Simon Josefsson <si...@josefsson.org> writes: > I think the idea behind the "proprietary system library" GPL exception > is to make it possible to distribute GPL binaries linked to non-free > system libraries on systems where that is pretty much unavoidable, e.g. > system libraries on AIX, IRIX etc. The exception is that you are not > required to distribute source code for the non-free system libraries:
I feel it is important to remember that the GPL v2 was released in June 1991. This was the era of proprietary UNIX, and the concept of a (GNU/)Linux distribution, or the Linux kernel as a serious project, had yet to emerge. Ian Murdoch founded Debian in 1993. BTW, FSF considers Apache 2.0 as a good license and that "it's unfortunate that the Apache License 2.0 isn't compatible with some free software licenses like GPLv2". Compatibility with it was one important goal for GPLv3. So, this incompatibility was not never designed, it was just a mistake of an early free software license from a different era. https://www.fsf.org/blogs/licensing/new-license-recommendations-guide I believe that the term "system library" lacks significant meaning in an operating system like Debian. One could argue that all libraries in Debian qualify as "system libraries".
