[OSGeo-Standards] Please review: Open Letter asking to avoid format fragmentation in LiDAR standards

[dirk frigne]

As long as the code from FastAC is not changed, and this is clearly
mentioned in LASzip as a library/algorithm used with a specific license,
I don't see any problems.

my2c
D.

On 11-04-15 13:43, Mateusz Loskot wrote:
> On 11 April 2015 at 13:19, Even Rouault <even.rouault at spatialys.com> wrote:
>> Le samedi 11 avril 2015 12:18:39, Sebastiaan Couwenberg a écrit :
>>> On 04/11/2015 09:24 AM, Cameron Shorter wrote:
>>>> I forgot to share URL:
>>>> http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/LIDAR_Format_Letter
>>> Are you aware of the legal issue in LASzip which likely contributed to
>>> ESRI developing their own alternative?
>>>
>>> LASzip contains code from the FastAC algorithm which allows distribution
>>> but not modification.
>>>
>>> The FastAC license is therefor incompatible with the LGPL-2.1+ license
>>> used for LASzip which guarantees the right to modification.
>> I believed the LGPL only guarantees the right to modification to the source
>> code that is licenced under LGPL, or am I wrong ? LGPL can (and does) put
>> constraints on code that uses it, but why/how could it put constraints on code
>> it uses ?
>>
>> Similar situation: I can write GPL/LGPL code that works on Windows and links
>> against Windows system libraries, which don't give right to modification, but
>> it doesn't invalidate the fact that I chose GPL/LGPL license for my code and
>> doesn't prevent anyone using it under their terms.
> You can't contain code of those Windows libraries in GPL/LGPL-ed library.
>
> Sebastiaan wrote "LASzip contains code from the FastAC", so the issue
> is still valid, isn't it?
>
> Best regards,

-- 

Met vriendelijke groeten
Dirk

ir Dirk Frigne
founder DFC Software Engineering


 <http://www.dfc.be/>








Brugsesteenweg 587
B-9030 Gent
Belgium
T: +32 9 236 61 96
E: dirk.frigne at dfc.be
www.dfc.be
Strongly involved into www.geomajas.org

BnP Fortis Paribas
290 0239807-44

IBAN BE55 2900 2398 0744
BIC:  GEBABEBB


-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.osgeo.org/pipermail/standards/attachments/20150411/6a391906/attachment-0001.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: DFC Software Engineering
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 50017 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://lists.osgeo.org/pipermail/standards/attachments/20150411/6a391906/attachment-0001.jpe>