Re: ilu-base: ILU's license has changed. It's free now.
Bill Janssen <janssen@parc.xerox.com> writes:
> Excerpts from direct: 20-Apr-99 Re: ilu-base: ILU's license.. John
> Hasler@dhh.gt.org (581)
> > The license contains this bit of sillines:
> > "Any distribution of this software, a modified version thereof, or a
> > derivative work must comply with all applicable United States export
> > control laws."
> However, I don't see that this is a problem; silly, perhaps, but a problem?
It puts every redistributor of the program, even if he's located
outside of USA under the de facto jurisdiction of US laws.
Suppose we allowed software with that kind of licenses to end up in
main, i.e. possibly as essential components of Debian.
Suppose further that someday some maniac faction rises to power in the
US and amends the export control laws to the effect that "no piece
of computer software may be sold, leased or given to any non-US
citizen".
Poof. A lot of software suddenly loses its license here. The Danish
law may have nothing against my burning a Debian CD and give it to
a friend, but Xerox Danmark would be able to sue me - and win - over
it.
Would you feel comfortable with a "free" license that said, "your
permission to distribute is void, and we reserve the right to sue
you, if distribution would happen to contradict applicable Iraqi
export control law"?
If not, why should a reference to US law be considered any better?
--
Henning Makholm
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