Re: Intent to package: vcg
On Sun, 17 Jan 1999, Ben Collins wrote:
> On Sun, Jan 17, 1999 at 07:36:33PM +0000, Jules Bean wrote:
> > > The copyright is GPL with some uglified files (the graph layout
> > > modules)---they are no longer human readable. This should be
> > > acceptable to go in main.
> >
> > Hmm.
> >
> > Note that the GPL defines source code in such a way that obfuscated source
> > code does not qualify as source code. So, by the GPL's rules, this is not
> > being provided with source, which probably makes in undistributable,
> > since we cannot satisfy the GPL on it by including source code or an offer
> > to provide such.
> >
> > Perhaps you would like to email the author and try to persuade not to
> > adopt this strategy?
>
> If that's the case, the author is breaking his own license by not
> providing the "prefered format for modifying" those modules. Which,
> iirc, is the way the GPL specifies it.
He is.
But of course, he doesn't have to obey his own license, (assuming he is
sole copyright holder of all constituent parts).
And the fact that he's not distributing his own software under the terms
of the GPL doesn't relieve us of our obligation to do so.
Jules
(who is not a lawyer, nor is this legal advice)
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| Jules aka | jules@debian.org | Richmond, Surrey |
| Julian Bean | jmlb2@hermes.cam.ac.uk | TW9 2TF *UK* |
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