
> Of course, you can release any code not based on GNU Radio (i.e.,
> implementations of algorithms that could operate independently of GNU
> Radio) under any license you want, so in essence you would be
> dual-licensing a portion of the OOT module, but that could get legally
> tricky very quickly.
>
> To be clear, I'm not a lawyer, and I could be wrong, so don't take any
> of this as legal advice. For that, I would consult the Software
> Freedom Law Center[3]. If you want more non-lawyer advice, #fsf on
> Freenode could probably give you some more pointers.
>
> On a more cynical note, none of this license stuff really matters if
> nobody sues you, so if you were to technically violate the GPL but do
> it in a way that didn't make anyone too angry, you could probably get
> away with it.
>
> [1]: "To 'modify' a work means to copy from or adapt all or part of
> the work in a fashion requiring copyright permission, other than the
> making of an exact copy. The resulting work is called a 'modified
> version' of the earlier work or a work 'based on' the earlier work."
> [2]: "You may convey a work based on the Program, or the modifications
> to produce it from the Program, in the form of source code under the
> terms of section 4, provided that you also meet all of these
> conditions: ... You must license the entire work, as a whole, under
> this License to anyone who comes into possession of a copy."
> [3]: https://softwarefreedom.org
>
> On Fri, Jul 8, 2016 at 2:08 PM, Jan Krämer <address@hidden> wrote:
>> Hey everyone,
>>
>> thanks for your answers guys, I think you clarified pretty much everything.
>> Now all I can do is wait for an answer from management.
>>
>> Cheers,
>> Jan
>>
>> 2016-07-07 19:02 GMT+02:00 Martin Braun <address@hidden>:
>>> Jan,
>>>
>>> also, don't forget, code you write is yours. You can even have multiple
>>> licenses for the same code (at least for modules and parts that don't
>>> use GNU Radio or other GPL'd libraries).
>>>
>>> Cheers,
>>> Martin
>>>
>>> On 07/07/2016 06:18 AM, Jan Krämer wrote:
>>>> Thanks Michael, now fingers crossed that I am allowed to publish the
>>>> code under one of those licenses.
>>>>
>>>> Cheers,
>>>> Jan
>>>>
>>>> 2016-07-07 12:18 GMT+02:00 Michael Dickens <address@hidden
>>>> <mailto:address@hidden>>:
>>>>
>>>>     __
>>>>     What Sylvain wrote is correct: if you publish your GR OOT module,
>>>>     then you have to choose GPLv3 or a compatible FOSS license. I
>>>>     believe that by default the license is GPLv3, since that's what GR
>>>>     is. See also < http://www.gnu.org/licenses/license-list.html > for a
>>>>     list of compatible (and incompatible) licenses. - MLD
>>>>
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>>>>
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