Greetings !
It has been suggested that I ask your opinion on a packaging
model for my application, tomboy-ng. Unusually, I will be adding
code from another repository into the Debian Source package. The
'other' source code, KControls, is freely licensed but is not
using a recognized license.
The Details
My application is written in Pascal using the Lazarus Component Library, and, in addition, the KControls component library. In Pascal speak, libraries of this type are really just source files that are compiled and linked at compile time, not to be confused with run time libraries. tomboy-ng is dependent on KControls, it cannot function without it, the only potential alternative, RichMemo, is seriously incomplete in some important aspects.
KControls is not available as a Debian package and given its
nature, it is probably not appropriate to attempt to make one.
Further, my application uses (and ships) only a small part of
KControls (a component called KMemo).
When I build the Debian Source Package, I add a separate directory containing a number of files from KControls, I retain all licensing information and each source file has a license statement in its header. In the tomboy-ng debian/copyright file the KControls license statement is reproduced. I have contacted the KControl's author, outlining this model and he has agreed that my use of KControls is consistent with his expectations. The final binary packages do not contain any source files but, obviously, the KControls license statement is still there along with my GPL-3 license, for all to see.
References
tomboy-ng : https://github.com/tomboy-notes/tomboy-ng
KControls authors statement - https://github.com/kryslt/KControls/issues/27
KControls license statement -
Copyright (c) Tomas Krysl
This code is distributed as a freeware. You are free to use it as
part of your application for any purpose including freeware,
commercial and shareware applications. The origin of this source
code must not be misrepresented; you must not claim your
authorship. All redistributions of the original or modified
source code must retain the original copyright notice. The Author
accepts no liability for any damage that may result from using
this code.
Thanks for your time, if I can provide any further information to clarify this situation, please let me know.
David