Date: Fri, 10 Aug 2001 00:53:13 -0400 (EDT) From: Joe Clarke <marcus@marcuscom.com> To: Ted Mittelstaedt <tedm@toybox.placo.com> Cc: FreeBSD User Questions List <freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG> Subject: RE: BSD license question Message-ID: <20010810005102.K32966-100000@shumai.marcuscom.com> In-Reply-To: <002001c12157$4ea397e0$1401a8c0@tedm.placo.com>
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Thanks, Ted. This is what I thought, and what I understand. However, due to the incompatability (i.e. embrace and extend), the project will probably be relicensed entirely. It's a shame really, but the dev team thinks that once things go GPL, there will be a rush of developer effort put forth that will give the project new life. I guess we'll see. Thanks to all that responded. Joe Clarke On Thu, 9 Aug 2001, Ted Mittelstaedt wrote: > You really should read the BSD license - it is very simple and easy > to understand. Much more so than GPL if I say so myself. > > The BSD License does allow you to take source and binary and relicense > it under whatever more restrictive license you wish. Of course, the > original code still remains out there under the BSD license - just because > a later variant is under GPL does not invalidate the original BSD > distribution. > > The $64 catch, though, is that you CANNOT delete the original BSD > license from the GPL-licensed result. > > So the end result is that the GPL program will be under GPL but it > will still contain a copy of the BSD license. So, anyone reading it > that has a little better than oatmeal for brains will see that in there > and realize that the code originated from a BSD distribution. If that > person has something against the GPL they will no doubt go back to > the original BSD distribution and work on that, instead of the > "contaminated" GPLized distribution. In fact they might just take the > original BSD distribution and diff it against the GPL distribution, and > prepare a set of patches that are "contaminated" GPL code, which can > then be applied to the BSD distribution to create the GPL result. > > Ultimately, putting it under GPL will NOT in this case accomplish the goal of > the GPL - which is to prevent corporations and > others from making proprietary modifications. Those entities will still be > able to make modifications to the BSD distribution. The end result is > you have simply split the distribution into 2 separate distributions - one > GPL and one BSD - and these can further and further diverge from each other. > > However, it would seem to me that the _polite_ thing to do would be for > the developers of netatalk who have a bug up their butt about GPL could > simply write their stuff as a source file that's under GPL, and leave > the licensing of the rest of the source files alone. I understand of course > that due to the Embrace and Extend nature of GPL that the entire finished > product would fall under GPL - but at any time in the future it would make it > easy for a BSD person to rewrite the GPLized modules and put them into the > ORIGINAL BSD distribution of netatalk, if they felt the need to have a > BSD-licensed version of netatalk. Of course, politeness rarely occurs to > zealots. > > > Ted Mittelstaedt tedm@toybox.placo.com > Author of: The FreeBSD Corporate Networker's Guide > Book website: http://www.freebsd-corp-net-guide.com > > > >-----Original Message----- > >From: owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG > >[mailto:owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG]On Behalf Of Joe Clarke > >Sent: Thursday, August 09, 2001 11:47 AM > >To: FreeBSD User Questions List > >Subject: OT: BSD license question > > > > > >I realize this is off-topic, but please help me out here. I'm a netatalk > >developer. Netatalk is currently BSD-licensed code. There is a thread > >on the developers list to change netatalk from BSD to GPL. Is this legal? > >Can someone arbitrarily change the license of a project if they're not the > >author? I don't think so. Seems to me Microsoft would have taken Linux, > >said it's now BSD licensed, and used it in Windows XP ( ;-) ). Thanks for > >some clarification. > > > >Joe Clarke > > > > > >To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org > >with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message > > > > > To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message
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