GPL License is not compatible with Apple App Store

[GoogleCodeExporter]

This library is currently using the GPLv2 License. 

This means any use of this library would require the using program to be also 
licensed as GPLv2 as I understand it.

However, due to the restrictions of the Apple App Store (distribution and the 
like) the license is incompatible with the Terms and Conditions signed upon the 
uploading of any Apps. 

http://www.fsf.org/news/2010-05-app-store-compliance 
The above blog post talks of GNU Go on the App Store (it was eventually removed 
from the App Store as Apple will not change their Terms and Conditions). 

With all due respect to your kind efforts, could you please release this 
library under a different license (LGPL perhaps) that would allow other non-GPL 
programs to use your library without modification.

Kind Regards
Daryl

Original issue reported on code.google.com by [email protected] on 22 Nov 2010 at 8:30

[GoogleCodeExporter]

+1, this is a really awesome library and it would be a shame if we couldn't use 
it.

Original comment by [email protected] on 22 Nov 2010 at 5:09

[GoogleCodeExporter]

Since the issue was brought up about GNU Go, Apple has indeed changed the 
wording in their Terms and Conditions to address the specific points brought 
out by the FSF. Other apps such as WordPress, games from Id Software, VLC, and 
others that are under a GPLv2 license have been released on the App Store. Some 
strident GPL supporters still claim that the license is incompatible with the 
newer App Store Terms and Conditions, but you should really read the actual 
wording of both the license and the T&C to make up your mind, and not just 
trust what others are saying.

In summary, Apple does not explicitly prevent GPLv2 licensed apps from 
appearing in its App Store. It is up to individual copyright owners to decide 
if they interpret the conditions of the GPLv2 in such a way that they would be 
uncomfortable agreeing to the terms and conditions that Apple provides.

Original comment by [email protected] on 24 Dec 2010 at 8:20

[GoogleCodeExporter]

@Dr. G Shao
Thank you for your comments, and they are certainly understood and appreciated.

Firstly, and this is not a criticism of your comments, but more a criticism of 
the state of digital copyright at the moment, copyright licenses can be a lot 
to take in. Not everyone has a firm knowledge of such concepts nor the ability 
to comprehend the real-life ramifications of every license clause without the 
assistance of others. In this case, some of us depend on others in the 
community for their take on the license.

Furthermore, as we are not the original copyright holders, please do not hold 
it against other people who wish to build apps with the ease of mind that their 
applications won't get yanked off the app store through events out of their 
control. Even if we did believe that the GPL was compatible with the App Store 
TAC.

Anyway it doesn't seem like this will be resolved anytime soon.

Original comment by [email protected] on 25 Dec 2010 at 3:28