[Python-Dev] (libffi) Re: Copyright issue (original) (raw)

"Martin v. Löwis" martin at v.loewis.de
Sat Jan 28 10:04:01 CET 2006

Bill Northcott wrote:

Quite so, but using the autotools does NOT include any GPL code in the resulting program.

Hmm. Please take a look at

http://cvs.sourceforge.net/viewcvs.py/checkout/ctypes/ctypes/source/gcc/libffi/aclocal.m4?rev=1.1.4.1

This file contains a large number of licensing text blocks, many of which read

This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify

it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by

the Free Software Foundation; either version 2, or (at your option)

any later version.

So it seems to me that this specific generated aclocal.m4 does include GPL code.

So this does not apply. All that is needed is to include in the source distribution a copy of GPL, note that GPL applies to some files in the sources and ensure that copyright notices at the heads of GPL files are intact.

If nothing in the generated files is licensed under the terms of the GPL, why would it be necessary to include a copy of the GPL?

The compiler needs specific exemptions because parts of the GPLed runtime libraries are included in all compiled code. No part of the autotools ends up in the finished code. If it did, you would need m4 to run Python and you don't.

It doesn't matter whether it ends up in the finished code: if the aclocal.m4 is indeed GPL-licensed, then the entire Python source distribution must be GPL-licensed, because it "contains or is derived from the Program or any part thereof".

Regards, Martin

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