[postgis-users] Is PostGIS effectively LGPL?

[Paul Ramsey]

Imagine PgSQL was GPL. Would most users of PgSQL have any concerns about
that? Probably not, right, because they are just using the unmodified
database, all their proprietary IP would be on the other side of the
client/server boundary.

That's 99.9% of the questions about PostGIS licensing, right there.

That leaves folks who are shipping proprietary PgSQL with PostGIS added in.
Are you wondering about them?

P


On Wed, Dec 21, 2016 at 10:28 AM, Bruce Momjian <bruce at momjian.us> wrote:

> I know PostGIS is GPL licensed.  However, I thought the major difference
> between the GPL and the LGPL was that the LGPL didn't require
> applications that link with the LGPL software to honor the LGPL
> requirements.
>
> Since PostGIS doesn't force applications that link to PostGIS to honor
> the GPL license, isn't PostGIS more like LGPL than GPL?  Here is the
> linking exception in the PostGIS FAQ:
>
>         http://postgis.net/docs/manual-dev/PostGIS_FAQ.html#license_faq
>
> FYI, This differs from the Free Software Foundation's interpretation of
> the GPL linking/license-transfer requirement:
>
>         https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.en.html#IfLibraryIsGPL
>
> --
>   Bruce Momjian  <bruce at momjian.us>        http://momjian.us
>   EnterpriseDB                             http://enterprisedb.com
>
> + As you are, so once was I.  As I am, so you will be. +
> +                      Ancient Roman grave inscription +
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