Hi Drupalistas! This question has come up a couple of times in our local Drupal user group meetings, but the answer that was given didn't sound quite right to me: If I code a module for Drupal, does it -have- to be GPL? That is, is a module considered a 'derivative work' of Drupal? Or is a module considered it's own entity from an intellectual property standpoint (that is, can I use something like http://www.raizlabs.com/software/phpobfuscator/ to obfuscate my source code and sell my module without licensing it as GPL?) Because a module executes as a part of Drupal, must it be GPL? Taking that further, can we apply the same question to things like the Linux kernel? Is a kernel module required to be GPL? Can I sell a proprietary kernel extension? Thanks, Cameron Eagans
The folks who are enthusiastic on this topic are talking at http://groups.drupal.org/legal. I suggest continuing the conversation there, as this list is focused on development. On Thu, Apr 1, 2010 at 3:29 PM, Cameron Eagans <cweagans@gmail.com> wrote:
Hi Drupalistas!
This question has come up a couple of times in our local Drupal user group meetings, but the answer that was given didn't sound quite right to me:
If I code a module for Drupal, does it -have- to be GPL? That is, is a module considered a 'derivative work' of Drupal? Or is a module considered it's own entity from an intellectual property standpoint (that is, can I use something like http://www.raizlabs.com/software/phpobfuscator/ to obfuscate my source code and sell my module without licensing it as GPL?)
Because a module executes as a part of Drupal, must it be GPL?
Taking that further, can we apply the same question to things like the Linux kernel? Is a kernel module required to be GPL? Can I sell a proprietary kernel extension?
Thanks, Cameron Eagans
Uh oh... This topic has been hashed over many times on this list, and in the Legal group at g.d.o. I've included links to several past discussions below. There is one in particular from last year that I wasn't able to locate that also would be relevant, having 200 or more posts in it. http://lists.drupal.org/pipermail/development/2009-November/034323.html http://lists.drupal.org/pipermail/development/2007-August/026130.html http://groups.drupal.org/node/15269 http://groups.drupal.org/node/12648 http://groups.drupal.org/node/6318 http://groups.drupal.org/node/12624 I don't mean to cut your topic short, but the issue has been covered extensively in the past, and I don't think it would serve much to go over all the 'non-lawyer' opinions help by members of this list for the umpteenth time. Brian Cameron Eagans wrote:
Hi Drupalistas!
This question has come up a couple of times in our local Drupal user group meetings, but the answer that was given didn't sound quite right to me:
If I code a module for Drupal, does it -have- to be GPL? That is, is a module considered a 'derivative work' of Drupal? Or is a module considered it's own entity from an intellectual property standpoint (that is, can I use something like http://www.raizlabs.com/software/phpobfuscator/ to obfuscate my source code and sell my module without licensing it as GPL?)
Because a module executes as a part of Drupal, must it be GPL?
Taking that further, can we apply the same question to things like the Linux kernel? Is a kernel module required to be GPL? Can I sell a proprietary kernel extension?
Thanks, Cameron Eagans
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 Cameron Eagans schrieb:
Hi Drupalistas!
This question has come up a couple of times in our local Drupal user group meetings, but the answer that was given didn't sound quite right to me:
If I code a module for Drupal, does it -have- to be GPL? That is, is
http://drupal.org/licensing/faq#q7 Yes
a module considered a 'derivative work' of Drupal? Or is a module
Yes
considered it's own entity from an intellectual property standpoint (that is, can I use something like http://www.raizlabs.com/software/phpobfuscator/ to obfuscate my source code and sell my module without licensing it as GPL?)
No
Because a module executes as a part of Drupal, must it be GPL?
Yes
Taking that further, can we apply the same question to things like the Linux kernel? Is a kernel module required to be GPL? Can I sell a proprietary kernel extension?
That's off-topic. Cheers, Gerhard -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.4.10 (GNU/Linux) iEYEARECAAYFAku0+aQACgkQfg6TFvELooTS4QCeJJFBuIMQBkjO2qRigGHJbF/6 aXIAmgJrJtZ3aDtItsyXd/lI+eQWDRw/ =SPkW -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
On Thu, Apr 1, 2010 at 9:53 PM, Gerhard Killesreiter < gerhard@killesreiter.de> wrote:
Taking that further, can we apply the same question to things like the Linux kernel? Is a kernel module required to be GPL? Can I sell a proprietary kernel extension?
That's off-topic.
Off-topic, but relevant to the discussion: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loadable_kernel_module#License_issues Damien
participants (5)
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Brian Vuyk -
Cameron Eagans -
Damien Tournoud -
Gerhard Killesreiter -
Moshe Weitzman