Matthew Saltzman wrote:
What I want to do is take a GPL work and a work licensed under one of those other free licenses and combine them with code that I write and release under some free license (not necessarily GPL, but still free) and release the whole to the world. As a scientist, my interest is in building on knowledge created before to create new knowledge and solve new problems, and in telling the world about my discoveries. I have no interest in "using software for stealing money from others' bank accounts", and frankly, I resent the accusation. If the free license of the second work or the free license that I would choose for my own work is GPL-incompatible, my freedom to disseminate the new knowledge I create is restricted by the requirement of the GPL that the work as a whole be licensed under the GPL if any part is.
Given the intentionally divisive nature of the GPL, about the only way to make something simultaneously restricted by the GPL and yet less restricted at the same time is to package your work in a library that has a dual license like Perl's - one is the GPL, one without the restrictions where the choice is up to the distributor/user. Larry Wall was very clever in this approach to making his work usable in any context. You aren't bound by license terms on your own work or where you are the copyright holder and you can release different versions/copies under different terms. If you want to give others the same choices, though, a dual license makes it clear what you want to permit.
There are many others. As far as I know, the GPL is the only "free" license that places restrictions on code that is not part of the program being licensed.
That's the wrong way to say it because fanatics will jump in to point out that it can't place restrictions on other code. Instead, say it does not permit redistribution when other components are covered by different terms. The effect is the same, though.
-- Les Mikesell lesmikesell@xxxxxxxxx -- fedora-list mailing list fedora-list@xxxxxxxxxx To unsubscribe: https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-list
