[Fedora-legal-list] Seeking approval for use of LLGPL license

[Anthony Green]

Many Free Software libraries and programs written in Lisp are licensed 
under the terms of the "Lisp Library General Public License", or 
LLGPL.    It is essentially the LLGPL with a preamble that modifies it 
to make it more compatible with Lisp technology.

See http://www.cliki.net/LLGPL and 
http://opensource.franz.com/preamble.html .

I've included the text of the preamble below.

I am seeking approval to use the LLGPL for Fedora packages.  I already 
have one package that is approved, pending resolution of this question:  
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=427411

Thank you,

Anthony Green



*Preamble to the Gnu Lesser General Public License *
	 

Copyright (c) 2000 Franz Incorporated, Berkeley, CA 94704

The concept of the GNU Lesser General Public License version 2.1 
<http://opensource.franz.com/license.html> ("LGPL 
<http://opensource.franz.com/license.html>") has been adopted to govern 
the use and distribution of above-mentioned application. However, the 
LGPL <http://opensource.franz.com/license.html> uses terminology that is 
more appropriate for a program written in C than one written in Lisp. 
Nevertheless, the LGPL <http://opensource.franz.com/license.html> can 
still be applied to a Lisp program if certain clarifications are made. 
This document details those clarifications. Accordingly, the license for 
the open-source Lisp applications consists of this document plus the 
LGPL <http://opensource.franz.com/license.html>. Wherever there is a 
conflict between this document and the LGPL 
<http://opensource.franz.com/license.html>, this document takes 
precedence over the LGPL <http://opensource.franz.com/license.html>.

A "Library" in Lisp is a collection of Lisp functions, data and foreign 
modules. The form of the Library can be Lisp source code (for processing 
by an interpreter) or object code (usually the result of compilation of 
source code or built with some other mechanisms). Foreign modules are 
object code in a form that can be linked into a Lisp executable. When we 
speak of functions we do so in the most general way to include, in 
addition, methods and unnamed functions. Lisp "data" is also a general 
term that includes the data structures resulting from defining Lisp 
classes. A Lisp application may include the same set of Lisp objects as 
does a Library, but this does not mean that the application is 
necessarily a "work based on the Library" it contains.

The Library consists of everything in the distribution file set before 
any modifications are made to the files. If any of the functions or 
classes in the Library are redefined in other files, then those 
redefinitions ARE considered a work based on the Library. If additional 
methods are added to generic functions in the Library, those additional 
methods are NOT considered a work based on the Library. If Library 
classes are subclassed, these subclasses are NOT considered a work based 
on the Library. If the Library is modified to explicitly call other 
functions that are neither part of Lisp itself nor an available add-on 
module to Lisp, then the functions called by the modified Library ARE 
considered a work based on the Library. The goal is to ensure that the 
Library will compile and run without getting undefined function errors.

It is permitted to add proprietary source code to the Library, but it 
must be done in a way such that the Library will still run without that 
proprietary code present. Section 5 of the LGPL 
<http://opensource.franz.com/license.html> distinguishes between the 
case of a library being dynamically linked at runtime and one being 
statically linked at build time. Section 5 of the LGPL 
<http://opensource.franz.com/license.html> states that the former 
results in an executable that is a "work that uses the Library." Section 
5 of the LGPL <http://opensource.franz.com/license.html> states that the 
latter results in one that is a "derivative of the Library", which is 
therefore covered by the LGPL 
<http://opensource.franz.com/license.html>. Since Lisp only offers one 
choice, which is to link the Library into an executable at build time, 
we declare that, for the purpose applying the LGPL 
<http://opensource.franz.com/license.html> to the Library, an executable 
that results from linking a "work that uses the Library" with the 
Library is considered a "work that uses the Library" and is therefore 
NOT covered by the LGPL <http://opensource.franz.com/license.html>.

Because of this declaration, section 6 of LGPL 
<http://opensource.franz.com/license.html> is not applicable to the 
Library. However, in connection with each distribution of this 
executable, you must also deliver, in accordance with the terms and 
conditions of the LGPL <http://opensource.franz.com/license.html>, the 
source code of Library (or your derivative thereof) that is incorporated 
into this executable.