Re: [DebianGIS] Debconf7 meeting minutes

["Francesco P. Lovergine" <frankie@debian.org>]

On Wed, Jul 04, 2007 at 09:47:18PM +1200, Hamish wrote:
> Francesco P. Lovergine wrote:
> > 
> > A the same time, a reporting page for novelties about the project
> > is on
> > 
> > http://wiki.debian.org/DebianGis/StateOfTheMap
> 
> 
> "ECW library has gone. Ermapper changed previous license in an EULA, so
> packaging is no more possible."
> 
> 
> I think it may be more fair to say that Leica changed ER mapper's
> license after buying them, but....
> 
> Q: if the old version has a nice license, open in a way makes
> retrospective EULA changes impossible (ie DFSG compat), and the code is
> at a mature reference implementation state, why remove the old library
> until such time as it is hideously out of date and causing problems for
> users?
> 

Because the old version was as problematic as the current status.
See past threads about the issues connected with the ECW SDK use for
free software. Defining 'nice' the old license is largerly an
exageration :)

> eg the MS core fonts situation; no longer Free upstream, but the old
> version was Free and worked well, so keep distributing the old version.
> 

That's not the case.

-- 
Francesco P. Lovergine