this post was submitted on 14 Sep 2024
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Thanks for the additional info! I don’t think this is good enough. The project is still under the GPL because it made use of GPL-licensed code.
Generally such an approach still has problems because you have to be sure you’ve replaced every single piece of GPL and that the new code wasn’t written simply re-implementing knowledge of the old code else there may still be an argument that the current iteration must comply with the GPL. He isn’t publicly providing evidence that he has permission from every contributor, so we can’t validate he isn’t misusing GPL code. However, this isn’t my main concern.
If you have anyone who has seen the GPL code write new code, that code is arguably also under the GPL. This has caused problems for other projects. If you really want to replace the GPL code, you have to bring new people in and write all the missing pieces. He is not free to implement this code himself because he has been tainted by knowledge of the viral code that was tightly integrated to the project in the past.
Again I am not a lawyer but this seems to be the general consensus on what you must do to implement this change properly. How I read this, the project is still under the GPL.
Sending as a second comment cuz I just now read your source, but it's different than what my original comment was.
I didn't realize the density that GPL code puts into your project, it does seem upon looking into it that that is correct that he cannot under GPL terms redistribute that software under the license that he's chosen. He is violating the GPL by doing so, because even with permission of the contributors, GPL code cannot be converted over to a lesser freedom code without a full rewrite, because code that was generated while under the GPL can't be locked down at a future date via a license that that is stricter than the existing one. The only thing you can do is make it less restrictive than GPL.
That being said, the only people who can report violations of code that is not following the GPL, are going to be copyright holders so if everyone was indeed okay with it there's no one who would be able to pursue the violation anyway
Not true.
He can't prevent anyone that received the code under the GPL from using (and distributing it) under the old license. He also can't relicense code that he received under the GPL only under the new license.
If he receives a new license from the other contributors to distribute under a more restrictive license, he can do that because he has a dual license to the code and is not relying on the GPL for his right to distribute.
My main concern is that he states that he has permission from every contributor so he isn't misusing it, then immediately locks the repository to only people who had contributed before.
I understand it's probably just a tactic to lower the amount of useless information from people wanting to comment from posts like this, but it doesn't look good from a point of view of declaring Victory and then retreating immediately.
Meh. Not what it looks like to me.