[Bf-committers] Can BGE be relicensed?

[Jason Wilkins]

While we are on this topic, would there be any way for me right now to
consent to a change of license preemptively?  I would be willing to
allow for any change for code I have contributed to any other open
source approved license.  If I could just declare that right now then
there would be no need for Blender Foundation to ask me in the future.

On Fri, Nov 30, 2012 at 4:36 PM, Chad Fraleigh <chadf at triularity.org> wrote:
> While re-licensing existing code may take some extended effort, what
> about the option of changing the licensing of any new code added
> (sooner than later) to dual GPL/LGPL (or even more at the option of
> the submitter - PD/GPL+LGLP/MIT/BSD/XYZ...)? If a list was maintained
> for all licenses that each contributor would find acceptable for their
> part (even if blender/BGE doesn't use all of them itself).. then if
> there are any later licensing modifications (in part or whole) the
> change consent issue would be much easier. The only real effort would
> be for those committing others' code to note a reference to the that
> author's licensing entry (presumably by some unambiguous identifier,
> not just name - in case two authors are named John Smith or
> something). Of course this is already being done for giving credits,
> so probably not too much of a change.
>
> Maybe some of this is already being done (I took a quick look at the
> development page on the wiki and nothing of licensing
> requirements/policies for contributors stood out). So either I didn't
> look in the right place, or it is just understood that being a GPL
> released project that all code must be GPL (or compatible, like PD).
>
> Personally I prefer a BSD license for my code, but when contributing
> to some [L]GPL project I just accept using their license instead. I
> wouldn't be surprised if others also frequently contribute code
> outside their preferred license.
>
> On Fri, Nov 30, 2012 at 12:11 PM, Sinan Hassani <[email redacted]> wrote:
>
>> I have started a thread on BlenderArtists asking whether BGE can be
>> relicensed to LGPL based on the news that VLC is being relicensed from
>> GPL to LGPL:
>>
>> http://blenderartists.org/forum/showthread.php?273712-VLC-coming-to-iOS-Can-BGE-be-relicensed-to-LGPL
>>
>> So one thing is for sure, a major open source, free software project
>> that spans 10 years can indeed be relicensed. Whether that's good or
>> bad, I don't know and it's not the subject of this topic. This subject
>> is about whether BGE can be and should be relicensed to be more
>> competitive as a game engine in the current environment we find our self
>> in (App Stores, people spending more time on mobile devices, consumers
>> that want to get their software from a familiar and convenient app
>> repository, i.e. iOS App Store, Google Play).
>>
>> In the second link I post in that thread, it explains why LGPL is more
>> suitable than GPL for App Stores (also based on a podcast from FSF I
>> listened to):
>>
>> According to the LGPL terms, developers “are not responsible for
>> enforcing compliance by third parties with this License.” With the
>> project now licensed as LGPL software, there’s no longer an issue with
>> Apple’s App Store policy that limits installation to five devices.
>>
>> Link:
>> http://www.geek.com/articles/mobile/vlc-re-licensed-as-lgpl-ready-to-head-back-to-the-app-store-20121115/
>>
>>
>> So my question is, can BGE be relicensed separate from Blender? If yes,
>> then which parts can be relicensed?
>>
>> Additional points:
>>
>> -I'd like to get a reply from all major BGE contributors on whether they
>> are okay with relicensing. And if yes, are they okay with LGPL, or do
>> they want a more liberal license? Like MIT?
>
> -Chad
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