License question about VirtualBox and Qemu
 

Hi All,

The VirtualBox download page states that VirtualBox released under GPLv3. However, I remember that last time when I debugged VirtualBox (quite a few years ago) I saw it sharing a lot of code with Qemu, which is released under GPLv2.

Did VirtualBox undergo a complete rewrite recently?

Best regards,
guanx

I don't think so. Why is it important at all?

For myself it's not that important because I don't rely on VirtualBox. This is also the reason that I saw this so late (several months if not years after VirtualBox switched to GPLv3).

The important part is that does it mean any GPLv2-only code can be re-licensed under GPLv3 by Oracle.

As Oracle owns the copyright, indeed they are the ones to say how the material is licensed. But why, exactly, is "v2" versus "v3" important to your needs?

Obviously, if you have a specific question or concern, you should contact Oracle and ask them.

Oracle owns QEMU? I think OP is thinking Virtualbox uses qemu code and changed license without permission or something...

Exactly.

And the fact that this does not seem a serious question (in that myself am not very much interested in VirtualBox) might have offended some people. My apologizes! This is my first post on this sub-forum. I was just curious about this unbelievable inconsistency between two famous software.