LGPL and Java, and Python?

[Alexandre Fayolle]

Hello,

Reading Debian Weekly News, I learnt that there seem to be a problem
when importing an LGPL'd java library (this forces the importer to be
LGPL'd too), making the LGPL license equivalent to the GPL for Java
programs.

Here are a few references taken from DWN:

http://slashdot.org/developers/03/07/17/2257224.shtml
http://article.gmane.org/gmane.comp.jakarta.poi.devel/5900
http://linuxintegrators.com/hl30/blog/general/?permalink=LGPL+clarification.html
http://www.rollerweblogger.org/page/roller/20030716#for_java_lgpl_is_viral
http://www.intertwingly.net/blog/1519.html
http://radio.weblogs.com/0122027/2003/07/16.html#a56


I'm by no way a license expert, but it seems to me that the import
mechanism in python is closer to Java's than what is allowed to use a
python LGPL'd library in a non GPL/LGPL program.

Could anyone confirm or infirm this impression?

 

[Martin v. =?iso-8859-15?q?L=F6wis?=]

Could anyone confirm or infirm this impression?

To answer that question, one would need to know on what grounds the
FSF lawyer has decided that section 6b) of the LGPL is inapplicable to
Java.

Regards,
Martin

 

[Robert Kern]

Hello,

Reading Debian Weekly News, I learnt that there seem to be a problem
when importing an LGPL'd java library (this forces the importer to be
LGPL'd too), making the LGPL license equivalent to the GPL for Java
programs.

Apparently, this whole mess was a misunderstanding. The LGPL works as expected
with Java.

http://lists.debian.org/debian-legal/2003/debian-legal-200307/msg00234.html

--
Robert Kern
(e-mail address removed)

"In the fields of hell where the grass grows high
Are the graves of dreams allowed to die."
-- Richard Harter