Richard Fontana wrote: > I basically don't recognize "effective license" as a valid concept. I > see people using it, perhaps increasingly, but I never see any > definition of what it means. Here's an attempt at a definition of "effective license": Suppose I have a package with several source files, some of which are licensed as GPL-2.0-or-later and others as GPL-3.0-or-later. All the source files are compiled into a single executable file. GPL-3.0-or-later does not allow me to convey the executable as GPL-2.0-only. GPL-2.0-or-later allows me to convey it as GPL-3.0-only or a hypothetical later version. Thus the executable is – effectively – covered by the terms of GPL-3.0-or-later. I'd say that the effective license of the executable is GPL-3.0-or-later. If license x allows replacing itself with license y, then (x AND y) simplifies into y. The effective license of a combined work is y. If licenses x and y are compatible, so that it's possible to comply with the terms of both simultaneously, but neither allows replacing itself, then the effective license of a combined work is (x AND y). If licenses x and y contradict each other, so that it's impossible to comply with both, then the effective license is nil. Such a combined work is not allowed. All of the above applies only when sources under different licenses are combined to form a program or library based on those sources. It does not apply when a package contains multiple separate programs under different licenses. SPDX expressions don't make that distinction. That's not to say that people haven't been simplifying licenses more than the licenses actually allow. It may well be that combinations that can be simplified are very rare outside of the GPL family. Björn Persson
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