gEDA-dev: GPL clarification text -- please review & comment/flame!
DJ Delorie
dj at delorie.com
Thu Mar 15 13:45:17 EDT 2007
> * We wish to distribute the symbols and footprints under a licencing
> scheme which encourages that you give back to the community if you
> make changes to the symbols or footprints. The GPL ensures this.
The GPL does *not* do anything about giving back if you make changes.
It only prevents you from stopping people from making changes. This
is a common misconception; the GPL is about freedoms for the *user*,
not benefits for the *developer*.
> * We wish to specifically prohibit anybody from building our
> symbols or footprints into their products,
Replace "symbols or footprints" with "symbol or footprint libraries"
and replace "products" with "EDA products". Let's not confuse
distribution-as-library with distribution-in-board.
> If we distribute symbols or footprints with a licence contained
> within the symbol/footprint file, then the file should contain the
> entire GPL along with the above text.
The gedasymbols.org way is to include a reference to the license, not
the license itself, in the symbol/footprint file. For footprints,
there are three cases:
* The footprint library.
* Footprints embedded in .pcb files.
* The resulting copper expression on a board.
We use "dist-license" for the first, and "use-license" for
(ambiguously) the second and/or third, depending on your
interpretation of copyright law.
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