Bug#698527: elmer: executable ElmerGUI.real links with both GPL-licensed and GPL-incompatible libraries

[Francesco Poli]

On Wed, 23 Jan 2013 12:44:47 +0200 Boris Pek wrote:

> control: tags 698527 confirmed
> control: found 698527 5.5.0.svn.4499.dfsg-1
> 
> Hi,
> 
> This is really bad news for us.

Actually, this is really bad news for every Free Software supporter...
And I am very sorry to be the bringer of bad news.

> Bug also affects package in stable [1],
> which cannot be fixed and should be removed from it.
> 
> [1] http://packages.debian.org/squeeze/elmer

I think that solution (A), as mentioned in my bug report, should really
be pursued with much more vehemence and effort.

I am in contact with Open CASCADE S.A.S. and I have been trying to
persuade them to re-license Open CASCADE Technology under the GNU LGPL
v2.1 since April 2009 (!).
But I am *one* person only, and apparently, I am not persuasive enough:
the decision keeps being postponed again and again.  :-(

I really need help from a good number of people who independently get
in touch with Open CASCADE S.A.S. and push in the same direction:
having Open CASCADE Technology under GPLv2-and-v3-compatible terms is
getting more and more crucial, as time passes.

*If* we managed to get a (public) promise that next version of Open
CASCADE Technology will be re-licensed under GPLv2-and-v3-compatible
terms, then we would *maybe* obtain a wheezy-ignore tag for this bug
(as long as the OpenSSL linking is disabled or replaced).
Unfortunately, we still have nothing of the kind: Open CASCADE S.A.S.
acknowledges the GPL-incompatibility, but they have not yet decided
whether they want to address this issue...   :-(

Please, please, help to solve this issue once and for all!

I really want to avoid any solution that relies on package removals
from Debian: this is why I have struggled since April 2009 in order to
persuade Open CASCADE S.A.S. to re-license the Open CASCADE Technology
framework under GPLv2-and-v3-compatible terms!

I hope a satisfactory solution can be devised soon.
I am really sick and tired of all the problems caused by the Open
CASCADE GPL-incompatibility...   :-(


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