On Tue, Apr 21, 2009 at 7:06 PM, Andy Quan <[email protected]> wrote:

> Dave/Nick et al,
> Many thanks for your informative answers!
>
> I have very limited understanding about the "infection nature" of GPL. In
> my understanding, as long as one of the source files or linked dynamic
> libs used to build certain lib is infected by GPL, the rest part, no matter
> it is inside that lib or only used as dynamic linked libs in building, have
> to be GPL, that is, to be open source.
>


> It is true that "sbc.c" is LGPL. Then I go up a few steps and find "sbc.c",
> "sbc_primitive.c", "liba2dp.c", "ipc.c" are used together to build liba2dp
> and they are also LGPL. However, as "libbluetooth" and a few other GPL
> dyamic libs are used as "LOCAL_SHARED_LIBS" for liba2dp, I assume that they,
> for example libbluetooth, would force the entire part of liba2dp to be GPL.
>

libbluetooth is not in LOCAL_SHARED_LIBS for liba2dp in the shipping
product. Every source file used to generate liba2dp is LGPL or APACHE.

http://android.git.kernel.org/?p=platform/external/bluez.git;a=blob;f=utils/audio/Android.mk;h=c0b4d107ff6a280aecf489e582697e79d8d2013c;hb=HEAD

So the 'infection' of the GPL license to linked source as you describe does
not apply for liba2dp.


> If this is true, my integration in sbc.c would have to be GPL as well, no
> matter it is linked as static lib or dynamic lib.
>

In a nut-shell:

If you replace liba2dp then you can use any license you like.

If you modify liba2dp then those modifications will probably need to be
LGPL, since liba2dp contains LGPL code.

GPL/LGPL is a tricky area and I recommend you get legal advice from a lawyer
familar with these licenses for an authorative answer.

Nick

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