LGPL Licencing for Inclusion into other libraries.

Question

There are quite a few LGPL Libraries that I use that have fallen out of maintenance and have no documentation. I found that a few of these libraries are extremely useful and they are all LGPL or MIT. Could I combine these libraries into my own library, released under LGPL and maintain those myself as a branch? Also, some of these libraries do the same thing or complement each other.

Could I release these, under my own changes and documentation, into one namespace? I am also going to use these in a GPL program developed in conjunction with the library. Does this break any of the terms of service?

I don't wan't to name any library names until I have contacted the owners/developers as well.

Can I still do this under these legal restrictions?

Answer 1

Yes, you can combine multiple LGPL libraries to form a single LGPL library. It is also permissible to rename functions to bring them into a single name space.

It is also possible to combine LGPL and MIT libraries together, to form a single library, as the LGPL and MIT licenses are compatible. I believe you can also apply only the LGPL to this combined library, as the LGPL is a superset of the MIT license.

Obviously you must not remove any Copyright declarations, and the final library will be copyright multiple people, including yourself.

It is also fine to then use any of the above libraries in a GPL program.

Trying to contact the developers first, as you say you are doing, is a good move - if they are still interested in working on the libraries you may be able to collaborate with one or more of them.