Re: Are these copyright notices compatible with GPLv2+?

[Walter Landry <wlandry@caltech.edu>]

Guilherme Brondani Torri <guitorri@gmail.com> wrote:
> //2. In any product based on the software, the users agree to acknowledge
> //Michael Schroter that developed the model and software. This
> //acknowledgment shall appear in the product documentation.

This essentially boils down to a copyright notice.  So I think it is
OK.

> //3. Users agree to obey all government restrictions governing
> //redistribution or export of the software.

This is an additional restriction on top of what is allowed by GPLv2+.
That, unfortunately, makes it incompatible.

> //4. The Users agree to reproduce any copyright notice which appears on
> //the software and documentation on any copy or modification of such
> //made available to others.
> === END ===
> 
> One concern was raised about the request on paragraph 2, related to
> acknowledgment of the author in the documentation. Does the word "shall"
> implies something mandatory? If not, is there any other potential issue?
> 
> The second file has this copyright notice:
> 
> === BEGIN ===
> © 2005-2014 FBH. Permission to make copies, either paper or electronic, of
> these files for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided
> that the copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial
> advantage and that the copies are complete and unmodified. Other
> distributing, publishing, or posting on servers requires prior written
> permission by FBH. By downloading these files, you agree that FBH shall not
> be held to any liability with respect to any claim by you or from any third
> party arising from or on account of the use of these files, regardless of
> the form of action, including negligence. In no event will FBH be liable
> for consequential or incidental damages of any nature whatsoever.
> === END ===
> 
> Requesting permission from FBH would be enough?
> In case they give us permission to distribute, should we make their
> permission visible to others? How this is usually done?

This does not allow modification, so it is definitely incompatible
with GPLv2+.  It also restricts how you can use it.  In addition,
Debian will not distribute it in main, since Debian guarantees that
people can do things like sell installer DVD's with the contents of
main.  If you want to distribute this software linked to a GPLv2+
project, you will have to ask for a new license from FBH.

Cheers,
Walter Landry