A bunch of questions: buildd, chm, build dependencies, software patent issue

[Jose Luis Blanco <joseluisblancoc@gmail.com>]

Dear mentors,

I hope someone can help me with a few doubts:


1) buildd: I have found problems in the compilation of my (first) package in
buildd (http://buildd.debian.org/pkg.cgi?pkg=mrpt). Some fixes only imply
changes in the debian/ directory, others are changes in the upstream files.
How can I fix this? Should I update the version in buildd (incrementing the -1,
-2,... Debian version number) and upload it again to mentors? Is it better to
replace the package by a newer upstream version which already fixes the building
issues?


2) chm (MS' compressed html format) help files: Is it preferred to include only
HTML help files in foo-doc packages? I find CHM files quite useful for example,
for searching, but I don't know if there's any policy about forbidding/not
recommending this kind of files for debian docs.


3) When writing the dependencies in debian/control, is there any way to indicate
an optional dependency? For example, some packages in sid are not in etch but I
want my package to still be "buildable" under both distributions.


4) Software patent issue: In a package I've included a piece of code which is
delicate: a computer vision algorithm (SIFT) on which a patent has been
requested by a University. Specifically, the License of the original code I use is:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Rob Hess
    http://web.engr.oregonstate.edu/~hess/

    All code in this package except for the SIFT feature detection code is
    licensed under the GPL version 2. For more information on SIFT licensing
    issues, see the file LICENSE.ubc (copied below).

    SIFT LICENSE CONDITIONS

    Copyright (2005), University of British Columbia.

    This software for the detection of invariant keypoints is being made
    available for individual research use only.  Any commercial use or any
    redistribution of this software requires a license from the University
    of British Columbia.

    The following patent has been issued for methods embodied in this
    software: "Method and apparatus for identifying scale invariant
    features in an image and use of same for locating an object in an
    image," David G. Lowe, US Patent 6,711,293 (March 23,
    2004). Provisional application filed March 8, 1999. Asignee: The
    University of British Columbia.

    For further details on obtaining a commercial license, contact David
    Lowe (lowe@cs.ubc.ca) or the University-Industry Liaison Office of the
    University of British Columbia.

    THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR
    WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND CONCERNING THIS SOFTWARE.

    This license file must be retained with all copies of the software,
    including any modified or derivative versions.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I think there should be no problem in including this code keeping these
statements, but I prefer to ask for more experienced opinions first :-)
BTW, there is currently in Debian another package (autopano-sift) which already
contains the same SIFT algorithm (but from different source code), so I expect
there is no legal problem here! The copyright of that package does indeed
mention the patent issue as well.


Best,
Jose Luis