Re: teTeX Documentation Licenses

[tb@becket.net (Thomas Bushnell, BSG)]

Branden Robinson <branden@debian.org> writes:

> > Copyright (C) [1998] by Taylor French.  All rights reserved.  
> > 
> > dtx file also says 
> > 
> >    The usual GNU-style conditions apply: If you change it, you
> >    take the blame; if you pass it on, pass on all present
> >    conditions;"
> 
> I disagree with Thomas Bushnell on this point.  I don't think "the usual
> GNU-style conditions" is enough footing to protect us legally from
> charges of infringement by the aurhor, or from whoever may end up with
> the copyright to this work.

I think this may be dangerous, but let's ask him before dropping it.
The others we should drop now, but this one, I think, we can let slide
until we get something more specific.  We should say something like:

"Hey, do you mean to license this under the GPL?  Can you do that
directly in the correct way?"  (With a full explanation of what
exactly that means.)

Then if he says "yes", we can await it (not forever, but can also
safely hang on where we are now).

If he says "no", then that means he doesn't really want it under the
"usual GNU-style conditions", and we should drop it (and it wouldn't
be able to be in non-free either).