Chuck:

I did not know a new version of LGPL existed.  You are correct, 
the COPYING file is correct (LGPL v2.1 or later applies).  I will
change the README file to reflect that in the next release of Judy.

As a historical note, HP wanted GPL/LGPL used because it did
not want the possibility to have to pay for using Judy in the future.  I wanted 
the
LGPL because it seemed the least restrictive to use and met HP's needs.
I was also concerned that people would add "bugs" to modified versions
in the future and "taint" the technology.  I wanted to review all modified
versions and potentially release them under LGPL.  (I retired from HP
in 2002 and still work on improving Judy in my spare time).

Thanks for your interest.

 
Doug Baskins <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>



----- Original Message ----
From: Chuck Anderson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: Doug Baskins <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Thursday, November 27, 2008 10:40:51 AM
Subject: Judy license confusion

I'm packaging Judy for Fedora, and I have been requested to get a 
clarification on the license.  The confusion is over which version(s) 
of the license apply, either LGPL v2, LGPL v2.1, or "LGPL v2.1 or any 
later version".

The README file says "GNU Lesser Public License (LGPL) Version 2.1, 
February 1999", implying that only version 2.1 of LGPL applies, and 
then refers to the COPYING file.

The COPYING file which is a copy of the LGPL v2.1 which says "GNU 
Lesser General Public License as published by the Free Software 
Foundation; either version 2.1 of the License, or (at your option) any 
later version.", implying that LGPL v2.1 or later applies.

Many source code files have a header at the top that says:

// Copyright (C) 2000 - 2002 Hewlett-Packard Company
//
// This program is free software; you canredistribute it and/or modify it
// under the term of the GNU Lesser General Public License as published by the
// Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your
// option) any later version.

which conflicts with README/COPYING, implying that LGPL v2 or any 
later version applies.

My guess is that the correct license is "LGPL v2.1 or later" but we're 
being extra careful before making such assumptions.

You can find the full discussion here:

https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=465897

It would be great if you could let me know which license version(s) 
apply, and eventually make a release that clarifies these differences 
between README, COPYING, and the source code files.

Thanks,
Chuck


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