SOT: License issues ....

[Thomas Weholt]

I got a small project going in which I plan to use at least two other
libraries with different license policies than the one I've chosen for mine,
the one used for Python. One is BSD-based and the other is a similar
open-source variant. In addition to those non-pythonic libraries I will be
using lots of other python libraries from various sources and authors, many
of which have different license policy than Python itself allthough they're
open-source as well.

How do one mix libraries with different variants of open-source licenses in
one project? What should I avoid using - if any?

Best regards,
Thomas

 

[Paolo Alexis Falcone]

I got a small project going in which I plan to use at least two other
libraries with different license policies than the one I've chosen for mine,
the one used for Python. One is BSD-based and the other is a similar
open-source variant. In addition to those non-pythonic libraries I will be
using lots of other python libraries from various sources and authors, many
of which have different license policy than Python itself allthough they're
open-source as well.

How do one mix libraries with different variants of open-source licenses in
one project? What should I avoid using - if any?

Best regards,
Thomas

A careful reading of all licenses that you'd use would reveal if these
licenses are compatible with each other for distribution.

Basically here's the deal - most open-source licenses allow you to freely
modify, copy, execute and distribute your changes or software. Most of
them differ in some aspects (like some licenses don't allow use of a
certain library if it would be used for proprietary commercial usage; the
GPL has its own terms of usage, as well as others)

Example of something that would work - a GPL'd program using
some BSD-licensed code -> as the BSD license allows for the free usage of
code even it would be included in an open-source or proprietary
application. Another example -> using a proprietary app which would link
dynamically to an LGPL'd library -> as the license particularly allows
such.