Re: Request for GR: clarifying the license text licensing / freeness issue
On Fri, 20 Apr 2007, Ben Finney wrote:
> Don Armstrong <don@debian.org> writes:
> > On Thu, 19 Apr 2007, Nathanael Nerode wrote:
> > > How about: "There is a special exception for the texts of the
> > > licenses under which works in Debian are distributed;"
> >
> > It's not just enough for that; it has to be a license specifically
> > being used as a license under which a work in Debian is being
> > distributed. [IE, in debian/copyright or specifically included by
> > reference from there.]
> >
> > For example, a second copy of the GPL in a package under the GPL would
> > not be acceptable, nor would a copy of the GPL in a package not under
> > the GPL.
>
> I presume the distinction you're making there is between license
> texts that are already distributed in /usr/share/common-licenses/
> and license texts that aren't.
I'm not making such a distinction. The actual location in which the
license is distributed does not matter. All that matters is that it is
a license being used as a legal document under which a work in Debian
is being distributed. It cannot be a license whose removal or
abridgement would have no legal effect upon the work in which it is
distributed. [I would argue as well that its removal cannot have a
functional effect on the work either.]
Don Armstrong
--
What I can't stand is the feeling that my brain is leaving me for
someone more interesting.
http://www.donarmstrong.com http://rzlab.ucr.edu
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