Bug#883966: debian-policy: please add MIT/Expat to common licenses

[Russ Allbery <rra@debian.org>]

Markus Koschany <apo@debian.org> writes:
> Am 12.12.2017 um 03:39 schrieb Russ Allbery:

>> The binaries built from the source code are a "substantial portion of
>> the Software."  We have to include the license and copyright statement
>> with the binaries, since they're a derivative work, and those packages
>> don't contain the source code and the original license notices.

> We always distribute the source code along with the binary packages.

This isn't true: we produce install media that contains only the binary
packages and not the source.

> This condition would still be satisfied. If it works for Red Hat /
> Fedora it should work for Debian too.

This isn't the rule we've followed in the past, and this is well outside
the scope of the Policy team to decide.  We would need a ruling from the
relevant delegate (ftpmaster, or DPL plus outside legal counsel) to make
this change, I think.

In the meantime, Policy should continue to be written assuming the current
rule: we do not treat distribution of the source alongside binary packages
as satisfying requirements to include the license, and every binary
package has to be accompanied by its license or a reference to
common-licenses (because base-files can be assumed to be installed or
easily installable on every system on which any Debian package is
installed).

-- 
Russ Allbery (rra@debian.org)               <http://www.eyrie.org/~eagle/>