[Debian-med-packaging] sift and blimps license interpretation - can Debian redistribute these?

[Laszlo Kajan]

Dear fellow packagers!

I am not certain about the interpretation of the attached sift/blimps license (ftp://ftp.ncbi.nih.gov/repository/blocks/unix/blimps/LICENSE - I
am packaging these right now). The license is not free that's for sure, but:

* Can Debian redistribute it at all? - in other words: can we have sift and blimps in non-free?

This seems to be the relevant bit:

> 2. [...] b.  Licensee may not charge any fee or royalty for copies
> of the Program or Derivative Work.  Licensee is authorized to
> sublicense the Program and any Derivative Work to third parties on a
> royalty-free basis subject to the terms of this license but may not
> otherwise distribute the Program or any Derivative Work.
> Notwithstanding the foregoing, Licensee may be reimbursed for any
> actual expenses it incurs in reproducing or delivering a copy of the
> Program or any Derivative Work.

Is redistribution 'sublicensing'? Debian does redistribution on a 'royalty-free basis', so my judgement is that Debian is allowed to
redistribute sift/blimps.

If Debian is not allowed to redistribute it, probably neither is Ubuntu or Biolinux.

Thank you for your help in advance!

Best,

Laszlo


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