Request for checking GPL compatibility

[Matthew Flaschen]

Suraj N. Kurapati wrote:
> Hello,
> 
> Below is the result of my attempt to distill the SleepyCat license
> into the the MIT license template (everything is same as the MIT
> license except the conditions paragraph in the middle).

Why do you want to do this?  You could achieve much the same purpose
with the GPL itself or of course the original Sleepycat.  Making a new
(apparently equivalent) license doesn't really make things easier.  It
means there's just one more license to read over.

> This license satisfies my ethical needs (attribution + share-alike)
> and seems to be easily understood by my peers. It also appears to
> satisfy the OSD, DFSG, the three tests (desert island, dissident,
> and tentacles of evil) outlined in the DFSG-FAQ, and GPL compatibility.
> 
> However, I am not very confident about the GPL compatibility, so I
> humbly request your assistance in verifying its satisfaction.

I agree that it's OSD-compliant.  IANAL, but it's probably
GPL-compatible, since I see no relevant differences between it and the
original Sleepycat, which is
(http://www.gnu.org/licenses/license-list.html#SoftwareLicenses).
You're better off asking the FSF at licensing at fsf.org

Matthew Flaschen