redistributability of two software pieces in non-free
Dear debian-legal readers,
here the relevant parts of the copyright of a piece of software which is
necessary for vmd, a molecular visualization program:
--%<---------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Copyright Notice:
* All rights reserved, whether the whole or part of the program is
* concerned. The software may not be used without specific, prior
* written permission of the author.
*
* An academic licence agreement for the package ASC/GM or its parts
* is granted if you make the following commitments:
* 1) In using this software, the user will respect the interests of
* the author.
* 2) The use of the software in commercial activities is not allowed
* without a prior written commercial licence agreement. The program
* will not be used in classified research.
* 3) Other interested research groups will be redirected
* to the author. The user will not redistribute the code outside
* his immediate research group.
* 4) The copyright messages will not be modified or suppressed.
* 5) The reference given below will be cited in any publication
* of scientific results based in part or completely on use of the
* program.
* 6) Bugs will be reported to the author.
*
* Permission to use, copy, and modify this software and
* its documentation is hereby granted without fee for
* academic use, provided
* that the above copyright notices and this permission notice appear in
* all copies of the software and related documentation.
*
* THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS-IS" AND WITHOUT WARRANTY OF
* ANY KIND,
* EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR OTHERWISE, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY
* WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
*
* IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHOR BE LIABLE FOR
* ANY SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OF ANY KIND,
* OR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS,
* WHETHER OR NOT ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF DAMAGE, AND ON ANY THEORY OF
* LIABILITY, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE
* OF THIS SOFTWARE.
-->%---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The rest is only contact address and the to-be-included list of references to
the author's papers.
While this software violates dfsg without doubt, I wonder if it could be
distributed in non-free because it states that it can only be copied for
academic use. Is copying equal to distribution?
The "Bugs will be reported to the author" clause also strikes me as quite weird
and I'm not sure how to comply with it in practice. The main website of the
tool is down and the author doesnt seem to work there anymore. No surprise as
the software is from 1994...
A similar issue arises for another piece of software, also required for vmd.
It's copyright reads:
--%<---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The source code for SURF is copyrighted by the original author and the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Permission to use, copy,
modify, and distribute this software and its documentation for educational,
research, and non-profit purposes is hereby granted, provided this notice,
all the source files, and the name(s) of the original author(s) appear in
all such copies.
BECAUSE THE CODE IS PROVIDED FREE OF CHARGE, IT IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND
WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED.
-->%---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here it states distribution directly but also adds the educational, research
and non-profit purpose. This would meet the requirements for inclusion in
non-free, no?
cheers, josch
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