[haiku-development] Re: INPUT / VOTE : --include-gpl-addons

2009/8/20 Ingo Weinhold <ingo_weinhold@xxxxxx>:

> Back to the media codecs: They are loaded by libmedia and thus indirectly
> by the program (at least there's no separate process). So when we
> distribute a Haiku with such an add-on libmedia has to be GPLed. An
> application using this libmedia would also have to be GPLed (unless it can
> be considered a "major OS component").
> Since we could distribute a Haiku
> without the GPL add-ons, libmedia would be purely MIT, which in turn would
> pose no restrictions on application writers. So writing the application
> against the MIT libmedia would still allow it to be closed source and used
> with a GPL libmedia. This kind of sounds like working around the spirit of
> the GPL, respectively why people distribute their code under the GPL.
>
> CU, Ingo
>
>

Sorry but I can't get it.
Consider the following scenario:
- Someone writes a LGPL OS (A), with a LGPL media player, which accepts addons.
- Someone (else) writes a closed source os (B) with a closed source
media player, which uses the same addon interface as the above media
player, and it's binary compatible to it.
- A third person writes a closed source addon for the LGPL OS using
GPL code, and provide a binary package only for A (and B indirectly)

Should the writer of B be forced to provide the source code of B ?
Or, since the third person can't provide the source of B, he isn't
allowed to use the GPL code ?

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