From 4d1c6041f31f96f69e35cb4c1397ab0f7236b25c Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: "Adam D. Moss" Date: Sat, 26 Jul 2003 14:30:41 +0000 Subject: [PATCH] Explain the mix of licenses within the GIMP distribution, and make an 2003-07-26 Adam D. Moss * LICENSE: (new file) Explain the mix of licenses within the GIMP distribution, and make an explicit statement clarifying our position on invoking methods in GPL-implemented code from non-GPL plugins/extentions via libgimp and/or the pdb (ie. that this does not automatically GPL-infect the program doing the invoking, which is otherwise an ambiguity in the GPL). --- ChangeLog | 9 +++++++++ LICENSE | 26 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 2 files changed, 35 insertions(+) create mode 100644 LICENSE diff --git a/ChangeLog b/ChangeLog index 47f418750e..c185ed3b09 100644 --- a/ChangeLog +++ b/ChangeLog @@ -1,3 +1,12 @@ +2003-07-26 Adam D. Moss + + * LICENSE: (new file) Explain the mix of licenses within + the GIMP distribution, and make an explicit statement clarifying + our position on invoking methods in GPL-implemented code from + non-GPL plugins/extentions via libgimp and/or the pdb (ie. that + this does not automatically GPL-infect the program doing the + invoking, which is otherwise an ambiguity in the GPL). + 2003-07-25 Manish Singh * plug-ins/pygimp/gimpfu.py: slight fix for arg handling, shouldn't diff --git a/LICENSE b/LICENSE new file mode 100644 index 0000000000..65faf7f5bf --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE @@ -0,0 +1,26 @@ +* The GIMP application core, and other portions of the +official GIMP distribution not explicitly licensed otherwise, +are licensed under the GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE -- see +the 'COPYING' file in this directory for details. + +[ The below explicit exemption, we hope, clears up the GIMP +developers' position concerning an ambiguity with the GNU General +Public License concerning what constitutes a 'mere aggregation' +versus a combined or derived work. The intention is to make +it clear that arbitrarily-licensed programs such as GIMP plug-ins +do not automatically assume the GNU General Public License (GPL) +themselves simply because of their invokation of (or by) procedures +implemented in GPL-licensed code, via libgimp or a similar +interface to methods provided by the pdb: ] + +* If you create a program which invokes (or provides) methods within +(or for) the GPL GIMP application core through the medium of libgimp +or another implementation of the 'procedural database' (pdb) serial +protocol, then the GIMP developers' position is that this is a 'mere +aggregation' of the program invoking the method and the program +implementing the method as per section 2 of the GNU General Public +License. + +* 'libgimp' is licensed under the GNU LESSER GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE +-- see the 'COPYING' file in the libgimp/ directory for details. +