Re: web services and GPL

[David Kastrup]

josh.kuo@gmail.com writes:

> Thank you David for the quick and detailed response, I really do
> appreciate it.
>
>> > that uses this web service (I see the web service like a library),
>>
>> The law doesn't.
>
> Thank you for clearning that up for me :-)
>
>> _Unless_ it contains GPLed (or otherwise licensed) software from
>> _third_ parties: in that case, of course, you need to heed the
>> licenses of those parties, whatever they may happen to be.
>
> Some pieces do use GPL'ed components.

This will come into play when you plan distributing or licensing the
software to others.  In that case, you have no choice except licensing
under the GPL (or risk getting sued by the authors of the GPLed
components).

If you merely use this as the code for a service of yours and don't
distribute or license the code itself, it should be irrelevant.

> Thank you for explaining in such detail, obviously, I don't know
> much about licensing...  I am just doing some research now so if the
> new boss asks, I know how to answer these questions.  Again, thank
> you very much :-)

You are welcome.  Note that I am not a lawyer, but that should pretty
much also be what you can get from the GPL FAQ at
<URL:http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html>.

-- 
David Kastrup, Kriemhildstr. 15, 44793 Bochum