Geant4 Software License, version 1.0
Hi debian-legal,
I would be interested to hear your opinions on the Geant4 Software
License, version 1.0 [1]. Until a few days ago Geant4 did not actually
have a license, making it technically undistributable; the new license
applies to the just-released Geant4 version 8.1 (and presumably future
versions).
Just FYI, Geant4 is a huge piece of high-energy physics related
simulation software; it has a home page at [2] and there is a Debian RFP
[3] which unfortunately won't be satisfiable until the CLHEP library [4]
is also available under a real software license.
[1] http://geant4.web.cern.ch/geant4/license/LICENSE.html
[2] http://geant4.web.cern.ch/geant4/
[3] http://bugs.debian.org/325305
[4] http://proj-clhep.web.cern.ch/proj-clhep/
The license itself is reproduced below. It looks like a combination of
the X-Oz license plus an anti-patent clause. Because of that, I think
it is not DFSG-free, but if anyone disagrees I'm open to convincing. :-)
It's also GPL-incompatible, but all of Geant4's dependencies are LGPL,
MIT/X, or Zlib licensed so that shouldn't be a problem. Mostly I'm
looking for opinions about (1) whether Geant4 could go into non-free
once its dependencies are available in Debian and (2) whether it's safe
for unofficial Debian packages to be distributed from a
non-Debian-affiliated site in the US. I don't see an obstacle, but
maybe I'm missing something...
License follows.
Geant4 Software License
Version 1.0, 28 June 2006
Copyright (c) Copyright Holders of the Geant4 Collaboration, 1994-2006.
See http://cern.ch/geant4/license for details on the copyright holders.
All rights not expressly granted under this license are reserved.
This software includes voluntary contributions made to Geant4. See
http://cern.ch/geant4 for more information on Geant4.
Installation, use, reproduction, display, modification and
redistribution of this software, with or without modification, in source
and binary forms, are permitted on a non- exclusive basis. Any exercise
of rights by you under this license is subject to the following conditions:
1. Redistributions of this software, in whole or in part, with or
without modification, must reproduce the above copyright notice and
these license conditions in this software, the user documentation and
any other materials provided with the redistributed software.
2. The user documentation, if any, included with a redistribution, must
include the following notice:
"This product includes software developed by Members of the Geant4
Collaboration ( http://cern.ch/geant4 )."
If that is where third-party acknowledgments normally appear, this
acknowledgment must be reproduced in the modified version of this
software itself.
3. The names "Geant4” and “The Geant4 toolkit” may not be used to
endorse or promote software, or products derived therefrom, except with
prior written permission by license@geant4.org. If this software is
redistributed in modified form, the name and reference of the modified
version must be clearly distinguishable from that of this software.
4. You are under no obligation to provide anyone with any modifications
of this software that you may develop, including but not limited to bug
fixes, patches, upgrades or other enhancements or derivatives of the
features, functionality or performance of this software. However, if you
publish or distribute your modifications without contemporaneously
requiring users to enter into a separate written license agreement, then
you are deemed to have granted all Members and all Copyright Holders of
the Geant4 Collaboration a license to your modifications, including
modifications protected by any patent owned by you, under the conditions
of this license.
5. You may not include this software in whole or in part in any patent
or patent application in respect of any modification of this software
developed by you.
6. DISCLAIMER
THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE MEMBERS AND COPYRIGHT HOLDERS OF THE
GEANT4 COLLABORATION AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED
WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
MERCHANTABILITY, OF SATISFACTORY QUALITY, AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
PURPOSE OR USE ARE DISCLAIMED. THE MEMBERS OF THE GEANT4 COLLABORATION
AND CONTRIBUTORS MAKE NO REPRESENTATION THAT THE SOFTWARE AND
MODIFICATIONS THEREOF, WILL NOT INFRINGE ANY PATENT, COPYRIGHT, TRADE
SECRET OR OTHER PROPRIETARY RIGHT.
7. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
THE MEMBERS AND COPYRIGHT HOLDERS OF THE GEANT4 COLLABORATION AND
CONTRIBUTORS SHALL HAVE NO LIABILITY FOR DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL,
INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES OF ANY
CHARACTER INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS
OR SERVICES, LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS, OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION,
HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF CONTRACT, WARRANTY, TORT (INCLUDING
NEGLIGENCE), PRODUCT LIABILITY OR OTHERWISE, ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF
THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
DAMAGES.
8. This license shall terminate with immediate effect and without notice
if you fail to comply with any of the terms of this license, or if you
institute litigation against any Member or Copyright Holder of the
Geant4 Collaboration with regard to this software.
[end of license]
Thanks,
--
Kevin B. McCarty <kmccarty@princeton.edu> Physics Department
WWW: http://www.princeton.edu/~kmccarty/ Princeton University
GPG: public key ID 4F83C751 Princeton, NJ 08544
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