gcc-help@gcc.gnu.org

[Jonathan Wakely]

On Mon, 11 May 2020 at 13:01, Keil, Jochen via Gcc-help <
gcc-help@gcc.gnu.org> wrote:

> Hello Florian,
>
> > * Jochen via Gcc-help Keil:
> >
> > > However, upon closer inspection of the GCC sources I found that the
> > > files in the `libcc1` and `libcpp` folders do only carry the licensing
> > > terms of GPL-3.0+ without any mention of the Runtime Exception. Is it
> > > still valid to use those libraries with statically linked proprietary
> > > code?
> >
> > You will ask your own lawyer for a definite answer.
> >
> > The intent is that libcc1 and libcpp can only used from programs which
> are
> > free software, regardless of how the program is linked.
>
> Thanks for your answer!
>
> For clarification, I was wondering if the license terms in
> `COPYING.RUNTIME` from the GCC distribution tarball root directory also
> apply to the `libcc1` and `libcpp` sub-directories.
>
> There are other directories where the files explicitly state the Runtime
> Exception in addition to the GPL-3.0+ license. But given the files for
> `libcc1` and `libcpp` we are not sure what the scope and purpose of the
> `COPYING.RUNTIME` file is. I don't think our lawyer can help with that
> question. 😊
>
>
They could read that file for you :-)

It says:

This GCC Runtime Library Exception ("Exception") is an additional
permission under section 7 of the GNU General Public License, version
3 ("GPLv3"). It applies to a given file (the "Runtime Library") that
bears a notice placed by the copyright holder of the file stating that
the file is governed by GPLv3 along with this Exception.

So it only applies to files which say so. If the files in libcc1 and libcpp
don't say it applies, it doesn't apply.