[Zope-dev] ZPL and GPL licensing issues

Gregor Hoffleit gregor@hoffleit.de
Thu, 21 Jun 2001 18:16:20 +0200


On Thu, Jun 21, 2001 at 10:02:34AM -0600, Casey Duncan wrote:
> To me this is the key point. If you GPL license a product (or other
> software) for Zope, you cannot subclass ZPL coded classes in your
> product without violating the GPL. This makes a strict GPL license
> nearly useless for Zope development and incompatible (license-wise) with
> Zope itself. What bugs me is when people point to the ZPL being the
> "problem", it is the GPL that is the limiting factor IMEHO. 

But that's a little bit like standing in front of a mountain and saying "Go
away", isn't it ?

>From the viewpoint of the GPL, the ZPL is the limiting factor, since it
employs restrictions (does it really ???) regarding the distribution of
binaries, and since it has a advertisement clause that restricts your right
to distribute Zope.

On the other side, from the viewpoint of the ZPL, these requirements of the
GPL are the limiting factor.

But I'm afraid the discussion on who's guilty won't solve the problem, which
indeed is perceived by all of us (is it ?).

    Gregor