Re: GPL compatible ?

On 2008.04.13., at 6:51, Rahul Garg wrote:
> Hi.
> I am writing a compiler (written in Java) which I want to release
> under the GPL. I am considering Freemarker for generating output
> instead of the adhoc mechanism I have currently implemented.
>
> Is freemarker a good choice in such a case? Will I need to distribute
> Freemarker sources and do I have to mark them as under the GPL?

As far as I understand it:

You can incorporate FreeMarker into a GPL licensed product, no  
problems with that. You can't relicense the FreeMarker codebase itself  
under GPL[*], meaning that someone can extract FreeMarker (either its  
binary or its source) from your product distribution, and then use the  
extracted artifact compliant to BSD license, without observing GPL.  
You'll need to clarify in your product's license that various parts of  
it fall under different licenses - namely, that FreeMarker bits are  
BSD licensed, and your original work is GPL licensed.

BSD license doesn't require source distribution, so you needn't  
distribute the sources (but you can do it). By choosing GPL, you'll  
force whoever incorporates your compiler into their product to also  
ship their (and yours) source code with the product. But by willingly  
choosing to create a dependency on FreeMarker, you won't automatically  
extend these GPL restrictions to FreeMarker artifacts that you ship;  
they remain BSD licensed.

In essence, by choosing GPL for your original work you'll force other  
products that rely on your original work to use GPL, but those people  
can still use FreeMarker binary or sources - even when they take them  
out of your distribution - without being subjected to GPL, only BSD.  
You can not represent that a bundled FreeMarker artifact is GPL  
licensed, as that'd be falsity, you must be clear that your product is  
built out from several different components with varying licenses.

[*] Alternatively, you can take FreeMarker source code and relicense  
them under GPL. BSD license allows you to do that as long as you also  
observe the BSD requirements. You can no longer use the name  
"FreeMarker" in conjunction with it then though, in any way, including  
the Java package names. You're then essentially creating a GPL fork of  
the project, which is permitted, but you break any continuity with the  
name "FreeMarker" in that case. I don't think that's too sensible,  
though, as you'd need to keep your fork in sync with our future  
bugfixes etc on your own.

> Does
> Freemarker itself have any dependencies which again need to be
> distributed under the GPL?

FreeMarker can run without external dependencies. All its dependencies  
are optional.

Attila.

>
>
> thanks,
> rahul

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