[SCM] libav/experimental: Rewrite copyright file using copyright format 1.0. Closes: bug#694657. Thanks to Francesco Poli.

[Jonas Smedegaard]

Quoting Reinhard Tartler (2013-02-26 19:57:04)
> I'm currently revisiting the generation of debian/copyright, and have 
> stumbled upon a few things that I don't understand in 
> debian/copyright.
> 
> On Wed, Jan 2, 2013 at 8:47 PM,  <js at users.alioth.debian.org> wrote:
> 
> > +License: LGPL-2.1+~Libav
> 
> What's this? What does the ~Libav suffix mean and how did it end 
> there? Was this some tool or did you add that manually?

I did that by hand.

Purpose is to indicate that it is a reference to a licensing statement 
derived from another more common one.

Even if the licensing _terms_ that LGPL-2.1+~Libav grants is the same as 
the more common LGPL-2.1, the licensing _statement_ is not verbatim 
identical, and in my interpretation of Debian Policy that means that it 
needs to be included - and this is the way I found best expressing it.

The syntax I chose is - I believe - fully compatible with Copyright file 
format 1.0, and I intend to propose that syntax as a recommended 
extension for a future format of that file format.

(...and I do expect that proposal to stir some debate about whether my 
interpretation of Debian Policy is too strict or not - but that is a 
separate issue to that of the choice of syntax, really.


> Is the debian supposed to fall into the first, catch-all paragraph 
> (Files: *)?

Well, in its most strict interpretation: yes.

I have - like anyone that I know of - chosen a relaxed interpretation of 
how to express non-covered files.  What I really mean to say with the 
wildcard "Files: *" entry is that it covers all parts that are not 
covered more specifically _or_ not covered at all: I have found noone 
claiming copyright nor granting any licensing for Debian parts of this 
package.

What I often do is to state copyright and licensing in the header of the 
debian/rules file (because that tends to be the location of most code), 
and then sloppily interprets statements in that header to cover all of 
debian/* (except debian/patches/*).


Hope that helps,

 - Jonas

-- 
 * Jonas Smedegaard - idealist & Internet-arkitekt
 * Tlf.: +45 40843136  Website: http://dr.jones.dk/

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