On Fri, 03 Feb 2006, Charles Fry wrote: > Instead I propose that all RC bugs in PHP Group software released > with the PHP License be closed. > > For the record, all previous discussions of this matter on > debian-legal have suggested that the PHP License might be non-free > for everything (including PHP), but it has never been argueed that > PHP itself and PHP Group software should be treated differently with > respect to the PHP License. http://lists.debian.org/debian-legal/2005/12/msg00184.html contains an argument regarding clause 4 of the PHP license version 3.01 which has still not been addressed satisfactorily; namely that the license requires that software (which is not called PHP to start with) cannot use the letters "PHP" in their name.[1] 4. Products derived from this software may not be called "PHP", nor may "PHP" appear in their name, without prior written permission from group@php.net. [...] For example, I should be able to call my derived software TELEGRAPHPOLE if I want to, which contains "PHP", but does not use the words PHP in a manner that would likely fall afoul of any trademark of the term PHP, which presumably the PHP group already has. As this goes farther than what DFSG 4 allows by dissallowing an entire class of names, instead of merely requiring that the software changed names when it is a derived version, it's non-free. [That of course, isn't to say that the other clauses in the PHP license which are problematic shouldn't be dealt with as well...] Don Armstrong -- The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong it usually turns out to be impossible to get at or repair. -- Douglas Adams _Mostly Harmless_ http://www.donarmstrong.com http://rzlab.ucr.edu
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