Re: GPL Compatibility of IFRIT License

[deejoe@raccoon.com]

Last month, Mark Hymers wrote:

>I'm currently working on packaging IFRIT (a piece of data visualization
>software which uses VTK and QT).  I've been auditing all of the source
>files to check their licenses before I finish off the packaging and
>apart from a couple of small issues (small files not having licenses)
>which I'm going to contact upstream about, it all looks reasonably good.
>
>I just want to check one thing.  The license for the majority of the
>IFRIT code is this:
>

[modified BSD license text ellided]

>

I saw the announcement of this package's inclusion in Debian
Weekly News and took a look at upstream's site since I have an
on-again, off-again interest in 3D visualization software.

>From what I see, I wonder if you'll have trouble with this due
to upstream's apparent confusion about licensing?  

After all, you quote license text that seems to be
straightforward modified BSD, yet in the link for downloading
the software:

   http://casa.colorado.edu/~gnedin/IFRIT/vtkdownload.html

upstream claims to be releasing it under the GPL or the QPL, but
with a blatantly GPL-incompatible proviso against generating any
income with the software:

   IFRIT is distributed under the terms of GNU Public License (GPL) or Qt
   Public License (QPL). You are given unrestricted permission to use,
   copy, distribute, and modify IFRIT. However, you do not have
   permission to sell IFRIT or to use IFRIT in any way that results in
   you obtaining income from such a use. By downloading IFRIT you are
   agreeing to abide by the terms of QPL and GPL.

-- 
D. Joe Anderson
http://www.etrumeus.com/~deejoe