LGPL question

[ChrisW67]

Firstly, based upon the license information found on the mingw site (http://www.mingw.org/wiki/FAQ), it's my understanding that the DLLs
- libgcc_s_dw2-1.dll
- mingwm10.dll
fall under public domain. Is this correct? Or does libgcc_s_dw2-1.dll not fall under the definition of the "MinGW runtime"?

libgcc_s_dw2-1.dll is part of GCC and governed by the GPL v3 Runtime Library Exception http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gcc-exception.html as far as I can tell. While the exception clearly gives permissions:

You have permission to propagate a work of Target Code formed by combining the Runtime Library with Independent Modules, even if such propagation would otherwise violate the terms of GPLv3, provided that all Target Code was generated by Eligible Compilation Processes. You may then convey such a combination under terms of your choice, consistent with the licensing of the Independent Modules.

the only way to determine the "Runtime Library" code that this applies to is to read each and every source file that contributes to the DLL concerned. This is far from convenient to ensure compliance. If someone can point to a concrete statement that this library is covered by the exception then I'd love to see it.

[npclaudiu]

From my understanding (and I'm not a lawyer), you can distribute the binaries under your own terms as long as you specify that you use third-party components released under their own terms (including their licenses). To use components that are licensed under the LGPL you must allow the user to modify the components under that license and use that modified component with your application (see "provided that the terms permit modification of the work for the customer's own use"). To accomplish that, you could dynamically load the LGPL'ed components at runtime (like plugins) or provide the object files of your application, so that the user can recompile your application against the modified library. Before distributing anything, make sure you understand all the terms and conditions of all the components that you choose to distribute. You might even consider consulting a lawyer.