License for commercial perl application

[Leland123]

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Hi,

I'm a developer of a perl application. I would be the copyright holder of the application. The application uses several modules that can be found on cpan, like the perl DBI for PG and ODBC:SN. It also uses Mail::Sendmail, Apache:BI, CGI::Session, etc. It is my understanding that some of the modules are released under a General Public License, (eg GPL).

I would like to release my application under a commercial license that would allow me to control the source code and receive compensation from end users who download a licensed version of my application.

Is this possible? Is there a preferred license for commerical versions of perl applications. Perhaps someone has already address this, and can provide some insight regarding the issues.

Regards,

LelandJ
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My personaly understanding of all this open source stuff is that calling something externally that's GPL doesn't mean your internal code must be GPL as well. It's like a commercial audio editor using a lame.dll for encoding. You're still required to include copyright notices and how to get all the original versions of all the GPL stuff you use, but so long as you're not taking CGI::Session and hacking the module itself for proprietary inclusion, you should be okay.

Actually, I'm probably thinking more of Perl's Artistic License and its whole "original version" mentality. Still, if mysql is GPL and you write some C thing that interfaces with it, that doesn't mean the C thing must be GPL. So long as the GPL-ed code can be isolated from yours, I think you'd be okay, but what do I know?

There's probably some ethical/license kind of forum on TT that may be better suited to answer.

Andrew
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Thanks Andrew,

Your thoughts about licensing and the issues of using GPL modules required in another application is pretty close to my understanding as well.

Thanks,

LelandJ

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Information Technology Ethics in the Workplace Forum can be found here =>

http://www.tek-tips.com/threadminder.cfm?pid=717

Rob Waite

http://www.hostpipe.co.uk?src=TT

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Can anyone see any potential problem with releasing a commercial application that was developed using a language like perl, which is free under its artistic license. Also, the application uses perl modules developed by third parties and released under the General Public License (eg GPL) license.

Regards,

LelandJ


Leland F. Jackson, CPA
Software - Master (TM)

http://www.smvfp.com

Nothing Runs Like the Fox

 

[AdaHacker]

According to the Free Software Foundataion, if your program uses Perl modules distributed under the GPL, then it must be released under a GPL-compatible license.

http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html#IfInterpreterIsGPL

If the license is actually LGPL, then there shouldn't be a problem, but plain old GPL is a different story. If I were you, I'd consider using a different module and/or talking to my lawyer.

 

[Leland123]

Thanks,

I appears that I would definitely be required to release my application under a GPL that wasn't any more restrictive that the most restrictive GPL license of the modules my application uses. Below is from the GPL FAQ you provided.

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Another similar and very common case is to provide libraries with the interpreter which are themselves interpreted. For instance, Perl comes with many Perl modules, and a Java implementation comes with many Java classes. These libraries and the programs that call them are always dynamically linked together.

A consequence is that if you choose to use GPL'd Perl modules or Java classes in your program, you must release the program in a GPL-compatible way, regardless of the license used in the Perl or Java interpreter that the combined Perl or Java program will run on.

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Thanks for the information.

Regards,

LelandJ

Leland F. Jackson, CPA
Software - Master (TM)

http://www.smvfp.com

Nothing Runs Like the Fox

 

[icrf]

Which modules are specifically released under the GPL? Of those listed, I checked these:

DBI : Artistic/GPL
Mail::Sendmail : unlisted, Artistic/GPL assumed
Apache:BI : Artistic/GPL
CGI::Session : Artistic/GPL

Most modules leave it as the simple "licensed under the same terms as perl itself" which is the choice between the Artistic License and the GPL, and the AL surely allows this. If all your modules are released like that, or you can find and use modules that are, you shouldn't have any problems.

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Andrew

I work for a gift card company!