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Using Copyleft-licensed software components in a Java application

· 7 min read
AboutCode team
Open source for open source

Key considerations while using Copyleft-licensed software components in a Java application.

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This document explains some key considerations for the use of Copyleft-licensed software components in a Java application in two contexts:

  • Execution of the Java code in a shared JVM.
  • Combining class files in a shared executable JAR – and by extension in a Combined JAR (e.g. uber-jar or fat jar).

For this document, “JAR” refers specifically to an executable Java library that is a collection of .class files packaged into a file with the .jar extension; it does not refer to the use of a .jar file as an archive file only (such as for packaging source files for a Java library).

The purpose of this document is to present a “conservative” interpretation of what linking, or interaction may mean in the Java context. It is not based on any particular product or application and we are not aware of any specific license compliance enforcement actions in this area.