Is the MySQL FOSS License Exception transitive - does it remove the GPL restrictions for downstream
- by Eric
I'm looking at building a MySQL client plugin for a proprietary product, which would violate the GPL
as discussed in the FAQ at http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html#NFUseGPLPlugins
However, according to the MySQL FOSS License Exception ("FLE"), discussed at
http://www.mysql.com/about/legal/licensing/foss-exception/,
you can license an open-source product built with the client with
many alternatives. The oursql library (https://launchpad.net/oursql)
is BSD-licensed.
Is this a valid way around the GPL? By my reading of the FLE, the only clause that
refers to downstream uses of derived works is section 2.e:
All works that are aggregated with the Program or the Derivative Work
on a medium or volume of storage are not derivative works of the
Program, Derivative Work or FOSS Application, and must reasonably be
considered independent and separate works.
This is the case for our product: it is not a derivative work of
oursql, and in fact accesses it only via a plugin-driven interface.
So is this a valid loophole?
