OpenPGP in Rust: the Sequoia project [LWN.net]

OpenPGP in Rust: the Sequoia project

Posted Sep 11, 2020 19:48 UTC (Fri) by geofft (subscriber, #59789)
In reply to: OpenPGP in Rust: the Sequoia project by Cyberax
Parent article: OpenPGP in Rust: the Sequoia project

The copyright holders can disclaim any restrictions of the GPL that conflict with the App Store terms. For instance, Blink Shell is GPL'd and has been available on iOS for a while, relying on a waiver from the mosh developers (since mosh is also GPL'd).

to post comments

OpenPGP in Rust: the Sequoia project

Posted Sep 11, 2020 19:54 UTC (Fri) by Cyberax (✭ supporter ✭, #52523) [Link] (5 responses)

The problem is that the GPL+disclaimer is basically a different license, and every contributor must agree to it.

This is not really sustainable. For example, if Apple is forced to split the Apple Store into a different company and rename it to "Pear Store", the disclaimer will become void. They'll have to get agreement for a new exception from every copyright holder who has ever contributed to the core code.

I actually won't mind a lawyer-proofed GPL exception to allow distribution through app stores, but that won't allow abuse ("my application is a store, so I can distribute GPL-ed app through it!").

OpenPGP in Rust: the Sequoia project

Posted Sep 12, 2020 15:40 UTC (Sat) by rvolgers (guest, #63218) [Link] (1 responses)

That's not a problem in this case since contributors are required to assign copyright to the foundation, who can relicense with exceptions as needed, if I understand correctly.

OpenPGP in Rust: the Sequoia project

Posted Sep 12, 2020 18:57 UTC (Sat) by Wol (subscriber, #4433) [Link]

But it means that OpenPGP becomes a "code donor" project only - they cannot re-use code from other projects because they need to reach out to the copyright holder - the code hasn't been submitted to the project.

That's the problem with any extension to the GPL - you can't take advantage of other GPL code to include in your own project.

Cheers,
Wol

OpenPGP in Rust: the Sequoia project

Posted Sep 12, 2020 18:51 UTC (Sat) by Wol (subscriber, #4433) [Link] (2 responses)

> I actually won't mind a lawyer-proofed GPL exception to allow distribution through app stores, but that won't allow abuse ("my application is a store, so I can distribute GPL-ed app through it!").

Just say "it is acceptable to distribute binaries on a binary-only site, provided the download points the user to the corresponding source on a 3rd-party source distribution site (3rd party as in "not yours, not the app-store"). Note that the GPLv3 permits separate distribution of binary and source without triggering the "binary-only means you must offer source for 3 years" clause. (That was a bug in v2, which at least some people would love to have seen make its way into v3). It's a bug because it means the actions of the recipient change the liability of the provider.

Cheers,
Wol

OpenPGP in Rust: the Sequoia project

Posted Sep 13, 2020 12:53 UTC (Sun) by ballombe (subscriber, #9523) [Link] (1 responses)

Do not bother. Just include a copy of the source in the binary package!

OpenPGP in Rust: the Sequoia project

Posted Sep 23, 2020 23:54 UTC (Wed) by Wol (subscriber, #4433) [Link]

And if your customer is on a metered connection they won't thank you ...

Cheers,
Wol