Dear Legal List, I have been asked to bring the licence for a package I am preparing for unstable, which I am hoping will go into main, to this list hoping to get a concensus that the licence is DSFG OK.
The package is an Apache module, libapache-mod-backhand, which performs application level load balancing of HTTP requests between Apache and backhand enabled servers. It is written by Yair Amir and Theo Schlossnagle at John Hopkins University. I sat in on Theo's presentation of mod-backhand at ApacheCon Europe last October in London, and he inidcated it was distributed under an Apache style licence; my impresion was that this would be DFSG compatible. I noticed a Request For Packaging around December, and after contacting Theo and him approving of me doing this, I set about inserting myself in the NM queue and packaging the module. Ralf Treinen has raised some concern with sections 4, 5 and 6, and the ultimate senntence in the licence, which I post here in full: /* ==================================================================== * Copyright (c) 1998-1999 The Johns Hopkins University. * All rights reserved. * * Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without * modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions * are met: * * 1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright * notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer. * * 2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright * notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in * the documentation and/or other materials provided with the * distribution. * * 3. All advertising materials mentioning features or use of this * software must display the following acknowledgment: * "This product includes software developed at The Center for * Networking and Distributed Systems at The Johns Hopkins University * for use in the Backhand project (http://www.cnds.jhu.edu/backhand). * Creator: Theo Schlossnagle <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> * Guidance: Yair Amir <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>" * * 4. The names "Backhand" and "mod_backhand" must not be used to * endorse or promote products derived from this software without * prior written permission. For written permission, please contact * [EMAIL PROTECTED] * * 5. Products derived from this software may not be called "mod_backhand" * nor may "mod_backhand" appear in their names without prior written * permission. For written permission, please contact * [EMAIL PROTECTED] * * 6. Redistributions of any form whatsoever must retain the following * acknowledgment: * "This product includes software developed at The Center for * Networking and Distributed Systems at The Johns Hopkins University * for use in the Backhand project (http://www.cnds.jhu.edu/backhand). * Creator: Theo Schlossnagle <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> * Guidance: Yair Amir <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> * All other contributors are listed in the NOTICE document provided * with this distribution." * * THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED ``AS IS'' AND ANY EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED * WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES * OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR * PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE APACHE GROUP OR * ITS CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, * SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT * NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; * LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) * HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, * STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) * ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED * OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE. * ==================================================================== * * mod_backhand development was partially funded by a grant from he Defense * Advance Projects Agency (DARPA) to Johns Hopkins University. The U.S. * Government retains certain rights in this software. */ My intepretation is that section 4 and 5 is to protect the backhand project from being associated with other projects, but not restricting the use of the code. Projects that rely on any form of mod_backhand from the main project may not use backhand as a feature or endorsment, and derrived works using the backhand source as a basis may not claim to be derrived from backhand. Part 6 seems to be an advertising clause, as per some of the *BSD licences, while the last sentence I think is merely indicating that some federal money was used to fund some of the project; these exact rights I have not yet clarified with the backhand project. Would most people agree with this, and claim that this licence is DFSG compatible? Under what situations would this not be compatible? Many thanks, James -- James Bromberger <james_AT_rcpt.to> www.rcpt.to/~james * * C u in Bordeaux - 1st Debian Conference, July 2001 * * Remainder moved to http://www.rcpt.to/~james/james/sig.html
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