Re: Java in Debian advice result
John Goerzen <jgoerzen@complete.org> wrote:
> Back in summer 2006, there was a thread regarding the inclusion of Sun's
> Java under the DLJ in Debian's non-free area on its FTP site.
>
> Questions about the license were raised at that time. In my
> then-capacity as president of SPI, I asked SPI's attorney to give advice
> on the questions. For various reasons, we just recently have the
> answers back.
>
> Current DPL Anthony Towns and SPI President Bdale Garbee have asked me
> to summarize the situation here. SPI's attorney has asked that his
> messages not be posted to public mailing lists for reasons of
> attorney-client privilege.
>
> The short answer is that there should not be a legal liability on SPI
> from this action. Due to the indemnification clause in the Sun license,
> there is a possibility -- though it is remote -- of legal liability on
> some or all Debian developers. Just whom such theoritical liability
> would rest upon depends on whether the ftpmasters are acting on their
> own behalf or on that of the organization, which is unclear
> legally-speaking at the present moment.
Does this potential liability include mirror operators? Also, I
presume that you don't really mean *all* Debian developers. I do not
see how it could extend beyond the ftpmasters, the DPL, the package
maintainers, and perhaps some other officials in Debian.
> This particular issue does not appear to be serious, given the
> particulars of the license in question
Could you clarify this? Did the lawyer elaborate on this, or just
give a general statement?
Cheers,
Walter Landry
wlandry@ucsd.edu
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