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In the GPLv3 license, it states:

“Additional permissions” are terms that supplement the terms of this License by making exceptions from one or more of its conditions. Additional permissions that are applicable to the entire Program shall be treated as though they were included in this License, to the extent that they are valid under applicable law. If additional permissions apply only to part of the Program, that part may be used separately under those permissions, but the entire Program remains governed by this License without regard to the additional permissions.

Does this mean that the MIT licensed code, if used separately, is still MIT licensed?

Can the original copyright holder of the original MIT licensed software continue to distribute that software under the MIT license if all or part of their work is incorporated into another project that has a GPL or AGPL license?

For example, MIT licensed project A is included in GPL licensed project B, but project A remains an independent project that does not include GPL code. Can project A stay MIT licensed?

Can the code that is MIT licensed be extracted from the GPL project if it has not been modified and it is clear that that particular code was MIT licensed? (i.e. "that part may be used separately under those permissions.")

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    There is no influence on the licensing terms of the original project when the code is re-licensed under different terms (such as GPL). You seem to be misinterpreting the cited clause in GPL.
    – Martin_in_AUT
    Jun 17, 2022 at 8:51
  • @Martin_in_AUT What does that cited clause mean then?
    – Scott M. Stolz
    Jun 18, 2022 at 8:05
  • @Martin_in_AUT So basically, I could build an add-on that works with another project, that literally extends that other project and the original project's license would not be affected, even if I was the person who wrote the other project? The original project and the add-on are licensed separately?
    – Scott M. Stolz
    Jun 18, 2022 at 8:22
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    Yes, the original project is licensed separately from any new project that builds on the original project. The new project's license terms do not have any effect on the license terms of the original project. Note, however, that the new project's license needs to be compatible with the terms of the original project (which is the case for MIT and GPL).
    – Martin_in_AUT
    Jun 18, 2022 at 8:41

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Can the original copyright holder of the original MIT licensed software continue to distribute that software under the MIT license if all or part of their work is incorporated into another project that has a GPL or AGPL license?

For example, MIT licensed project A is included in GPL licensed project B, but project A remains an independent project that does not include GPL code. Can project A stay MIT licensed?

Yes. The fact that project B includes code coming from project A does not affect in any way the license of project A.

Project B has to ensure that their license terms are compatible with those of project A (which is the case when MIT licensed code gets used in a GPL licensed project).

Can the code that is MIT licensed be extracted from the GPL project if it has not been modified and it is clear that that particular code was MIT licensed? (i.e. "that part may be used separately under those permissions.")

Yes, that is what the bolded section of your quote from the GPL license means.

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  • Thank you. That is what I thought. I just wanted to make sure.
    – Scott M. Stolz
    Jun 20, 2022 at 15:03

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