[dev] JS-files should be MIT-licensed

Jan Schneider jan at horde.org
Wed Apr 30 07:07:28 UTC 2014


Zitat von Michael M Slusarz <slusarz at horde.org>:

> Quoting Michael M Slusarz <slusarz at horde.org>:
>
>> See my post on horde@ ... currently, some of our javascript files  
>> are labeled as GPL/LGPL, which can potentially cause issues for a  
>> service provider.  Since it can be argued that since you are  
>> distributing part of the GPL-licensed code, you have to provide  
>> access to all of the code.
>>
>> We should go through and ensure all code is labeled as MIT licensed  
>> and/or re-license as appropriate.
>
> Researching this more... it does appear that the generally accepted  
> view is that distributing javascript to the browser is NOT  
> distributing the *entire server-side* code, under the terms of the  
> GPL.
>
> See, e.g. https://drupal.org/licensing/faq/ (Drupal's take on the situation).
> -and- the fact that the Affero GPL was designed for this purpose  
> (use of web-service requires ALL server-side code/changes to be made  
> available):
> http://www.gnu.org/licenses/why-affero-gpl.html
>
> It's a stickier situation though with the requirements of  
> distributing the JS file itself when sent to the browser.  i.e. If  
> you serve the JS software in compressed form, you are most likely  
> required under the GPL to release original source.  Which shouldn't  
> be an issue (it is directly linkable/accessible on default installs).
>
> So still not sure what my conclusion is.  Although going through  
> this exercise makes me realize that we DO need to provide some sort  
> of link to original source in our minimize packages.  So that will  
> be the first step.
>
> michael
>
> ___________________________________
> Michael Slusarz [slusarz at horde.org]

Thanks for doing some research to this. I assume it's easier for you  
than for anyone else of use to grasp the subtleties of the licenses  
and their implications.

-- 
Jan Schneider
The Horde Project
http://www.horde.org/
https://www.facebook.com/hordeproject



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