I've got a question about licensing software.

We're (as in my work) about to open a new website selling various electronic bits and pieces, we have a range of modules.

One of these modules will be running FreeRTOS, lwip and our own application.

Now:

FreeRTOS is GPL with exception clauses, mainly that you don't have to release the source code for your application - only changes to the OS + a BSD style clause which states you are are using FreeRTOS.

lwip is a BSD license.

The question now arises, we would like to supply a comprehensive application with this hardware. I'm afraid every time I read the GPL I seem to get more and more confused by its viral nature.

My question is simple. There is nothing to stop us releasing a binary only application as the licenses for the open source components we have used permit that, but what we'd like to do is release the source code to give others a head start. Can we license our application (i.e our code) under the GPL? What are the ramifications of this for the other pieces of code that we have used?

Thanks.

Adrian

(aka one confused programmer.)

IANAL

If you release your application under GPL, that doesn't mean you can't also license it in other ways, too.

If you're concerned about other code you've incorporated into your application, though, if it's licensed under the GPL, it basically prevents you from licensing it under anything but the GPL. But if the code you've incorporated is just BSD licensed, that doesn't put any real restrictions on you.

Anyway, it all depends on the licensing of the code you've incorporated from elsewhere.