Exodus Down

Mon Jul 2 16:35:26 UTC 2001

> I'm presuming we're talking about BSD-style licenses here - with the GPL,
> AFAIK, the code cannot be "closed" once it's open, as any derivitive works
> must also be released under the GPL.
Not always - the original author always has the right to parallel licence
the source under a closed commercial licence if he so chooses - provided he
so licences only his original code plus any additional code he added himself
(ie, no GPLed user supplied patches)
There is a moral argument against this (in that a commercial licencee is
likely to use the most recent, not the supplied source, and so violate the
GPL behind closed doors) but there is no legal argument preventing it.
Treat it as a code fork at the moment the GPL licence was applied.