[ECOS] Re: Project ideas for graduate course

[Grant Edwards <grante at visi dot com>]

On 2007-07-31, Andrew Lunn <andrew@lunn.ch> wrote:
>>> IANAL, but i would want to take a close look at the license agreement
>>> before using this software.
>>
>> Me neither, but put in human words, the license agreement is there to
>> ensure 'derived software' (as defined in GPL) stays compatible with
>> the (open) EtherCAT standard and assures you won't suffer from patent
>> claims in case it does.
>>
>>> Also, it is GPL, which is probably not what you want.
>>
>> Who do you mean with 'you'? - IIRC the OP was asking for ideas for projects 
>> to be conducted by
>> graduate students, so I don't see why they would object agains the GPL.
>> - We (FMTC) wrote and open sourced the code
>> - As stated on the website, interested companies wishing to use this
>>   for closed products can obtain a LGPL version against a license fee.
>
> I mean "you" as in anybody wishing to use eCos and EtherCat. The
> problem is that it forces the application to be GPL. Most uses of eCos
> are in commercial products. Having eCos use "GPL+exception" is
> O.K. because it does not force the application to be
> GPL+exception. That is what the exception is for. The application,
> which contains all the IP, can remain closed. However once you make
> use of this GPL code, your application becomes GPL and you have to
> give the sources away.

I'm sure Andrew probably knows this, but just to pick a nit:
under the GPL you only have to give the sources away to the
people to whom you distribute the binaries.  Merely "making
use" of GPL'ed code puts you under no obligation to distrubute
source code.  It's the act of distributing the derivitive work
that does so.  Using GPL for an in-house project (e.g. a test
station or module) would place you under no obligation to
distrubute source code to anybody.

> The GPL code is also licensed under another license at the same time
> as being GPL. This i don't understand. How can it be GPL and something
> else at the same time.

I've never seen that claim before, though I've seen plenty of
projects that are available under alternative licenses.

> This is where i would want copyright lawyers to
> take a close look.

-- 
Grant Edwards                   grante             Yow! I like the way ONLY
                                  at               their mouths move ...  They
                               visi.com            look like DYING OYSTERS


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