GNU LGPL and Mozilla Public Licence
Author
After a previous question was answered (http://www.gamedev.net/community/forums/topic.asp?topic_id=497921), I came across a different kind of problem...
Section 13 of the Mozilla Public Licence allows small parts of source code licensed under it to be used in a project licensed under the GNU General Public Licence. Putting aside the ambiguous definition of small parts, can such source code be used in a project licensed under the GNU Lesser General Public Licence?
They have told you what terms it may be used under - The General Public License. They haven't given permission for it to be used under the Lesser General Public License so it can't be, unless you contact them and get permission.
Author
Sorry, just to clarify, Section 13 of the Mozilla Public Licence reads the following:
---
13. Multiple-licensed code
Initial Developer may designate portions of the Covered Code as "Multiple-Licensed". "Multiple-Licensed" means that the Initial Developer permits you to utilize portions of the Covered Code under Your choice of the MPL or the alternative licenses, if any, specified by the Initial Developer in the file described in Exhibit A.
Exhibit A - Mozilla Public License.
"The contents of this file are subject to the Mozilla Public License
Version 1.1 (the "License"); you may not use this file except in
compliance with the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at
http://www.mozilla.org/MPL/
Software distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS"
basis, WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the
License for the specific language governing rights and limitations
under the License.
The Original Code is ______________________________________.
The Initial Developer of the Original Code is ________________________.
Portions created by ______________________ are Copyright (C) ______
_______________________. All Rights Reserved.
Contributor(s): ______________________________________.
Alternatively, the contents of this file may be used under the terms
of the _____ license (the "[___] License"), in which case the
provisions of [______] License are applicable instead of those
above. If you wish to allow use of your version of this file only
under the terms of the [____] License and not to allow others to use
your version of this file under the MPL, indicate your decision by
deleting the provisions above and replace them with the notice and
other provisions required by the [___] License. If you do not delete
the provisions above, a recipient may use your version of this file
under either the MPL or the [___] License."
---
My mention of the GNU General Public Licence came from the Free Software Foundation's licence comparisons.
---
13. Multiple-licensed code
Initial Developer may designate portions of the Covered Code as "Multiple-Licensed". "Multiple-Licensed" means that the Initial Developer permits you to utilize portions of the Covered Code under Your choice of the MPL or the alternative licenses, if any, specified by the Initial Developer in the file described in Exhibit A.
Exhibit A - Mozilla Public License.
"The contents of this file are subject to the Mozilla Public License
Version 1.1 (the "License"); you may not use this file except in
compliance with the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at
http://www.mozilla.org/MPL/
Software distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS"
basis, WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the
License for the specific language governing rights and limitations
under the License.
The Original Code is ______________________________________.
The Initial Developer of the Original Code is ________________________.
Portions created by ______________________ are Copyright (C) ______
_______________________. All Rights Reserved.
Contributor(s): ______________________________________.
Alternatively, the contents of this file may be used under the terms
of the _____ license (the "[___] License"), in which case the
provisions of [______] License are applicable instead of those
above. If you wish to allow use of your version of this file only
under the terms of the [____] License and not to allow others to use
your version of this file under the MPL, indicate your decision by
deleting the provisions above and replace them with the notice and
other provisions required by the [___] License. If you do not delete
the provisions above, a recipient may use your version of this file
under either the MPL or the [___] License."
---
My mention of the GNU General Public Licence came from the Free Software Foundation's licence comparisons.
OK then the same answer applies except that the license you can use it under is the Mozilla Public License instead of the GNU General Public Licence or GNU Lesser General Public Licence - unless the original developers have stated that you can.
The extract you posted shows that it is covered by the MPL and can be used in accordance with that License. I don't know what the terms of that are but you would need to ensure you stay within them. In addition it has space for the developer of certain parts of the code to nominate other licenses that their section of code can be used under - you would need to check the particular pieces of code you want to use to see if such additional rights have been granted or not.
[Edited by - Obscure on June 24, 2008 5:49:00 AM]
The extract you posted shows that it is covered by the MPL and can be used in accordance with that License. I don't know what the terms of that are but you would need to ensure you stay within them. In addition it has space for the developer of certain parts of the code to nominate other licenses that their section of code can be used under - you would need to check the particular pieces of code you want to use to see if such additional rights have been granted or not.
[Edited by - Obscure on June 24, 2008 5:49:00 AM]
Author
I have sent an e-mail to the author of GraphicEx regarding the matter - all I can do now is wait.
Thank you for your explanations, Obscure. (P.S. They didn't live up to your namesake!!)
Thank you for your explanations, Obscure. (P.S. They didn't live up to your namesake!!)
This topic is closed to new replies.
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