Changing the MDAnalysis license from GPLv2+ to LGPLv3+

[Irfan Alibay]

Dear MDAnalysis community members,

We are proposing changing the license for the MDAnalysis core library from the current GPLv2+ to LGPLv3+. The reasons for this are varied, but can mostly be summed up to a need for better licensing freedom for downstream users of the MDAnalysis library. Whilst GPLv2+ has been an effective license for MDAnalysis over the years, it has (at least by our interpretation) the key limitation of enforcing its copyleft on codes that import and/or otherwise use the library components. To this end, we have propose the LGPLv3+ as a replacement license for MDAnalysis which would avoid this issue.

We invite you to read the following blog post where we lay out the our complete rationale for this license change: https://www.mdanalysis.org/2022/11/07/relicensing/

From today until the 5th of December 2022, we would like have a consultation period on this proposed license change. During this period we would like to encourage members of the community to share their thoughts / questions on the topic either here on the mailing list, on our discord (https://www.mdanalysis.org/#participating), or privately to the core developer team by email to lice...@mdanalysis.org.

We are fully invested in ensuring that our actions reflect the needs of our community, and it is important that we hear any views you may have on the subject before we start this process.

Best regards,

The MDAnalysis Core Developer Team