Re: gEDA-user: firmware and the GPL license

[DJ Delorie <dj@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

> So, to go on a tangent here, what about 'code' in the form of Gerbers  
> and etc produced by PCB?  Would you consider the resultant board  
> produced by PCB to fall under a GPL license?  Would I have to offer  
> 'source' if I sold boards produced with the software?

The gerbers are derived works of the *.pcb file, not of pcb itself.

There is some confusion about the use of copyrighted *footprints* in
your board, but all the ones we offer are licensed in such a way as to
avoid this problem.

> I realize a lot of the 'code' is stuff written by me, but what about  
> any headers or linked-in bits of code used to produce the final result  
> that I did not directly create?

None in the gerbers, the amount in the PS/EPS code is too small to be
copyrightable.  It would be like trying to copyright the phrase "Table
of Contents" in a book.

> On topic, what if I used a GPL'd compiler to generate firmware using
> my own header files or the like?  At what point will I have to
> distribute the source to my firmware?

Nope.  The output of a compiler is derived from the input to the
compiler, not from the compiler itself.  That's why one uses a LEGAL
definition of "derived work", not a technical one.  If you write a
book, the Bic company doesn't own it because you used their pen.


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