[Freegis-list] ERMapper ECW License problematic

[Tom Lynch]

 On 9/27/06, Jan-Oliver Wagner <jan-oliver.wagner at intevation.de> wrote:
>
> On Thursday 21 September 2006 11:12, HeinzJ wrote:
> > I think it is by law correct to use GPL/LGPL as a pattern for your own
> > licence. They write it down very clearly "similar" and not in footnotes
> > etc.
>
> thats not really point I am worried about. If you combine ECW and
> a (L)GPL software, there is simply a license violation, induced by
> contradictory ECW license.
>
> I wonder whether there are no such combinations out there - is
> anyone aware of one?



Hi guys,

Just to clarify, the Public Use License Agreement for ER Mapper's ECW and
JPEG 2000 codecs and the related SDK is not the same as the GPL.  It's
described as "GPL-style" to make it clear to potential licensees that it
carries a copyleft restriction for anyone wanting to distribute software
that uses it.

It is true, and somewhat unfortunate, that it does not conform to the FSF's
guidelines for "free" software.  This is something that comes under regular
review at ER Mapper.  We could, for the most part, transfer the license to a
straight GPL dual license, but we are somewhat concerned that the ECW format
might be modified by third parties, creating format compatibility problems.

Also, the SDK is a commercial product and its main focus is still commercial
licensing.

If anyone has further questions about the SDK's licensing, please fire away
:-)

Regards

-- 
Tom Lynch
Development, ER Mapper
Phone:      +61 (0) 434 929 287
Email:      tom.lynch at ermapper.com
Web:        http://www.ermapper.com
Forums:     http://forum.ermapper.com
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