user1234 wrote: ↑Thu Mar 23, 2023 9:57 pm
Must, beacuse it uses OCCT.
that is not the reason, you can perfectly make GPL software based on LGPL software, it's the other way around that is not allowed.
OK, thanks.
Anyway, FreeCAD is LGPLv2 and can not use GPLv3
The same for Kicad... KiCAD is GPL3 including OCCT which is LGPL2
so FC could be distributed for users as GPL3 with assembly and solver and as LGPL without.
That is exactly what realthunder is doing without legal issues.
It is possible to ask to KiCAD teams about the legal approach... I know they rely on a legal team for that.
Same software under two licenses? Seems to me hard to maintain. Besides, many companies still can not use it, since they need LGPL, as jriegel wrote in the linked text above
"FreeCAD is a mixture of a library and an application, so the GPL would be a little bit strong for that. It would prevent writing commercial modules for FreeCAD because it would prevent linking with the FreeCAD base libs."
If a company write a plugin for ERP (example SAP) or for a PDM/PLM (example Siemens TeamCenter), it is still not allowed.
user1234 wrote: ↑Thu Mar 23, 2023 10:32 pm
Same software under two licenses? Seems to me hard to maintain. Besides, many companies still can not use it, since they need LGPL, as jriegel wrote in the linked text above
"FreeCAD is a mixture of a library and an application, so the GPL would be a little bit strong for that. It would prevent writing commercial modules for FreeCAD because it would prevent linking with the FreeCAD base libs."
If a company write a plugin for ERP (example SAP) or for a PDM/PLM (example Siemens TeamCenter), it is still not allowed.
Greetings
user1234
I really doubt a lot to think KiCAD is not spreading around in all the professional world just because its GPL license.
KiCAD doesn't seem to me a failing open source project.
easyw-fc wrote: ↑Thu Mar 23, 2023 10:38 pm
I really doubt a lot to think KiCAD is not spreading around in all the professional world just because its GPL license.
I can not tell anything about KiCAD (only used it for a private project) or the electric industry, but in the machine engineering when you have an external AUDIT and this is an issue for them, you can (must not) get a really f***ing problem, depends how many time you get to solve it. (To compare, i get a big problem because of a handful old rusty screws, just because they was not on any paper or in the system, the solution was fast, i throw them away. But the whole fun cost us around 2000$/€).