is RtMidi license DFSG-free?
Hi all, I'm thinking about building a package for RtMidi [1], as I'm developing a package of a software that embeds it, and already found some other packages in the archive doing it. I'm not very keen on having duplicated code around. In any case, the license [2], a custom licensed based on MIT, seems to be a bit wierd: RtMidi: realtime MIDI i/o C++ classes Copyright (c) 2003-2010 Gary P. Scavone Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the Software), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions: The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software. Any person wishing to distribute modifications to the Software is requested to send the modifications to the original developer so that they can be incorporated into the canonical version. THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED AS IS, WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE. Especially this part: Any person wishing to distribute modifications to the Software is requested to send the modifications to the original developer so that they can be incorporated into the canonical version., can it be considered DFSG-free? There are at least two packages already in the archive embedding this code, so it's probably already been considered DFSG-compliant, unless it is an error, but I want to be sure about it. Greetings and thanks, Miry [1] http://www.music.mcgill.ca/~gary/rtmidi/ [2] http://www.music.mcgill.ca/~gary/rtmidi/index.html#license -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-legal-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of unsubscribe. Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org Archive: http://lists.debian.org/aanlktikz5z61hahv_zt3w-3k1-=87hvsbmnt_arwl...@mail.gmail.com
Re: is RtMidi license DFSG-free?
On Sun, 17 Oct 2010 16:51:28 +0200 Miriam Ruiz wrote: Hi all, Hi Miriam! I'm thinking about building a package for RtMidi [1], as I'm developing a package of a software that embeds it, and already found some other packages in the archive doing it. I'm not very keen on having duplicated code around. This is very appreciated: I think that reducing and/or avoiding code duplication in Debian is a noble and commendable effort! [...] Especially this part: Any person wishing to distribute modifications to the Software is requested to send the modifications to the original developer so that they can be incorporated into the canonical version., can it be considered DFSG-free? There are at least two packages already in the archive embedding this code, so it's probably already been considered DFSG-compliant, unless it is an error, but I want to be sure about it. I am under the impression that this clause is a *kind request*, rather than a *legal requirement*. If this is really the case, then anyone who distributes modifications is allowed to do so without sending them to the original developer and still be in compliance with the license. In other words, this clause seems to be irrelevant for the DFSG-freeness analysis. In summary, I would say that this license is equivalent to the Expat/MIT license, accompanied by a kind request that does not alter the license terms. Therefore, I think it's acceptable for inclusion in packages shipped in main. Other debian-legal regulars may correct me, if I am wrong... Bye. -- http://www.inventati.org/frx/progs/scripts/pdebuild-hooks.html Need some pdebuild hook scripts? . Francesco Poli . GnuPG key fpr == C979 F34B 27CE 5CD8 DC12 31B5 78F4 279B DD6D FCF4 pgpUcoweL8jSg.pgp Description: PGP signature
Re: is RtMidi license DFSG-free?
Miriam Ruiz wrote: Especially this part: Any person wishing to distribute modifications to the Software is requested to send the modifications to the original developer so that they can be incorporated into the canonical version., can it be considered DFSG-free? It looks like a request not a requirement, so it's fine as far as I understand the DFSG. I have not tried a wdiff against other licences to see if there's another subtle change. Hope that helps, -- MJR/slef My Opinion Only: see http://people.debian.org/~mjr/ Please follow http://www.uk.debian.org/MailingLists/#codeofconduct -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-legal-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of unsubscribe. Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org Archive: http://lists.debian.org/20101017200025.312d9f7...@nail.towers.org.uk
