Hello,

I am working on integrating the Skeleton boilerplate as a starter theme for Drupal to be used in responsive designs. I would like to be able to commit it as a sandbox project, with the hopes of maturing to a full project. My concern is that Skeleton is released under MIT license, which is GPL compatible, however the TOS explicitly requires GPL licensed code only unless an exception is made by the webmaster team.

In searching drupal.org I could not find a definitive answer on the MIT license issue outside of requesting an exception. I realize a concern is forking, and while I do plan on making some additions to skeleton's css, I plan on maintaining those additions as a separate css file, so that newer versions of skeleton can be dropped in without having to modify it first or maintain a separate fork of the project.

My question is, would I be able to commit CSS from the skeleton project to a sandbox repository as part of the theme, or would I be required to provide a separate download location if I wished to make this a full project?

I have not yet created a sandbox for this project, as I would like to know how I need to handle this project prior to making any commits to drupal.org.

Skeleton can be found at http://getskeleton.com

Thanks!

Comments

avpaderno’s picture

avpaderno
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commented

This is what reported on Licensing FAQ:

7: If I write a module or theme, do I have to license it under the GPL?

Yes. Drupal modules and themes are a derivative work of Drupal. If you distribute them, you must do so under the terms of the GPL version 2 or later. You are not required to distribute them at all, however. (See question 8 below.)

However, when distributing your own Drupal-based work, it is important to keep in mind what the GPL applies to. The GPL on code applies to code that interacts with that code, but not to data. That is, Drupal's PHP code is under the GPL, and so all PHP code that interacts with it must also be under the GPL or GPL compatible. Images, JavaScript, and Flash files that PHP sends to the browser are not affected by the GPL because they are data. However, Drupal's JavaScript, including the copy of jQuery that is included with Drupal, is itself under the GPL as well, so any Javascript that interacts with Drupal's JavaScript in the browser must also be under the GPL or a GPL compatible license.

The Git access agreement, to which each user needs to agree to have git access, reports the following points:

  • I will only commit GPL V2+-licensed code and resources to Drupal code repositories.
  • I will only commit code and resources that I own or am permitted to distribute.
  • I will cooperate with the Drupal Security Team as needed.
  • I have read and will adhere to the Drupal Code of Conduct.
  • I agree to the Drupal Code Repository Terms of Service.
redndahead’s picture

redndahead commented

I know this is old, but since it is MIT you should be able to commit it to the repository. Just realise that it is no longer MIT licensed when downloaded from drupal.org It will now be relicensed gpl v2.

That is how I understand it would work.

avpaderno’s picture

avpaderno
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commented

Only the author can change the license of his own work; if he didn't license the code under a dual license, then nobody else can change the license, or decide to distribute it under a different license.

redndahead’s picture

redndahead commented

Actually the MIT license allows for sublicense. This means you can combine your GPL code and relicense if you would like. (You could even make closed source software and relicense it under that.) GPL on the other hand would not allow this.
http://www.opensource.org/licenses/mit-license.html

Now as far as attribution is concerned different MIT licenses require different things. You may have to attribute the code as coming from the skeleton project. But you would have to look at that license to verify this.

redndahead’s picture

redndahead commented

Also should say it requires you to pass on the mit license file if you use a "substantial portion" of the code. There is no clear understanding of what that would be, but I would assume you would be. I'm not sure how that fits in the d.o. policies, but I think we, as the d.o. community, shouldn't have a problem with dual licensed code as long as one of them is GPL.

But I don't speak at all for the webmasters.

avpaderno’s picture

avpaderno
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commented

Sub-licensing doesn't mean that you can change the license applied to the files, or add another one; for that you need to have the permission of the original author. That is also true if the license you mean to apply is compatible with the existing one.

redndahead’s picture

redndahead commented

Do some research on MIT license. That is what it means. The only thing the MIT license requires is that if you use a substantial portion you have to keep the MIT license with it. So although you may not be able to outright change the license, you can dual license the code to gpl without the owner's permission.

You can read about it here (and lots of other places):
http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/opensource/library/os-license2/

tlattimore’s picture

tlattimore commented

I am also interested in building a base theme built on the Skeleton Boilerplate. The licensing issue was something I was wondering about as well so it's interesting running across this issue. jQuery & 960.gs, projects that interfaced with in various way's all over contrib, are both dual-licensed under MIT and GPL. Would it take just contacting the author of Skeleton and seeing if they were willing to dual-license with GPL. And if they are willing to dual-license it we would then be able to base a D.o project on this boilerplate?

I am know licensing expert but really want to see a Skeleton base theme done. Just wanna know how to move forward.

tvn’s picture

tvn commented
Status: Active » Closed (won't fix)

Closing old issues. Please re-open if needed.

avpaderno’s picture

avpaderno
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commented
Project: Drupal.org site moderators » Drupal Licensing Working Group
Component: Licensing » Violation
Issue summary: View changes