I am developing a Java web application which utilizes Open source libraries with LGPLv2.0 and v2.1 libraries without any modification. For distributing this software commercially, what legal considerations needs to be made. I am publishing the libraries utilized along with licensing details as part of software documentation. Do I need to also make my proprietary source code open source with LGPL license?
1 Answer
I am going to talk about the major impact points to your project rather than the nitty-gritty (like how to attribute).
The LGPL is a weak copyleft license. It does not require software that is dynamically linked to be open source. However, you are required to release source code of modifications to the library, if you release that modified version with your app.
The LGPL also requires you to distribute the source of the library (or there are some alternative methods when not delivering over the internet, which doesn't sound like the case here). The linking mechanism must allow the user to swap the library out for a modified version with a compatible interface. I don't see that being a problem given that java compiles to individual .class files unless you deliberately check for modified versions.
