[Opensim-dev] GPL / BSD licensing dangers

Wed Jun 30 14:03:08 UTC 2010

Mike,

*> Diva, your message as worded sounds to me like you *
*> would accept contributions so long as there were no *
*> GPL licensed code in the submission. *

Not sure what you read (or misunderstood), or where you would have derived
that conclusion from, but from what I just read from Diva's previous post,
it seems to be that you're completely wrong in your assumption.  Where did
you draw that conclusion from?  I don't think Diva said ANYTHING like that
in her post.

Diva simply stated:

*> **Hence, the "no risks" rule. We do not take patches from anyone *
*> who is actively involved in the development of viewers from the *
*> LL viewer family.*
*

I'm not sure what you "misunderstood" but it seems that Diva is simply just
saying/repeating the same exact thing, and the way that it's always been.
 No contributions from those working on the LL viewer.

>If, however, you are talking about your own modules that aren't part *
*>of the official OpenSim distribution, then OpenSim has no say *
*>about it -- do whatever you want. No one here is in a position to *
*> give legal advice.*

Diva is strictly referring to OpenSim core, not any individual's personal
modules.  This is just core.  As for a person's individual modules, that is
up to the individual.

> Modules external to core of course don't carry any prohibition.
> In doing that I'm simply using API's the project has provided
> and how I conform to licenses involved is my business.

I believe that is exactly what Diva has said (in her own words).  Modules
external to core don't carry any prohibition (they are beyond the scope of
OS core) and it's up to the individual writing their own personal module to
comply with any licensing compatibility "issues", but from what I just read
- the stand as far as core is concerned still stays the same.

No patches from those involved in the development of viewers from the LL
viewer family.

*> **Hence, the "no risks" rule. We do not take patches from anyone *
*> who is actively involved in the development of viewers from the *
*> LL viewer family.*
*
*
******
Seems pretty clear.  I believe it might not hurt to say that "development"
would be considered anyone that looks at or reads the LL viewer code.  So
choose one or the other (viewer development side, or server development
side) but we've always tried to draw a line in the sand and keep the two
sides divided (just to protect the project from any IP/copying issues).

If you're looking for a BSD compatible viewer, and don't want to deal with
any "GPL" issues at all, then look at Naali.  You can work on both Naali and
OpenSim at the same time, as they are both BSD license based, and you don't
have the license compatibility issues that were faced with the old LL-based
viewers.

*> **OpenSIM core can't include GPL'd code into the BSD licensed core*

There is no GPL'd code in the BSD licensed core.  It's the same as it's
always been.

http://opensimulator.org/wiki/Contributions_Policy

On Wed, Jun 30, 2010 at 8:25 AM, Dickson, Mike (ISS Software) <
mike.dickson at hp.com> wrote:

>  Ok, this is a slightly different position than I've heard before...
>
>
>
> The issue of simple code inclusion is well defined IMO, OpenSIM core can't
> include GPL'd code into the BSD licensed core without running afoul of the
> GPL.  That's a simple license compatibility issue.  But in the past what
> I've heard is that you don't want contributions from people who have read or
> worked on viewer code because of concerns of copying IP (that is... knowing
> something about the client implementation might taint the server code
> because I'd use that info when implementing a server change).    Is that not
> the case?  Diva, your message as worded sounds to me like you would accept
> contributions so long as there were no GPL licensed code in the submission.
> I.E. Your issue is no direct code copying, not intellectual property
> related.
>
>
>
> Modules external to core of course don't carry any prohibition.  In doing
> that I'm simply using API's the project has provided and how I conform to
> licenses involved is my business.
>
>
>
> Mike
>
>
>
> *From:* opensim-dev-bounces at lists.berlios.de [mailto:
> opensim-dev-bounces at lists.berlios.de] *On Behalf Of *Diva Canto
> *Sent:* Wednesday, June 30, 2010 8:03 AM
> *To:* opensim-dev at lists.berlios.de
> *Subject:* Re: [Opensim-dev] GPL / BSD licensing dangers
>
>
>
> The issue here is not BSD+GPL licenses in general, although that's also an
> issue to worry about; the issue we most vocally warn people about is very
> specific to OpenSim and Second Life. OpenSim has been made legally possible
> due to the generosity of Linden Lab's publishing their protocols by means of
> some public documentation and, yes, open sourcing the client [under GPL]. So
> far, we have had the passive and, at points, active support of Linden Lab in
> developing OpenSim. But, as we all know, Linden Lab is a relatively
> unpredictable company; at any point, it could be acquired by another company
> who is less enthusiastic about a free BSD open source server side to their
> client. In the absolute worst case scenario, that other company could cause
> us a lot of grief if OpenSim includes code directly derived from GPL'ed
> viewer code. (I don't want to start a rhetorical discussion about this;
> that's just the worst case scenario, period.)
>
> Hence, the "no risks" rule. We do not take patches from anyone who is
> actively involved in the development of viewers from the LL viewer family.
>
> If, however, you are talking about your own modules that aren't part of the
> official OpenSim distribution, then OpenSim has no say about it -- do
> whatever you want. No one here is in a position to give legal advice.
>
> On 6/30/2010 4:18 AM, Neil Canham wrote:
>
> Would anyone be able to tell me about the warning for any one person not to
> work on both the OpenSim source and a viewer such as Hippo?  I understand
> that there are licensing differences (BSD vs GPL respectively) and that
> direct inclusion of GPL code in a BSD project breaks the GPL license.
>  Surely you could guard against such direct inclusion?  Does this extend to
> region modules and mini-region modules?  I'm in the position of wanting to
> make changes to the viewer and also to write MRMs or other modules.
>
> --
> Neil Canham
> --
>
>
>
>
>
>
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