On Sun, 17 Oct 2010 16:51:28 +0200 Miriam Ruiz wrote: > Hi all, Hi Miriam! > > I'm thinking about building a package for RtMidi [1], as I'm > developing a package of a software that embeds it, and already found > some other packages in the archive doing it. I'm not very keen on > having duplicated code around. This is very appreciated: I think that reducing and/or avoiding code duplication in Debian is a noble and commendable effort! [...] > Especially this part: "Any person wishing to distribute modifications > to the Software is requested to send the modifications to the original > developer so that they can be incorporated into the canonical > version.", can it be considered DFSG-free? > > There are at least two packages already in the archive embedding this > code, so it's probably already been considered DFSG-compliant, unless > it is an error, but I want to be sure about it. I am under the impression that this clause is a *kind request*, rather than a *legal requirement*. If this is really the case, then anyone who distributes modifications is allowed to do so without sending them to the original developer and still be in compliance with the license. In other words, this clause seems to be irrelevant for the DFSG-freeness analysis. In summary, I would say that this license is equivalent to the Expat/MIT license, accompanied by a kind request that does not alter the license terms. Therefore, I think it's acceptable for inclusion in packages shipped in main. Other debian-legal regulars may correct me, if I am wrong... Bye. -- http://www.inventati.org/frx/progs/scripts/pdebuild-hooks.html Need some pdebuild hook scripts? ..................................................... Francesco Poli . GnuPG key fpr == C979 F34B 27CE 5CD8 DC12 31B5 78F4 279B DD6D FCF4
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