Inquiry about open source restriction for MASM32 projects

[gwapo]

In the license file, it states:

Exclusion of open source projects and software.
The MASM32 project cannot be used to create open source software or any other project under any form of licence that requires the user of the MASM32 project to surrender the rights they are afforded under the MASM32 licence. In particular the MASM32 licence completely excludes projects licenced under the GNU organisation's published GPL licence and/or variants.

My question is:
What if I am using MASM32 as "part of" a bigger open-source project written in C++, and the "MASM32 part" is a closed-source binary (DLLs). Is this scenario a violation of the above restriction?

... and, is there any other license (a MASM32 open-source license maybe) that will allow us to use MASM32 in an open-source project?

Cheers,

-chris

[hutch--]

Chris,

If you are using a commercial release version of ML.EXE, you can write anything you like with it. The masm32 SDK has no debt whatsoever to open source, GPL or otherwise and likewise it is licenced to protect its contents from parasitic licencing like GPL. If you use a commerical version of ML or alternatively POASM or Japheth's new Watcom assembler, that is your own business.

All I have ever got from the GPL crew is licencing conditions so all I give back to them is licencing conditions.

[Jimg]

If you are using a commercial release version of ML.EXE, you can write anything you like with it. The masm32 SDK has no debt whatsoever to open source, GPL or otherwise and likewise it is licenced to protect its contents from parasitic licencing like GPL. If you use a commerical version of ML or alternatively POASM or Japheth's new Watcom assembler, that is your own business.

What I have always found confusing here is the distinction between "The MASM32 project" and, as you say ML.EXE as far as the license is concerned.  Are you now saying that if you use POASM or JWASM along with the includes and libs and other parts from "The MASM32 project", you can "write anything you like with it"?

[hutch--]

Jim,

> Are you now saying that .....

I am saying that the MASM32 licence is not subject to negotiation. It was put in place to protect the project from parasitic licencing like GPL and to protect the Microsoft binaries according to the conditions of distribution. I directly support Pelle's assembler as Pelle does not try and inflict any form of restriction over his users and from reading the Open Watcom licence, it appears not to have any of those types of problems either but nothing in the masm32 project will be available to GPL licencing under any form.