I'm hoping someone out there knows the answer, but I ported a library from one language to another (C++ to Java).<p>I was going to release it under a 3 clause BSD, but the original code was licensed under GPL v3. It probably won't ever make a difference, but does the GPL force me to license the port under GPL as well?<p>Thanks in advance!
IANAL answer: if you want to release under a different license, you are urged to do a "clean room" implementation that could not possibly have derived anything from the original. If it's a mere translation from one language to another, your version of the library almost certainly falls under the "derivative work" category and needs to be GPL.<p>If your library implements a well-known algorithm, try to track down a text description of that algorithm (say, a research paper) and redo the code based on that original source. Looking at GPL code can contaminate your final product.
Yes. Any work that counts as a "derived work" of GPL'd software must be licensed under the GPL. I would think a direct port is almost certainly a derived work.