License question

[henrysun007]

Our project uses leveldb-rs and wants to confirm about the license. Is leveldb-rs original from [1]? Given it is a copy of the original it should be under the same license as the original, but [1] is BSD license while leveldb-rs is MIT licensed. Am I wrong about the original?

[1] https://github.com/google/leveldb

[dermesser]

This is a good question! I've written leveldb-rs myself, line by line, or contributors did; however, the structure and algorithms are shaped very closely to what LevelDB (the original) implements. BUT: it is not a copy, as you say! Rather a reimplementation.

I am not sure if this makes it count as some sort of derived work, because not a single line of code is shared between the projects. However, this independence made me use a new license for this project, as it's not a fork.

I'd be happy about input if you are better versed in licenses.