Subject: RE: Cygwin Python Distribution GPL Licensing Issue?
From: "Tim Peters" <[email-masked]>
To: "DJ Delorie" <[email-masked]>, <[email-masked]>
Cc: <[email-masked]>, <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 16 Jun 2001 16:01:09 -0400

Briefly following up on a thread here from the end of April:  the FSF and
PSF (Python Software Foundation) reached an unexpected (but exceedingly
welcome) agreement on the Python licensing situation wrt the GPL.  We'll be
releasing new versions of Python primarily to get the new license out there,
but also with accumulated bugfixes since their original releases:

    2.0.1    2.0 + bugfixes + new license.  Release candidate already
             available, and final release scheduled for the coming week.

    2.1.1    2.1 + bugfixes + new license.  Partly depends on volunteer
             time; range of 2 to 4 weeks is my best guess.

all's-well-that-ends-ly y'rs  - tim

-----Original Message-----
From: [email-masked] [mailto:[email-masked]]
     On Behalf Of Guido van Rossum [mailto:[email-masked]]
Sent: Saturday, June 16, 2001 11:46 AM
To: [email-masked]
Cc: [email-masked]
Subject: 2.0.1's GPL-compatibility is official!

Richard Stallman, Eben Moglen and the FSF agree: Python 2.0.1 is
compatible with the GPL.  They've updated the text about the Python
license on http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/license-list.html, stating in
particular:

    GPL-Compatible, Free Software Licenses

    [...]

    The License of Python 1.6a2 and earlier versions.
          This is a free software license and is compatible with the
          GNU GPL. Please note, however, that newer versions of Python
          are under other licenses (see below).
    The License of Python 2.0.1, 2.1.1, and newer versions.
	  This is a free software license and is compatible with the
	  GNU GPL. Please note, however, that intermediate versions of
	  Python (1.6b1, through 2.0 and 2.1) are under a different
	  license (see below).

I would like to emphasize and clarify (again!) that Python is *not*
released under the GPL, so if you think the GPL is a bad thing, you
don't have to worry about Python being contaminated.

The GPL compatibility is important for folks who distribute Python
binaries: e.g. the new license makes it okay to release Python
binaries linked with GNU readline and other GPL-covered libraries.

We'll release the final release of 2.0.1 within a week; so far we've
had only one bug reported in the release candidate.

I expect that we won't have to wait long for 2.1.1, which will have
the same GPL-compatible license as 2.0.1.

--Guido van Rossum (home page: http://www.python.org/~guido/)

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