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Re: [License-review] Chroma license / United States Government Contract



Andreas Cadhalpun <andreas.cadhalpun@googlemail.com> writes:

> The license distributed through git is the file COPYING (attached).
> Not being a lawyer I don't feel competent to judge, whether this
> license is DFSG-free or not, so I'm asking for your opinion.

Thank you for taking care with the freedoms of this work's recipients.

> 		            COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE

I think this work is non-free and non-redistributable, unless some
additional license applies. None of the freedoms required for the DFSG
are granted to recipients, and there is not even any freedom to
redistribute.

> This material resulted from work developed under a United States Government
> Contract and is subject to the following license:

Doesn't specify exemptions from copyright law, so the default assumption
must be “all rights reserved” i.e. entirely non-free and non-redistributable.

> The Government retains a paid-up, nonexclusive, irrevocable worldwide
> license to reproduce, prepare derivative works, perform publicly and
> display publicly by or for the Government including the right to
> distribute to other Government contractors.

That's the end of the license; the only parties which receive any
freedom from copyright restrictions are “The Government” and “other
Government contractors”. Nothing in this license permits anyone else to
do anything at all.

>                   Disclaimer AND LIMITATION OF WARRANTY.

No further freedoms are granted, and the restrictions are fairly routine
for disclaimer sections.

Summary: If this is the license under which the work is granted, the
work is non-DFSG-free and not redistributable by Debian.

-- 
 \     “We should strive to do things in [Gandhi's] spirit… not to use |
  `\   violence in fighting for our cause, but by non-participation in |
_o__)                       what we believe is evil.” —Albert Einstein |
Ben Finney


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