Dear GeoTools-Team,
Is it possible to relicense files packaged with geotools that are limited to
LGPLv2.1
in such a way that they can be used under LGPLv2.1 or later?
Background:
We would like to use geotools by default for our software product, the
atesio-fttx-optimizer
which is a backend optimization platform in the area of planning FTTx (fiber to
the x)
telecommunication networks. We would link it as a java library without changes
to the code.
Your website states that you are using the LGPL license.
Many of the provided files (if a license is explicitly stated in the file)
are in fact under LGPLv2.1.
More precisely, in some cases you restrict to LGPLv2.1 only as in
org.geotools.data.AllQuery.java (LGPLv2.1-only)
In other cases you allow the use with LGPLv2.1 or any later version
org.opengis.filter.capability.FilterCapabilities.java (LGPLv2.1-or-later)
In addition, we partially find third party code with licenses such as
- LGPL 3.0
- Apache-2.0
- Public Domain
- WTFPL
- MIT
- BSD-3-Clause
where you add LGPLv2.1-only to the original license, see for instance
org.geotools.xml.impl.DatatypeConverterImpl.java:
/*
* GeoTools - The Open Source Java GIS Toolkit
* http://geotools.org
*
* (C) 2019, Open Source Geospatial Foundation (OSGeo)
*
* This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
* modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public
* License as published by the Free Software Foundation;
* version 2.1 of the License.
*
* This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
* but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
* MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU
* Lesser General Public License for more details.
*/
/*
* Copyright 2003-2016 The Apache Software Foundation
*
* Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
* you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
* You may obtain a copy of the License at
*
* http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
*
* Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
* distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
* WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
* See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
* limitations under the License.
*
*/
This however is not consistent, as Apache 2.0 is not compatible with
LGPLv2.1-only,
see for instance https://www.gnu.org/licenses/license-list.html.en#apache2.
Notice that in such a case there is no problem when using LGPLv2.1-or-later
instead
("version 2.1 of the License, OR **(at your option) any later version**")
because
there are later versions of the LGPL that are compatible with Apache 2.0.
To avoid any license issues it would be a solution that those files which are
licensed
under "LGPL-2.1-only" are relicensed
** under LGPLv2.1 or later **.
This would ensure compatibility with Apache 2.0 as well as the alternative
licenses above.
Could you relicense the respective files under "LGPLv2.1-or-later" or would you
give us individually
the respective permission?
Yours sincerely,
Christian Raack
--
Dr. Christian Raack
fon +49 (30) 609882232
fax +49 (30) 609882299
atesio GmbH
Bundesallee 89
D-12161 Berlin
Germany
--
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