LGPL is Viral for Java

carlfish writes "According to this post to POI-dev, Dave Turner (Mr License) of the FSF has decreed that the steps required to use an LGPL'd Java library will actually infect client code with substantial GNU-ness via Section 6 of the LGPL. (The "Lesser" GPL is supposed to protect only the Library, without infecting code using the library) This, as you might imagine, puts a few LGPL Java projects that previously thought they were embeddable without being viral in a bit of a bind. Various weblogs have further coverage." Update: 07/18 02:44 GMT by CN : The FSF's Executive Director, Brad Kuhn adds "LGPL's S. 6 allows you to make new works that link with the LGPL'ed code, and license them any way you see fit. Only the LGPL'ed code itself must remain Free. Such 'client code' can even be proprietary; it need not be LGPL'ed."

Comments

Apparently this post is GPLed...

[aftk2]

...because it's been posted in this discussion at least three separate times. You know, I have mod points. And finally a good reason to use them. But I think I'll respond instead.

• First it was as keesh. The result? "0: Redundant."
• Several threads later, as ADOT Troll, you said pretty much the same thing. Too bad, same result. "0: Redundant."

Third times the charm.