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> In principle you could distribute your code under GPL-incompatible licenses, but only as a piece of useless source code. It's not useless. Your customers can
by perlgeek 14y ago
> In principle you could distribute your code under GPL-incompatible licenses, but only as a piece of useless source code.
It's not useless. Your customers can compile it, and link it to the GPLed library. After all the GPL allows you absolute freedom of use, as long as you don't distribute the derivative work.
- ajross 14y agoNo, the point is that your code is the derivative work. If you distribute it to the customer with the intent of it being a useful integration, you can only do so legally under the GPL. The GPL library owner could sue you to stop that distribution. Obviously there's some gray area if you, say, publish your code in the context of fair use (as an academic paper, say) and someone else does the integration work without your blessing (this is what I meant by "useless piece of source code"). But simply saying "build it yourself" is not a get out of jail free card for the GPL.
- perlgeek 14y agoIf my code just uses APIs from a GPLed library, how is it a derivative work? APIs aren't copyrightable (yay). In my understanding only the compiled result which links to the GPLed library is a derivative work.