[PD] Legal restrictions for apps

[Simon Wise]

On 06/02/14 00:36, Dan Wilcox wrote:
> Short answer: yes, it's sufficient to provide the object files and static
> libs
>
> As far as my understanding of GPL&  LGPL goes, you do not need to publish
> your app sources when using LGPL libraries as the "Lesser" part of the LGPL
> allows for distribution and is not viral.

yes, though 'viral' is a misleading term  ... the GPL does not, cannot, change 
any license for any other code, it is not infectious.

The GPL is certainly more restrictive (regarding re-distribution, not use, of 
the code covered) than for example the BSD or LGPL. It restricts the right to 
distribute/propagate as part of a larger work to works where the whole of the 
source code of that work is made available for reuse, modification and 
re-distribution either under the GPL or in any less restrictive way.

In the second case the GPLed code would no longer be licensed for distribution 
(and would have to be replaced or dropped or a different license negotiated with 
its copyright owners) if the work as a whole was modified and distributed with a 
more restrictive license. Whether this is useful or not has been very widely 
debated. The motivation for the GPL is stated in the license and the LGPL was 
written to cover some cases where the authors considered a less restrictive 
license useful.


Simon