[pkg-php-pear] Fwd: Re: Packaging Net:NNTP for Debian: small license issue

[Jan-Pascal van Best]

On 08/15/2011 02:37 PM, Thomas Goirand wrote:
> On 08/15/2011 03:20 PM, Jan-Pascal van Best wrote:
>   
>> Hi all,
>>
>> php-net-nntp, which I'm packaging with help from Thomas, has a small
>> license 'issue'. The source for a demo site contains the following in
>> footer.inc.php:
>> <div id="page-footer">
>>  <hr />
>>
>>  <div class="copyright">
>>   Copyright © 2005 by Heino H. Gehlsen. All rights reserved.
>>  </div>
>>
>>  <div class="">
>>   (<a
>> href="http://cvs.php.net/viewcvs.cgi/pear/Net_NNTP/docs/examples/demo/">source
>> code</a>)
>>  </div>
>>
>> </div>
>>
>> The rest of the package is obviously W3C licensed.
>>
>> I've asked upstream about this. I'm forwarding his reply to the list so
>> you all know and for archiving. I guess the following reply makes it OK to
>> continue without the hassle of a separate dfsg source?
>>
>> Thanks for your help,
>>
>> Jan-Pascal
>>     
> Hi Jan-Pascal,
>
> Unfortunately, Debian people (and me included) wont like the wording of
> upstream author here:
>
>   
>> I don't have the time for a package update/release at the moment, but for
>> now I'll happily promise you that there will be absolutely no objections
>> from me, should my contribution to PEAR end up as part of any free
>> software distribution. I therefor grant you and any present and future
>> Debian developer permission to redistribute any past, present or future
>> releases of the mentioned module containing modified versions of the
>> mentioned file and and any other file part of the demo. I even encourage
>> modifying or replacing the mentioned file so it somehow mentions the
>> Debian project.
>>
>> Should you be interested I'll even grant you maintainer rights the the
>> module in PEAR…
>>
>> Kind regards,
>> Heino H. Gehlsen
>>     
> The part that bothers me is "I therefor grant *you* and any present and
> future *Debian developer* permission to redistribute any past, present
> or future releases of the mentioned module".
>
> Saying that you, or any Debian developer, has some rights, isn't enough
> for a software to enter main. We need to know that ANYONE (without any
> restriction) has such right, otherwise, it makes the software non-free
> since it is discriminating, and it's not complying with the DFSG (it
> wont hurt to past the URL again: http://www.debian.org/social_contract).
>
> Also, having such notice contradicting what you are going to write in
> debian/copyright is bad practice at least, and maybe even totally wrong
> (not sure how grave it can be considered). I don't know how other DD
> would react, but when it comes to me, I wouldn't risk myself to upload
> and having the ftp-masters be mad at me.
>
> Please have upstream:
> - release a version without the restriction
> - clearly state that ANYONE has the rights of redistribution,
> modification and son on... (usual Debian rules apply)
>
> I'm quite sorry that I had to write all this, since it seems that
> upstream has good intention. So it should be just be misunderstanding
> from his side of how free Debian is, and it has to be cleared, IMHO.
>
> Thomas
>   
Hi Thomas,

Upstream has patched the concerning file as follows. Does that make it
okay? I'll wait with asking for uploading to Debian for the next
upstream release, containing the patch.

Jan-Pascal


     <div id="page-footer">
     <hr />
    
     <div class="copyright">
     Copyright © 2011 by Heino H. Gehlsen. All rights reserved.
This work is distributed under the <a
href="http://www.w3.org/Consortium/Legal/2002/copyright-software-20021231">W3C
Software License</a> in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY
WARRANTY of any kind.
     </div>
    
     <div class="">
     (<a
href="http://svn.php.net/viewvc/pear/packages/Net_NNTP/trunk/docs/examples/demo/">source
code</a>)
     </div>
    
     </div>
    
     </body>
    
     </html>