Re: Bug#265352: grub: Debian splash images for Grub
Josh Triplett <josh.trip@verizon.net>:
> Please note that I did not say that a work is non-free if it can be
> transformed to contain a trademarked item, any more than a work is
> non-free if it can be transformed to contain a copyrighted work to which
> we don't have a Free license, such as the source code to Microsoft(TM)
> Windows(TM). :)
This doesn't really make sense. The only way you can transform a work
to contain a different copyrighted work is by including parts of the
other copyrighted work, which means you're transforming that other
work, not just the first work. The comparison between trademarks and
patents makes some sense; this comparison with copyright doesn't.
> I am only concerned with whether a given work, and all derived works of
> that work, have permission to use the trademark.
Which trademark? Trademarkedness isn't a property of the work;
trademarks exist independently of the work.
> I have no problem with Debian holding and licensing rights under both
> trademarks and copyrights that apply to Debian's works.
The whole point of a trademark restriction is that it doesn't just
apply to one's own works.
> Therefore, if
> we want to ship the logo in main, we need to grant a DFSG-Free license
> to the logo itself and to derived works of the logo.
Why the "if" clause? Debian owning a trademark is a restriction on all
works whether or not they include a representation of the trademark
and whether or not Debian ships them, so surely what you are really
saying is that Debian should not restrict the world's freedom by
owning a trademark, which seems to me like a reasonable, if extreme,
point of view.
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