Re: ITP: skkfep
>>>>> "TK" == Takao KAWAMURA <kawamura@debian.org> writes:
TK> Anyway, I've just looked over the copyright file of skkfep.
>> (C) 1992-1996 by Akinori ITO, Yutaka KANEKO and Masatoshi WATANABE
>> This software can MODIFIED and DISTRIBUTE without authorization of an author.
TK> I think `an author' is meaningless in this sentence.
TK> I assume `an author' means `one of the authors'.
TK> There seems that there are three authors of skkfep but only
TK> one of them (who?) grants us permission to modify or
TK> distribute the program. I wonder what the other think.
If the above two lines were actual copyright notices from the
upstream authors, then I would agree that it is unclear and
may be problematic.
However, grep -r 'MODIFIED' in the distribution directory of the
upstream sources (I snarfed skkfep0.86c.tar.gz, which was the
last version I found in the ftp directory mentioned in the
article I am following up on) does not find any match.
In the original README file distributed, it says something like
this in Japanese:
(5) Copyright and condition of use/distribution
(C) 1992-1996 by Akinori ITO, Yutaka KANEKO and Masatoshi WATANABE
This software can be used, modified, and/or distributed
without permission by the authors. The authors are not
liable for any dameges arising from the use of the software.
The above translation is mine but I am not a copyright lawyer;
the original is below if anybody who can read Japanese wants to
verify him/herself.
I think what you see as a problem is an innocent mistranslation
or mistake (I am not convinced the statement you quoted is even
a translation of anything from the upstream). Japanese language
does not distinguish singular and plural, nor definite /
indefinite articles. Probably the person who wrote the
copyright notice you quoted is not a native speaker / writer and
did not anticipate that s/he will be nitpicked like this.
Also, if you look at skkfep.1, it says (this one, the original
is in English):
.SH COPYRIGHT NOTICE
(C) Copyright 1992,1993 by Akinori ITO, Yutaka KANEKO and
Masatoshi WATANABE
.br
You may freely use, copy, modify and distribute
this software. This software is provided "as is" without warranty of
any kind. The entire risk as to the quality and performance of the
program is with you.
In short, I do not see any problem with their copyright
statement. It is clear the statement you quoted (which _is_
problematic) is not what the original authors intended, and what
the original authors describe in English seems free enough.
(5) 著作権と利用・配布条件について
(C) 1992-1996 by Akinori ITO, Yutaka KANEKO and Masatoshi WATANABE
このソフトウェアは，作者の許可なく利用・改変・配布できます．な
お，このソフトウェアの利用によって利用者が何らかの被害を受けた
場合，作者はその責任を一切負いません．
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