Re: Bug#336982: dh-make: Difficulties with the debian/copyright template

[Justin Pryzby <justinpryzby@users.sourceforge.net>]

On Wed, Nov 02, 2005 at 11:42:16AM +0100, Henning Makholm wrote:
> Scripsit Justin Pryzby <justinpryzby@users.sourceforge.net>
> 
> >   Copyright Holder: <put author(s) name and email here>
> >
> > This has to include a copyright year, also.  Please update the
> > boilerplace to indicate that.  Also, the copyright holder is not
> > necessarily the author.
> 
> Ideally, the copyright file should reproduce the exact copyright
> notice(s) found in the upsteam work itself. If there is no year in the
> original notice (the year of publication ought to be unnecessary in
> all Berne convention jurisdictions), then the maintainer should not
> artificially add one.
Isn't the "upstream author" also useful?  Policy 12.5 ("should"):

     In addition, the copyright file must say where the upstream
     sources (if any) were obtained.  It should name the original
     authors of the package and the Debian maintainer(s) who were
     involved with its creation.

> > Copyright Statements:
> >
> >   <template>
> >   Include the names of all copyright holders here.  Also include the
> >   range of years during which they made contributions to the package.
> 
> I think that dh_make templates are fundamentally the wrong place to
> put such instructions. A packager's task is to dig out the copyright
> notice in the source and reproduce that _verbatim_, with whatever
> warts it has - unless it is actually false. He is _not_ supposed to
> try to do his on sanitizing of the _form_ of the copyright notice.
Agree; as noted, the copyright and license sections should say
something to this effect, and the text should be ammended such that
the "years of contribution" phrase exists only to give an example of
what the package is looking for:

  <template>
  Find the copyright notice in the upstream source, and copy it here
  as nearly verbatim as possible.  The copyright notice includes the
  names of the current copyright holders, and ideally also includes
  the range of years during which they hold the copyright.

  The copyright holder is not necessarily the same as the upstream
  author;  (This paragraph simply justifies the existence of both the
  "upstream author" section, and the "copyright holders" section).

  ... (continue rest of section here)

-- 
Clear skies,
Justin