On the license of python-debian for use as a library

[Ben Finney]

On 13-Aug-2019, Philippe Ombredanne wrote:
> And I made another mistake: Ben Finney <bignose at debian.org> is also
> a copyright holder.

Thanks for getting in contact.

> You input is welcomed.
> 
> On Tue, Aug 13, 2019 at 4:32 PM Philippe Ombredanne
> <pombredanne at nexb.com> wrote:
> >
> > […]
> > If you are a copyright holder in python-debian, would you agree to
> > a relicensing such that it can be used as a library for projects
> > using a permissive, non-GPL license?

I do not agree to any license change away from strong copyleft.

The GPL expresses my intended license for the code: that includes the
permission to derive from it free works, but not non-free works.

This is unaffected by whether the work is used as a library. GNU GPL
is a very good license for library code, because it encourages work
built on that code to also respect user freedoms by keeping all
derived works free.

I believe this was correctly understood by the original copyright
holders of the code in this library, when they deliberately chose to
release the work under GNU GPL. Regardless, I agree with that
license's restrictions today.

Weakening the copyleft to allow non-free software to link with this is
not permitted. I respectfully decline the request.

-- 
 \      “Every valuable human being must be a radical and a rebel, for |
  `\      what he must aim at is to make things better than they are.” |
_o__)                                                      —Niels Bohr |
Ben Finney <bignose at debian.org>
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