[Bf-committers] Python Scripts and the GPL

[Mitchell Stokes]

Hello,

I hate to bring up the GPL again, but I am rather confused on the
subject and I was hoping someone could enlighten me on the matter. My
primary concern is the BGE (and the corresponding bge module), but I
think the same thoughts can be applied to bpy as well. Now, I have
read the GPL for Artists FAQ entry on the matter[0], but it seems
rather vague on a few points. For one, it seems to suggest that if I
were to import a 3rd party module that has C code, then that 3rd party
module must be GPL (the FAQ says nothing about GPL-compatible). This
of course severely limits the number of libraries that can be used
with Blender and the BGE. For example, if I want to use the MIT
licensed PyENet library[1] in my game, I wouldn't be able to without
violating the GPL. And, for that matter if I could still use PyENet,
it would force all of my modules to be GPL (again, the FAQ says
nothing about GPL-compatible). Furthermore, the section on games and
the GPL in the FAQ[2] says I only need to make the files available
under the GPL if they are bundled into the Blenderplayer, but it says
nothing about scripts. What if I have a script inside a blend file
that makes a call to PyENet, is this blendfile now forced to be GPL
regardless of whether or not it is bundled in the Blenderplayer? And
if the script wasn't inside the blendfile, but still accessed from the
blendfile?

Cheers,
Mitchell Stokes

[0] http://www.blender.org/education-help/faq/gpl-for-artists/#c2129
[1] https://code.google.com/p/pyenet/
[2] http://www.blender.org/education-help/faq/gpl-for-artists/#c2130