Re: LYNX-DEV GNU licence help

[G. Del Merritt]

In-reply-to: "address@hidden"'s message of 4-DEC-1996 11:34:59.13
>Suppose you have this huge application, and you need a regexp package,
>and so you grab gnu's and have it called from within your huge application.
>
>Does that mean that you have to copyLeft your entire package,
>offering all your sources to anyone who wants them, eg competitors?

This is off-topic to Lynx-dev, I think.  Anyway, in the "early" days of the
GPL, this was precisely the idea.  RMS wanted to see all source code "free".
When more folk than not didn't like the strict interpretation of the GPL, a
version of the GPL for library code was created.

>If so, then how's this for a solution?  A script for the USER
>to run during INSTALLATION, that grabs that gnu-code off the net
>if not already there, outputs a makefile, etc -- then tells the
>USER to type "make".  That way it is the USER that is hooking-in
>the gnu code -- and it is (presumably) for "personal" use, too.
>
>Have him answer "yes" to "want to download the gnu stuff" before
>you do it.
>
>Could this be a legal approach that also keeps your proprietary
>code private?

If the code is under the original GPL, then this is not an option (though I
confess I haven't read the GPL thoroughly in a couple of years).  The issue is
that, if your code is crippled by the lack of a GNU thing, tough; you have to
GPL your stuff too.  However, if your code can still function (the GNU hook
was just one hook of several), the water got murky.  Similarly, if your code
hooked into a GNU module via a system() call, or a dll or .so or RTL
mechanism, the water was also murky.  So, the GPL for Libraries (or some
similar name) was created, and exists in parallel with the origianl GPL.

You could/should review the current discussion(s) in gnu.misc.discuss; this is
a FAQ there.  If you aren't satisfied with that, you can post a question there
as well.  Then, if it's still/actually related to Lynx, post the summary
here... 

-- 
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