Is it illegal to statically link LGPL

Question

IF you also provide an identical .dll based version, BUT not the object files?

Answer 1

The user must be able to recompile the LGPL-library and re-link it to your application, this usually means either:

• dynamic linking (dlls)
• static libs + your object files

Answer 2

Yes, it's illegal. Remember, the LPGL starts out with the usual copyrights. Under the default terms, you may not copy any code, whether in source or binary form. The LPGL then gives you specific rights under specific terms. You need those rights, so you need to adhere to the LPGL conditions.

Those terms tell you that you must give the object files that are needed to recreate the executable you're distributing. That's not what you are proposing (you plan to distribute other files) so you'd be distributing without permission.