Re: Macromedia flash and shockwave

[John Galt <galt@inconnu.isu.edu>]

On Tue, 29 May 2001, Bart Martens wrote:

>Hi Debian-lawyers :-)
>
>Concerning [1] packaging Macromedia flash and shockwave for Mozilla...
>
>Has anyone of you studied the license at [2]?

Now I have :)

>Does the license allow Macromedia flash and shockwave to be packaged
>in a Debian package, and included in the non-free section?

clause III of the license pretty much gives Debian the right to make an
installer

  iii.  through the Internet to end users, solely as a part of, with, or
   in conjunction with, its Licensee Product (such as embedded in
   Licensee's installer which, in turn, is downloaded from the Internet).

Later stuff gets ugly, but it looks as if Debian's clear.  I have a minor
thing with restriction number VII, but theoretically the "big 7" aren't
able to download from US based servers anyway, or the BXA'd already have
cause to shut them down.

Actually, the installer would go into contrib, unless you're planning to
use a non-DFSG-free license for the installer itself.  The program itself
is DFSG free, it just depends on (gets) a non-free program.

>If not, we could ask Macromedia for an exceptional permission. Does
>anyone know how such a permission should be asked? (Maybe an e-mail
>template...)

NO!  The email template for asking debian specific permission is DON'T DO
IT.  I cannot emphasize it strongly enough: Debian neither will nor even
can ask for debian-specific permission, see DFSG #8:

  8. License Must Not Be Specific to Debian
       The rights attached to the program must not depend on the
       program's being part of a Debian system. If the program is
       extracted from Debian and used or distributed without Debian but
       otherwise within the terms of the program's license, all parties
       to whom the program is redistributed should have the same rights
       as those that are granted in conjunction with the Debian system.

>Bart Martens
>
>[1] http://bugs.debian.org/99134
>[2] http://www.macromedia.com/support/shockwave/info/licensing/license.html
>
>
>

-- 
There is an old saying that if a million monkeys typed on a million
keyboards for a million years, eventually all the works of Shakespeare
would be produced.   Now, thanks to Usenet, we know this is not true.

Who is John Galt?  galt@inconnu.isu.edu, that's who!