Re: unknown license for package/debian/* in d/copyright in adopted package

[Ian Jackson <ijackson@chiark.greenend.org.uk>]

Ben Finney writes ("Re: unknown license for package/debian/* in d/copyright in adopted package"):
> Ian Jackson <ijackson@chiark.greenend.org.uk> writes:
> > I would encourage everyone who does packaging to explictly licence
> > your debian/* with some very permissive licence (eg, MIT).
> 
> I default to grating “GPLv3 or later” for mine; often I'll change
> that to match the upstream work's license grant.
> 
> I don't see any special reason to prefer lax license grants for Debian
> packaging, so I default to copyleft.

It is often useful to copy Debian packaging snippets from one package
to another.  That requires that the packaging of the first package
have a licence which is compatible with the upstream licence of the
second.  In practice that means a permissive licence.

This benefit IMO far outweighs the risk that at some point someone
will abuse our goodwill to make Debian-format source packages out of
proprietary software.  No-one, not even evil people, would want to do
that.  In practice no-one except Debian and its free software
derivatives makes Debian-format source packages; everyone else has an
ad-hoc build script that spits out some .debs.

> The principle is to consider what a hypothetical future package
> maintainer, or FTP master or recipient, will need to have to verify the
> copyright holder does in fact grant the stated license.
> 
> I agree that having the message be cryptographically signed is not
> necessary, but it is good to have if feasible.
> 
> The important thing is that the grant be explicit, specific as to which
> work and which license terms, and that it all be clearly in writing.

Do you agree that my mail exchange as found in the sympathy package is
a good example of how to ask these questions, and how to record the
answers ?

Ian.

-- 
Ian Jackson <ijackson@chiark.greenend.org.uk>   These opinions are my own.

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