Since the MySQL-python package is licensed GPLv2+, does that mean that any projects which happen to import "mysql-python" must be released under the GPL?
- Ken
Hi,
On Wed, 13 Mar 2013 10:36:18 -0600 Ken Dreyer ktdreyer@ktdreyer.com wrote:
Since the MySQL-python package is licensed GPLv2+, does that mean that any projects which happen to import "mysql-python" must be released under the GPL?
IANAL, and I am just a licensing enthusiast.
If I am not mistaken (which I easily may be, so anyone is free to tear this mail to shreds), the FSF's stance is that yes, this consitutes a derivative work and henceforth, you are required to use GPLv2 or later as well.
Spot or someone from Legal will surely give you a sounder answer.
Tomas Radej
- Ken
legal mailing list legal@lists.fedoraproject.org https://admin.fedoraproject.org/mailman/listinfo/legal
On Wed, Mar 13, 2013 at 12:09 PM, Tomas Radej tradej@redhat.com wrote:
If I am not mistaken (which I easily may be, so anyone is free to tear this mail to shreds), the FSF's stance is that yes, this consitutes a derivative work and henceforth, you are required to use GPLv2 or later as well.
One of the reasons I ask is that Django is importing the MySQLdb module [1], and Django itself is under the MIT license. If the Python MySQL module will force any dependency to be GPLv2, that could have big implications for the Django stack.
At work my organization is trying to release as open-source a Django web app that uses MySQL, so I am trying to understand what the license must be.
Here's an email from the MySQLdb author that states the GPL would not extend to cover the web application itself [2]
- Ken
[1] https://github.com/django/django/blob/master/django/db/backends/mysql/base.p... [2] http://sourceforge.net/p/mysql-python/discussion/70460/thread/9ae42ab5/
On Thu, 14 Mar 2013, 05:39:24 LHST, Ken Dreyer ktdreyer@ktdreyer.com wrote:
On Wed, Mar 13, 2013 at 12:09 PM, Tomas Radej tradej@redhat.com wrote:
If I am not mistaken (which I easily may be, so anyone is free to tear this mail to shreds), the FSF's stance is that yes, this consitutes a derivative work and henceforth, you are required to use GPLv2 or later as well.
At work my organization is trying to release as open-source a Django web app that uses MySQL, so I am trying to understand what the license must be.
Remember the fsf has an address you can ask general (eg not fedora specific ) questions at. http://www.fsf.org/licensing/education
Here's an email from the MySQLdb author that states the GPL would not extend to cover the web application itself [2]
[2] http://sourceforge.net/p/mysql-python/discussion/70460/thread/9ae42ab5/
thanks, kk
On 03/13/2013 12:36 PM, Ken Dreyer wrote:
Since the MySQL-python package is licensed GPLv2+, does that mean that any projects which happen to import "mysql-python" must be released under the GPL?
No. GPL doesn't work like that. If you copied and pasted code from the MySQL-python code into another project, that copied code would still be GPLv2+, and it is possible that if the rest of the code was GPLv2+ incompatible, the resulting code combination would be a licensing mess that no one could use.
Now, an argument could be made that any projects which happen to "import mysql" would need to be GPLv2+ compatible, but Fedora doesn't take that stance.
See: https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Licensing:FAQ?rd=Licensing/FAQ#What_about_the...
hth,
~tom
== Fedora Project
On Thu, Mar 21, 2013 at 12:26 PM, Tom Callaway tcallawa@redhat.com wrote:
Now, an argument could be made that any projects which happen to "import mysql" would need to be GPLv2+ compatible, but Fedora doesn't take that stance.
See: https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Licensing:FAQ?rd=Licensing/FAQ#What_about_the...
Thanks very much for replying! That makes sense.
- Ken
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Karl Goetz -
Ken Dreyer -
Tom Callaway -
Tomas Radej