[PLUG-Devel] Close source Java apps on GPL?

[Alan Dayley]

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Darrin Chandler wrote:
> On Tue, Nov 14, 2006 at 04:32:07PM -0700, Alan Dayley wrote:
>>
>> Posit:
>> Closed source Java applications cannot run on the GPL'd JVM without
>> violating the GPL.
> 
> Does the GPL work like that?!

If I link my code to a GPL library, my application is considered a
derivative work of the library.  Therefore, upon distribution of the
application, the GPL is in force for my code.  The LGPL was created to
allow apps to link to LGPL libraries and still be released under a
non-GPL license.

So, to ask the question another way: Does running an application that is
interpreted at runtime by the JVM trigger the "linking is a derivative
work" condition of the GPL?

Alan
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