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Is GNU Lesser GPL v3.0 compatible with Common Development and Distribution License 1.0?

It depends.

Both GNU Lesser GPL v3.0 and Common Development and Distribution License 1.0 are weak (file- or library-level) copyleft licenses. Combining them is usually feasible, but the obligations of each apply to its own files. Have a lawyer review if you intend to redistribute the combined work.

About these licenses

LicenseFamilyPatent grant
GNU Lesser GPL v3.0 (LGPL-3.0) weak-copyleft Yes
Common Development and Distribution License 1.0 (CDDL-1.0) weak-copyleft Yes

GNU Lesser GPL v3.0: Same library-linking permission as LGPL-2.1, with GPLv3's patent provisions inherited.

Common Development and Distribution License 1.0: File-level copyleft, similar in spirit to MPL.

What to do next

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.

LicenseHound walks every transitive dependency in your repo, maps each to its SPDX license, and flags pairs like this one in PR comments. The CLI is free; the team dashboard is paid.

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