Re: Is database schema covered by the GPL?

[Hyman Rosen]

walterbyrd wrote:
> Suppose I create a seperate application which can read, or write, to
> the databases used by those applications. Suppose I find the structure
> of the databases by using PHPMyAdmin, or PgAdmin, or whatever.
>
> Would my application have to licensed under the GPL?

No. Look, it's a simple question. Does your application contain
a copy or derivative work of something copyrighted and licensed
under the GPL? (A derivative work in the sense of copyright law,
that is, a transformation of the copyrighted work representing
a significant work of authorship.) If the answer is no, then you
don't have to distribute your application under the GPL (although
you should, for the benefit of your users).

The GPL is a copyright license. Despite how the FSF would like
it to be, it does not come into play through interoperability.