[licensing@fsf.org: Re: [gnu.org #201605] Classpath code and licensing]

[Robin Rawson-Tetley <robin at rawsontetley dot ath dot cx>]

Hey guys - thought you might be interested in this (from previous thread
about reusing some classpath code in SwingWT and vice versa).

Looks like they're basically telling me to ask the classpath guys -
don't suppose the authors are on this list? It was largely Java2D code
we're interested in :-)

Cheers,

Rob

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On Tue, 2004-06-22 at 07:07, robin@rawsontetley.ath.cx via RT wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> This discussion took place recently on the GNU Java mailling list and I
> was hoping you could offer me some advice.
> 
> I'm the author of a free project to offer a native implementation of
> Swing on free platforms, based on SWT from the Eclipse foundation
> (http://swingwt.sourceforge.net)
> 
> One of my contributors mentioned that there is a quantity of Java2D code
> in the Classpath project that we may be able to reuse (again, we have a
> good quantity of code that Classpath could reuse).
> 
> SwingWT itself is licensed as LGPL, dual licensed with CPL (so
> recipients can choose), and we distribute SWT along with it (which is
> CPL).
> 
> Now this leaves us with license compatibility problems that I was hoping
> you could advise us on. Hopefully, the attached mail will help shed a bit
> more light on the subject.

Yes, you have serious license compatibility problems:

1. Because your code is based on SWT, your code has to be licensed under
the CPL (the CPL is a strong copyleft).
2. The CPL forbids you from also including Classpath source code (which
is under the GPL + an exception which doesn't apply to your case).  
3. The Classpath license may also forbid you from doing this.

Now, the Classpath authors, who have a rights grantback from FSF, could
just license their code to you under the CPL.  They might be willing to
do so, since they're willing to license their code under other terms
which are less restrictive than the GPL, and the CPL is just slightly
more restrictive.  Other than that, I can think of no solution but to
hope that eventually the GPL and the CPL converge.

-- 
-Dave Turner
GPL Compliance Engineer
Support my work: http://svcs.affero.net/rm.php?r=novalis&p=FSF



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Robin Rawson-Tetley (robin@rawsontetley.ath.cx)

I prefer encrypted email.
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