maria-discuss team mailing list archive

[Justin Swanhart <greenlion@xxxxxxxxx>]

I have created a GitHub fork of MaxScale which does not include the 2.0
branch. The repository is called GPLScale.

There is a big potential problem with this.  Take for example the file
server/core/utils.c, which now has a new license:
https://github.com/mariadb-corporation/MaxScale/blob/2.0/server/core/utils.c

This file WAS covered under GPL:

https://github.com/mariadb-corporation/MaxScale/blob/cb3213af6382c380df9fc47347764f087ae7ecb4/server/core/utils.c

When there is a bugfix in 2.0 for server code that existed in 1.0, can that
code be backported directly into GPLscale?

a) util.c in 2.0 is clearly derivative of 1.0, and is therefore a
derivative work of 1.0 and therefore still covered by GPL and b) there is a
"violation" of GPL, because 1.0 GPL code is being linked against code
covered by an incompatible license (other code in MaxScale).

Almost all of the files in MaxScale 2.0 derive from 1.0 so this problem is
not just in one file of course.

The FSF says that the owner of the software can't legally violate the GPL
they can morally violate the GPL.

Will MariaDB commit to backporting all bugs in 1.0 code into the 1.0
branch?