[Zope-dev] ZPL and GPL licensing issues

Jim Penny jpenny@universal-fasteners.com
Thu, 21 Jun 2001 11:08:30 -0400


On Thu, Jun 21, 2001 at 12:28:01PM +0200, Nils Kassube wrote:
> * Jim Penny <jpenny@universal-fasteners.com> [2001-06-20 19:12]:
>  
> > As far as I can tell you are wrong, but there are certainly gray
> > areas.  The last time this came up I wrote such a scenario up and 
> > tried to get FSF clarification.  Nothing ever came back.
> 
> I got a clarification from the FSF. It's in the mailing list
> archives at
> 
> http://lists.zope.org/pipermail/zope/2000-September/118024.html
> 
> Some topics never die :-) 

I went and reread the "clarification".

OK, consider this from another point of view.  If I have an operating
system may I install a piece of GPL software on the operating system?
May I redistribute the operating system?  With the GPL software?
May I invoke/run the GPL software?

My understanding is that the answer to every one of these is yes.

May I modify the GPL software and distribute it without giving
downstream the same opportunity.  Clearly no.

Now, s/operating system/zope/g

Do the answers to the questions change?  And, if so, why?

>From my perspective, and I think from fog's the answer is that
it should not change the answers.

Maybe the easy way out of this is to simply declare zope an
"operating system" rather than an "application".  Snippy
thoughts cut here.

> 
> Cheers,
> Nils
> 
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