Yes — but the combined work must be released under the more restrictive license.
GNU Affero GPL v3.0's network-copyleft is a superset of GNU General Public License v2.0's. The combined work, when distributed or run as a network service, must comply with GNU Affero GPL v3.0 (the stricter set of obligations). Source disclosure to network users applies.
| License | Family | Patent grant |
|---|---|---|
| GNU Affero GPL v3.0 (AGPL-3.0) | network-copyleft | Yes |
| GNU General Public License v2.0 (GPL-2.0) | strong-copyleft | No (implicit at most) |
GNU Affero GPL v3.0: GPLv3 plus § 13: providing software over a network triggers the source-disclosure obligation.
GNU General Public License v2.0: Strong copyleft: derivative works distributed must also be GPL-2.0.
If you found this page because you're trying to figure out whether shipping a particular dependency is safe, the answer above is a starting point — not a substitute for reading the actual licenses or talking to a lawyer when stakes are high.
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