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Re: Compliance with the GPL (cygwin)



VCDEasy is originally a Graphical Interface helping users to use VCDImager. 
Then I added cdrdao and some mjpeg tools to ease the VCD creation process. 
If I include in some VCDEasy distributions these command line tools, it is 
only to easy the end user setup. Note that VCDEasy is a Win32 native 
application, made with the free Personal Borland Delphi 6, it does not use 
cygwin directly.

I bought some components so I do not have the rights to publish them. So 
now, based on the fact that I will not publish the source, what should I do 
? Stop my VCDEasy freeware development ? Or does advertise for cygwin 
directly on my application can be enough ? Something else ? Distribute the 
Win32 gui only and tell the user to download everything else themselves... 
in this case I think I am ok with all the licenses... but it won't help the 
end users...  I am not deliberately violating the cygwin GPL license, I 
only try to help end users, I hope you can understand that. As I said, 
VCDEasy is a Win32 native application, it does not use cygwin directly.

Note that the situation is worse as I identified at least two commercial 
packages that sell my application (including VCDImager and CDRDAO) without 
any rights... They are making money...

delphi.stuff

At 19:46 12/04/2002 -0400, Charles Wilson wrote:
>License compliance for programs which use cygwin.
>   VCDImager (cygiwin-1.3.6)
>   cdrdao    (cygwin-1.1.8)
>   VCDEasy-full (BOTH cygwin's, since it includes the above)
>
>I'm ignoring the issue of multiple cygwin versions installed on the same 
>system, which may conflict with a "real" cygwin environment on the user's 
>computer, and with each other....that's a different topic (and I don't 
>know what the "right" solution is, so...skip it)
>
>Here, I'm only concerned with projects that are not complying with the GPL 
>license of the cygwin DLL.  Since all of these projects are part of the 
>open-source milieu, I know that any infraction of the license of another 
>open-source project is unintentional...but violations should be remedied.
>
>Note that it's very easy for each of these projects to comply with 
>cygwin's license (the GPL): just
>   1) make their own source available (true already, for most of them)
>   2) put a tarball of the (appropriate) cygwin DLL source code on
>      their ftp site with their other downloads,
>   3) ditto for other cygwin-linked libraries (zlib, libxml, libjpeg)
>      if applicable
>   4) mention the availability of the source code for libraries
>      used to create their windows port somewhere on their
>      webpage (not strictly necessary, but what's the point of
>      1 -- 3 if you don't advertise it?)
>   5) A plug for the cygwin project itself (http://www.cygwin.com)
>      would be nice, but definitely not necessary for license compliance.
>
>To dampen the inevitable arguments about the GPL:
>If you distribute a binary (such as cygwin1.dll) that is under the GPL, 
>then YOU have to also distribute the source code for THAT binary.  You 
>cannot just say "get the source over there, at cygwin.com".  If you don't 
>believe me, READ the GPL.  READ the commentary on it by RMS. In addition, 
>if you link your executable to a GPL'ed shared library (lik cygwin1.dll), 
>then you must distribute the source code for your executable, as well, or 
>you lose the right to use cygwin1.dll.  It's all there in the GPL.
>
>Chuck
>cygwin hacker
>
>VCDEasy includes:
>
>  cdrdao-1.1.5
>    which contains cygwin1.dll-1.1.8
>    cdrdao doesn't distribute the source of cygwin,
>      although it is opensource itself.  They DO
>      distribute a cygwin-linked "windows" binary
>      along with a copy of cygwin1.dll itself
>      (but no mention of the cygwin project anywhere)
>    BTW: not even cygwin distributes or uses this old
>      version anymore.  Fortunately, the VCDImager guys
>      went thru the effort of extracting from CVS and
>      creating a cygwin-1.1.8 tarball, back when they
>      were using that old version.  The cdrdao guys could
>      a) get it from them & redistribute it, or b) update
>      to a newer cygwin and get the source from us.
>
>  mjpeg-tools
>    which contains cygwin1.dll-1.3.6 and cygjpeg6b.dll
>    Now, the mjpegtools project doesn't seem to provide
>      windows binaries; the windows (e.g. cygwin) port
>      seems to be something the VCDEasy folks did.
>
>  VCDImager
>    which contains cygwin1.dll-1.3.6, cygz.dll, and cygxml-2.dll
>    VCDImager provides the src for cygwin, but not
>      zlib or xml.  (Actually, they provide LOTS of different
>      src tarballs -- probably more than they need to -- but
>      all for various versions of cygwin, not zlib/xml.
>
>So, to sum up:
>
>   VCDImager project: seems mostly compliant; need a reminder to
>   include also OTHER source code (zlib, libxml)
>
>   cdrdao: open source, but not complying with the cygwin GPL.
>     they need to distribute the source for:
>       cygwin-1.1.8
>
>   mjpeg-tools: they don't distribute cygwin-linked binaries, so
>     they are under no obligation to distribute cygwin sources.
>
>   VCDEasy (includes all of the above): provides no source, whatsoever,
>     for cygwin, cygwin-linked binaries, cygwin-linked dlls, nothing.
>     NADA.  ZILCH.  Totally non-compliant.
>   VCDEasy needs to distribute the source for:
>        cygwin-1.1.8
>        cygwin-1.3.6
>        zlib
>        libxml
>        jpeg
>        mjpeg-tools
>        vcdimager
>        cdrdao
>      AND
>        itself.
>
>Contact info:
>
>VCDImager:    hvr@hvrlab.org
>cdrdao:       Manuel Clos  at  cdrdao-devel@lists.sourceforge.net
>mjpeg-tools:  (not needed)
>VCDEasy:      delphi.stuff@vcdhelp.com



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