Re: Unlicensed code in upstream
Michael Moerz wrote:
> So my problem is now that in the source tree of asc is a
> subdirectory containing poligon triangulization code. asc
> makes use of this code for displaying 3d-objects.
> That triangulization code was written by someone else who
> is not upstream. There is no license accompaning the code.
> Upstream did write a note where he got that code from but
> nothing more.
In my opinion:
I think you should find out (by asking upstream) whether their
licence includes the triangualization code or not. If the answer
is no then there is a problem: You can not package the software
and put it under debian, and you'll either have to rewrite that
code or ask the upstream authors to remedy the situation. Maybe
upstream is simply not aware of the problem.
I had a very similar problem with the mona package: upstream
proudly proclaimed that their software was GPL, however, the
README said that a certain subdirectory was not covered by their
licence but used with kind permission from someone else. In the end
it turned out that the university, where this third person had graduated,
was holding the copyright on the code, and upstream did not have
the right to redistribute that code. When pointing them to the
problem they simply replaced it by public domain code.
However, if you do not succed to resolve this by simple means
then you might ask on debian-legal for a more autorative answer.
-Ralf.
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