On 8/14/06, Jay R. Ashworth jra@baylink.com wrote:
Actually, I believe the answer is a conditional yes: if the license under which you acquire the code permits you to relicense it under the GPL and distribute it, then you can take that path.
The license you release the combined work under has to have no more restrictions than the GPL, because otherwise you can't combine it with the GPL, but it also can have no fewer restrictions than the GPL, because you can't relicense the GPL parts without permission of all contributors.
Basically, if you have a preexisting body of GPL work that you can't effectively relicense, such as MediaWiki, any modified versions must be released under the GPL exactly, even if the modifications by themselves are under a less restrictive license (such as one that permits you to relicense under the GPL).