[License-discuss] TCPDF license: LGPLv3 + a special clause: is this still considered "Open Source"?

[John Cowan]

David Woolley scripsit:

>> It is LGPL v3 + "Additionally, YOU CAN'T REMOVE ANY TCPDF
>> COPYRIGHT NOTICE OR LINK FROM THE GENERATED PDF DOCUMENTS."
>> http://www.tcpdf.org/license.php
>>
>> What do you think?
>
> I'd say the licence was void as it attempts to impose an additional
> restriction.  I would not use it.

The "further restriction" rule in Section 10 of GPL3 applies only
to licensees: the licensor, as always, may construct any license he
chooses, even things like "GPLv3, unless your name is Jones, in which
case BSD".  (This is a fine illustration of how a license may be open
source even though not -- and not likely ever to be -- OSI-approved.)
In any case, further restrictions are only voidable, not void ab initio.

More seriously, however, this product seems to generate copyright
notices in documents written by others, which may well be copyright
fraud.  I'd stay a million miles away from that.

IANAL; TINLA; YYY.

-- 
John Cowan      cowan at ccil.org        http://www.ccil.org/~cowan
        Is it not written, "That which is written, is written"?