Subject: Tricky cygwin license question
From: Dave Dykstra <[email-masked]>
To: [email-masked]
Cc: [email-masked], [email-masked]
Date: Mon, 7 Jan 2002 12:43:14 -0600

Hi,

I have a few questions about Cygwin licensing, and the last one I think is
kind of tricky.

I run a software distribution system in Lucent that automatically
distributes hundreds of tools, mostly open source tools but also some
internal proprietary tools.  The system includes a remote-compile
capability that we allow volunteers from all over the company to use to
compile the tools which they then install for distribution.  We support a
lot of Unix types and now we want to add a Cygwin type and are almost ready
to deploy it.

Question 1: There's no problem with distributing proprietary tools
internally that use the Cygwin library, correct?  I don't see anything in
the GPL that would prevent that.  We do make the source code of these tools
also available internally if that matters, and everybody inside can do with
it as they wish except that they're subject to our own company's rules and
so won't redistribute it outside the company.

Question 2: There are currently two other companies (both which happen to
have spun off of Lucent) that we send our tools to, in both binary and
source form, and they pay us to get all the tools including the open source
tools and many of the proprietary tools.  The source for our own tools that
we send them is not under the GPL; they may use it internally for whatever
purpose they want, but may not redistribute it outside.  There's no reason
why they couldn't take our source code and compile it themselves with
Cygwin for their own internal use, right?  Again, I don't see how the GPL
prevents that.

Question 3: It would save the other two companies trouble if we also gave
them the binaries of our proprietary tools, and they would end up with the
same result as if they compiled the tools themselves.  However, I believe
the GPL and http://cygwin.com/licensing.html requires that if we gave them
our binaries linked with Cygwin, we'd have to give them our source under
some open source license, meaning they'd have the right to redistribute it
outside their company.  Am I right?  Even if I am, would you grant an
exception for this case because they end up with the same result if we
compile it for them or if they compile it themselves?

Thanks,

- Dave Dykstra

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