geant4-data_11.0.0+ds-1_amd64.changes REJECTED

[Thorsten Alteholz]

Hi Stephan,


On 08.01.22 09:46, Stephan Lachnit wrote:
>
> From 4.:
> > [...] However, if you publish or distribute your modifications 
> without contemporaneously requiring users to enter into a separate 
> written license agreement, then you are deemed to have granted all 
> Members and all Copyright Holders of the Geant4 Collaboration a 
> license to your modifications [...]
>
> If I modify and publish GPL licensed software, I also need to license 
> these changes under the GPL.

no, you can publish your patch under any license you want. If you want 
others to use your patch together with the GPL software, you should 
choose a license that is compatible with GPL. You do not need to choose 
GPL, but you can use for example the Expat license. After applying your 
patch the combined work is available under the GPL, yet your patch taken 
on its own is still licensed under your choosen license.

> If I read it right, the license is even less restrictive than the GPL 
> - I can publish patches under any license I want, I just have to also 
> license it under the Geant4 license to the copyright holders of Geant4.

In this case and myself not being a member of the Geant4 collaboration, 
I require that my patch is distributed by the Geant4 collaboration with 
a notice that my patch is developed by members of the Geant4 
collaboration (clause 2). This is not true and if I don't want to be 
associated with the Geant4 collaboration I am hindered to distribute my 
patch. I don't think this is compatible with DFSG.
As you wrote this license might work in a limited user group, but I 
don't think it is suitable for a distribution by Debian.

>
> Again super weird, but I don't see how this is not DSFG compliant. I'm 
> not a lawyer though, so if you still disagree please let me know if 
> the license would allow an upload to non-free.

Yes, everbody is allowed to distribute the code, but according to clause 
3 you need to change the name of the software in case you add any patches.

   Thorsten