Re: Sources licensed under PHP License and not being PHP are not distributable
Excerpts from md's message of 2014-06-26 16:54:11 -0700:
> On Jun 26, Clint Byrum <spamaps@debian.org> wrote:
>
> > Oh good, another discussion where we argue against our principles. I
> And which principles would be that, exactly?
>
https://www.debian.org/social_contract
Specifically, we won't hide problems and Debian will remain 100% free.
Unless I'm mistaken, the wording in the PHP license makes it invalid for
anybody that isn't actually the PHP project to use without making a
false claim that "THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE PHP DEVELOPMENT
TEAM".
It is also GPL incompatible due to restrictions it places on the
licensee's activities and the word PHP.
> > If anyone has a better way to safeguard those to whom we distribute
> > software, please do speak up about it.
> I suggest mimicking distributions that have real money and real lawyers,
> since probably they have a better idea than we do about the legal risks
> for themselves and their users.
>
That's quite the opposite of what I would suggest. Such distributions
may actually feel that they can withstand any damages that PHP/Zend can
claim against them, and their brands depend on them taking care of their
end users, but even if they didn't, they could also absorb any damage
those users could claim.
However, our users may not have deep pockets and are trusting Debian to
uphold the social contract and only distribute 100% free software. We're
in quite a different role than distros with real money and lawyers.
Anyway, I hope my original message wasn't lost: "Let's solve this
without compromising our principles." Not "let's act blindly."
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