[Python-Dev] Python 2.0 license and GPL (Splitting up _cursesmodule)

[M.-A. Lemburg]

Thomas Wouters wrote:
> 
> On Wed, Dec 13, 2000 at 06:03:31PM -0500, Guido van Rossum wrote:
> > > I don't think that is a very safe bet.  Python 2.0 missed the Debian
> > > Potato boat.
> >
> > This may have had to do more with the unresolved GPL issues.
> 
> This is very likely. Debian is very licence -- or at least GPL -- aware.
> Which is a pity, really, because I already prefer it over RedHat in all
> other cases (and RedHat is also pretty licence aware, just less piously,
> devoutly, beyond-practicality-IMHO dedicated to the GPL.)
 
About the GPL issue: as I understood Guido's post, RMS still regards
the choice of law clause as being incompatible to the GPL (heck,
doesn't this guy ever think about international trade terms,
the United Nations Convention on International Sale of Goods
or local law in one of the 200+ countries where you could deploy
GPLed software... is the GPL only meant for US programmers ?).

I am currently rewriting my open source licenses as well and among
other things I chose to integrate a choice of law clause as well.
Seeing RMS' view of things, I guess that my license will be regarded
as incompatible to the GPL which is sad even though I'm in good
company... e.g. the Apache license, the Zope license, etc. Dual
licensing is not possible as it would reopen the loop-wholes in the
GPL I tried to fix in my license. Any idea on how to proceed ?

Another issue: since Python doesn't link Python scripts, is it
still true that if one (pure) Python package is covered by the GPL, 
then all other packages needed by that application will also fall
under GPL ?

Thanks,
-- 
Marc-Andre Lemburg
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