"Alexander V. Konstantinou" wrote:
>
> > PocketLinux and Kaffe are free (GPL) software, however non-GPL licenses
> > of the PocketLinux Kaffee JVM are available for a fee. Several PDA
>
> Is that legal? I thought once you GPLed code you cannot offer it under
> a different license since it is likely to contain third-party contributions?
It can be. The copyright holder can license the copyrighted code to
different parties under different terms at their discretion. Obviously,
diluting your copyright with outside submissions may lock you into the
GPL.
I just looked at a sample of Kaffe source files on their WebCVS, and
they are all "Copyright Transvirtual Technologies, All Rights
Reserved." I suspect that Transvirtual Technologies (TVT) are being
careful not to dilute their copyright.
The PocketLinux website and Kaffe "readme" files seem to encourage
porting of Kaffe and contributing "extensions" and "applications," which
probably allows them to segment the outside contributions.
I know that there are some staunch GPL advocates working at TVT who have
made it clear that they would quit on the spot if they felt their work
would not be made available under the GPL or if free software principles
were violated in anyway. Any speculations that TVT are playing dirty
with free software are *flat wrong*.
There is more detail on their licensing at:
http://www.kaffe.org/FAQ.html
I'm honestly a little confused myself, but it looks like there is a code
fork between Kaffe and Kaffe OpenVM, where Kaffe remains copyrighted by
TVT and Kaffe OpenVM is locked into the GPL by inviting all comers.
That is implied on this page:
http://www.kaffe.org/develop.html
Sorry for the long-winded response, but Tim Wilkinson, Peter Mehlitz,
TVT and the Kaffe projects are really stellar Open Source supporters and
contributors and I didn't want my previous off-hand comment to end up
generating any rumors to the contrary.
-- Charles
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