Re: why is 'dbf' in non-free?
On Mon, Jan 07, 2002 at 02:46:47PM -0600, DvB wrote:
> I ran a search for dbf (xbase) packages in debian and came up with the
> 'dbf' package which is in non-free.
> If it's in non-free because of licensing issues with the Xbase format,
> I'd like to know since I'm currently finishing up a dbf library of my
> own that I had planned to release under a free license (either GPL or
> BSD. Haven't decided yet) and don't want to run into legal problems
> because of it.
The best place to look for this information is in the copyright file
contained in the package. In this case, the problem is with the copyright
for libdbf:
Copyright:
DBF - xbase manipulation package
Copyright (c) Brad Eacker, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994
Permission is granted to distribute and use the source,
documentation files and/or compiled binaries associated with dbf
for non-commercial use. No charges may be made for such
distributions.
This is non-free because it restricts commercial use of the software, and
charging for copies. The laterr makes it impossible to sell a Debian CD
containing this software.
--
- mdz
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