My understanding is that LGPL can be DYNAMICALLY linked with arbitrarily licensed code (GPL of any version, proprietary, permissive, etc) as long as:
1) any modifications to the LGPL'd module are redistributed under the copyleft terms of the LGPL, and 2) patched/updated versions of the LGPL module can be freely swapped for the original (no signature checks etc) Static linking is a whole other can of worms because now you have a new derived work which is a combination of the two. It may indeed be the case that LGPL 2.1-only and GPL 3+ cannot be STATICALLY linked. But my reading of the license does not in any way prohibit dynamic linking. On 29/01/18 12:04, Wayne Stambaugh wrote: > Hey Seth, > > One of us missed something. Here is my interpretation: > > The opencascade website license states: > > "Open CASCADE Technology version 6.7.0 and later are governed by GNU > Lesser General Public License (LGPL) version 2.1 with additional exception." > > It makes no mention of later versions of the LGPL (including the > exception) so I am interpreting this as v2.1 only. I do not have a copy > (and I'm not going to sign up to get a copy so please check the > copyright in the source to see if it matches the website) of the > opencascade source archive to see if the license in the source > specifically states "v2.1 or (at your option) any later version" which > is typically how the GPL and LGPL are used. If it does, than I can > safely add this patch because I can make the claim that I am using > opencascade under at later version of the LGPL which is compatible with > the GPL 3 used by kicad. > > According to the folks at the FSF: > > "Please note that GPLv2 is, by itself, not compatible with GPLv3. > However, most software released under GPLv2 allows you to use the terms > of later versions of the GPL as well. When this is the case, you can use > the code under GPLv3 to make the desired combination. To learn more > about compatibility between GNU licenses, please see our FAQ." > > I hope this clarifies why I am hesitant to merge this patch and what > needs to clarified. Isn't licensing fun! ;) > > Thanks, > > Wayne > > On 1/29/2018 2:47 PM, Seth Hillbrand wrote: >> Hi Wayne- >> >> My reading of your links is different. Here's the relevant quote: >> >> "GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL) version 2.1 (#LGPLv2.1) This >> is the previous version of the LGPL: a free software license, but not a >> strong copyleft license, because it permits linking with nonfree >> modules. It is compatible with GPLv2 and GPLv3." >> >> Did I miss something? >> >> -Seth >> >> 2018-01-29 11:18 GMT-08:00 Wayne Stambaugh <stambau...@gmail.com >> <mailto:stambau...@gmail.com>>: >> >> Seth, >> >> There maybe licensing issues involved with this. OpenCascade is >> licensed using LGPL v2.1 not v2.1[1] or later. LGPL v2.1 is not >> compatible with GPL 3[2]. If OpenCascade is willing to change their >> license LPGL 2.1 or later or if this is just an oversight on their part, >> than I can include this patch. Please verify the OpenCascade license >> with something that I can verify to ensure we are not violating and >> licensing terms. >> >> Cheers, >> >> Wayne >> >> [1]: https://www.opencascade.com/content/licensing >> <https://www.opencascade.com/content/licensing> >> [2]: >> https://www.gnu.org/licenses/license-list.en.html#GPLCompatibleLicenses >> <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/license-list.en.html#GPLCompatibleLicenses> >> >> On 1/29/2018 1:54 PM, Seth Hillbrand wrote: >> > Hi All- >> > >> > Currently, the build requires the opencascade community edition. For >> > various reasons, I need to have the current non-community edition of >> > OpenCASCADE installed on my work machine. >> > >> > The attached patch allows compiling KiCad with either the OpenCASCADE >> > community edition or standard edition. >> > >> > I've tested on a homebrew-based Mac install as well as Linux but >> haven't >> > verified MSW, if someone would be willing to test it there, that would >> > be great! The basic search routines are lightly modified from >> FreeCAD's >> > logic and keep their LGPL copyright on the CMake file. >> > >> > -Seth >> > >> > >> > >> > _______________________________________________ >> > Mailing list: https://launchpad.net/~kicad-developers >> <https://launchpad.net/~kicad-developers> >> > Post to : kicad-developers@lists.launchpad.net >> <mailto:kicad-developers@lists.launchpad.net> >> > Unsubscribe : https://launchpad.net/~kicad-developers >> <https://launchpad.net/~kicad-developers> >> > More help : https://help.launchpad.net/ListHelp >> <https://help.launchpad.net/ListHelp> >> > >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Mailing list: https://launchpad.net/~kicad-developers >> <https://launchpad.net/~kicad-developers> >> Post to : kicad-developers@lists.launchpad.net >> <mailto:kicad-developers@lists.launchpad.net> >> Unsubscribe : https://launchpad.net/~kicad-developers >> <https://launchpad.net/~kicad-developers> >> More help : https://help.launchpad.net/ListHelp >> <https://help.launchpad.net/ListHelp> >> >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Mailing list: https://launchpad.net/~kicad-developers >> Post to : kicad-developers@lists.launchpad.net >> Unsubscribe : https://launchpad.net/~kicad-developers >> More help : https://help.launchpad.net/ListHelp >> > > _______________________________________________ > Mailing list: https://launchpad.net/~kicad-developers > Post to : kicad-developers@lists.launchpad.net > Unsubscribe : https://launchpad.net/~kicad-developers > More help : https://help.launchpad.net/ListHelp > _______________________________________________ Mailing list: https://launchpad.net/~kicad-developers Post to : kicad-developers@lists.launchpad.net Unsubscribe : https://launchpad.net/~kicad-developers More help : https://help.launchpad.net/ListHelp
