Hi Laszlo,
I'm forewarding this to debian-legal list [keeping
debian-med-packag...@lists.alioth.debian.org in CC would be great]
because I do not feel fully competent for this question.
However, I think in any case it is worth trying to educate authors about
the advantages of a free license. We had some successful and also some
unsuccessful trials here on this list. If you are writing like "I'm
writing you on behalf of the Debian Med team ..." (you will find this
string in the list archive when seeking for it) this could have at least
one positive effect that upstream is learning about our project and
might change their mind over time.
Kind regards
Andreas.
- Forwarded message from Laszlo Kajan -
Date: Sun, 19 Feb 2012 12:23:07 +0100
From: Laszlo Kajan
To: Debian Med Packaging Team ,
Tim Booth , "H. Soon Gweon"
Subject: sift and blimps license interpretation - can Debian redistribute these?
Dear fellow packagers!
I am not certain about the interpretation of the attached sift/blimps license
(ftp://ftp.ncbi.nih.gov/repository/blocks/unix/blimps/LICENSE - I
am packaging these right now). The license is not free that's for sure, but:
* Can Debian redistribute it at all? - in other words: can we have sift and
blimps in non-free?
This seems to be the relevant bit:
> 2. [...] b. Licensee may not charge any fee or royalty for copies
> of the Program or Derivative Work. Licensee is authorized to
> sublicense the Program and any Derivative Work to third parties on a
> royalty-free basis subject to the terms of this license but may not
> otherwise distribute the Program or any Derivative Work.
> Notwithstanding the foregoing, Licensee may be reimbursed for any
> actual expenses it incurs in reproducing or delivering a copy of the
> Program or any Derivative Work.
Is redistribution 'sublicensing'? Debian does redistribution on a 'royalty-free
basis', so my judgement is that Debian is allowed to
redistribute sift/blimps.
If Debian is not allowed to redistribute it, probably neither is Ubuntu or
Biolinux.
Thank you for your help in advance!
Best,
Laszlo
Thank you for your interest in licensing SIFT and the
Blimps searching programs. These files and programs are copyrighted by
the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and are made freely available
for noncommercial use. We cannot provide any support for them beyond what
we do to maintain them for our research. However, we would appreciate
being informed of how they are being used.
FHCRC currently has no policy regarding commercial use of SIFT
and Blimps, although they may have in the future. So commercial users
may use them now under the noncommercial license.
-
Pauline Ng
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center FAX: 206-667-5889
1100 Fairview AV N, A1-162, PO Box 19024 Seattle, WA 98109-1024
(C) Copyright 1993-2001, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
LICENSE -- License and copyright information for SIFT and BLIMPS
---
FHCRC NONCOMMERCIAL LICENSE
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
1100 Fairview AV N
Seattle, WA 98109-1024
This license may be copied and distributed but may not be modified in
any way.
RECITALS:
A. Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center is a nonprofit
corporation dedicated to investigating the nature and causes of cancer
and methods of cancer prevention and treatment and for conducting
education in all phases of cancer research.
B. This license is designed to permit certain activities with
respect to any computer programs to which it applies on the terms
stated in this license.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS:
1. Definitions.
"Program" means the computer software and associated
documentation in whatever form or format including source and object
code.
"Derivative Work" means any modification, addition, upgrade,
update or improvement of the Program and any other work constituting a
derivative work under the copyright laws.
"Licensee" means licensee of the Program under this license.
"FHCRC" means Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
2. License, Copy, Distribute and Create Derivative Work. FHCRC
hereby grants Licensee and Licensee accepts, subject to the terms and
conditions of this Agreement, a nonexclusive, royalty-free license to
use, copy and sublicense the Program and prepare and sublicense
Derivative Works. This license is expressly limited as follows:
a. All copies of the Program must conspicuously show an
appropriate copyright notice and disclaimer of warranty and must
expressly refer to this license. In addition, Deriva
