sublicensing to GPL

[eluser]Unknown[/eluser]
Hi all,

We have used CodeIgniter for developing a web application. Now that it is finished, we would like to release it according to the terms of the GPL license.

I have a doubt is concerning which parts of the code I have to attach the GPL license. Do I have to license just the new files (controllers, views, ...) or can I also change the license of the C.I. code? In this case, should I (and can I) change the header of the files? (the header that is as follows):

/**
* CodeIgniter
*
* An open source application development framework for PHP 5.1.6 or newer
*
* @package CodeIgniter
* @author ExpressionEngine Dev Team
* @copyright Copyright © 2008 - 2011, EllisLab, Inc.
* @license http://ellislab.com/codeigniter/user-guide/license.html
* @LinK http://codeigniter.com
* @since Version 1.0
* @filesource
*/

Any help would be appreciated.

Best regards,

Robert

[eluser]InsiteFX[/eluser]
I would contact the EllisLab Team on this one!

InsiteFX

[eluser]Unknown[/eluser]
[quote author="[email protected]" date="1308319236"]
I have a doubt is concerning which parts of the code I have to attach the GPL license. Do I have to license just the new files (controllers, views, ...) or can I also change the license of the C.I. code?[/quote]

AFAIK GPL applies to the distribution of the software package as a whole. That's why it's important that the code inside the package is under GPL itself or a compatible license. Maybe that's why you're asking

You can not change the license of the CI code, it just has it's license and the CI license does not grant you the right to re-license it.

If the CI license is considered being a permissive, GPL compatible (could you get some more information about that? I don't know, I'm not a lawyer), then it could work as outlined in Maintaining Permissive-Licensed Files in a GPL-Licensed Project: Guidelines for Developers [1]. Section 2.2 Adding GPL’d modifications to permissive-licensed files [2] has a code example.

Maybe that information is still helpful for you.

Edit: In [3] it's written "CodeIgniter is licensed under an Apache/BSD-style open source license" which could be a sign that it's a permissive license, but some more clarification on the GPL compatiblity by Ellis Lab would be good to have as there are some other packages out there under GPL which contain CI code.

[1] http://www.softwarefreedom.org/resources...ation.html
[2] http://www.softwarefreedom.org/resources...x1-40002.2
[3] http://ellislab.com/codeigniter/user-gui...lance.html