Re: Intent to package: fastDNAml
Stephane Bortzmeyer <bortzmeyer@pasteur.fr> writes:
> Field: Biology (research)
>
> fastDNAml is a reimplementation of the dnaml program (already in slink, in the
> "phylip" package).
>
> The main problem is the licence: there is absolutely none included, the
> authors do not reply and people who know them tell me that they won't but I
> can "probably" go on with packaging and sending to "main". I feel a bit
> unsecure about that: according to the Berne Treaty, no licence means that
> everything is forbidden, not that everything is allowed.
>
> Did anyone already have such a problem?
Unfortunately your insecurities are warranted. I think you will have to
hope for a reply from the authors.
Debian Policy 2.5.0, section 2.1.6:
2.1.6. Further copyright considerations
---------------------------------------
...
Note, that under international copyright law (this applies in the
United States, too) _no_ distribution or modification of a work is
allowed without an explicit notice saying so. Therefore a program
without a copyright notice _is_ copyrighted and you may not do
anything to it without risking being sued! Likewise if a program has a
copyright notice but no statement saying what is permitted then
nothing is permitted.
...
Martin.
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