Package: virtualbox-guest-additions-iso Severity: normal X-Debbugs-CC: whonix-de...@whonix.org
Dear maintainer, package virtualbox-guest-additions-iso is currently in Debian non-free repository. I believe this is might be a mistake. Copyright file [1] of the package is saying > Disclaimer: This package is formally not part of the Debian GNU/Linux distribution, because ยง 2 (2) of the VirtualBox PUEL license only allows the redistribution of "unmodified copies of the ISO installation medium", but not the source code. Putting the following term into search engines: "unmodified copies of the ISO installation medium" shows only years old search results. The VirtualBox licensing FAQ [2] does not mention the ISO. It only mentions the VirtualBox Extension Pack being under nonfree license Extension Pack Personal Use and Evaluation License (PUEL) [3]. [3] does not mention any ISO either. Editions page [4] stating: > Before version 4.0, there were two editions of VirtualBox: a full binary containing all features and an "Open Source Edition" (OSE) with source code. With version 4.0, there is only one version any more, which is open source, and the closed-source components have been moved to a separate extension pack. When installing from guest using guest additions ISO, there is no PUEL license prompt either. Source code organization page [5] mentions: > src/VBox/Additions/: The "Guest Additions" for Windows and Linux (and possibly more in the future); this is code that must be installed within a guest to optimize its performance and usability. The build system compiles this code into an ISO file that can be mounted as a VM's virtual CD-ROM drive, as described in the user manual. The VirtualBox guest additions source tree is apparently part of OSE. Therefore the build result should also be under OSE. VirtualBox extension pack source code was as far as I know never visible to the general public. Therefore reviewing the situation with today's knowledge, I wouldn't know why virtualbox-guest-additions-iso should be considered being under non-free PUEL license. I've also asked in the VirtualBox forums. [6] Could you therefore please kindly consider to move virtualbox-guest-additions-iso from non-free to contrib? Cheers, Patrick [1] https://metadata.ftp-master.debian.org/changelogs//non-free/v/virtualbox-guest-additions-iso/virtualbox-guest-additions-iso_6.1.8-1_copyright [2] https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Licensing_FAQ [3] https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/VirtualBox_PUEL [4] https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Editions [5] https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Source_code_organization [6] https://forums.virtualbox.org/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=21374&p=477656#p477656
