Bug#823100: ghostscript: includes two files claimed to be under a non-free Unicode license
Package: ghostscript
Version: 9.19~dfsg-1+b1
Severity: serious
Justification: Policy 2.2.1
Hello,
I noticed that two files included in the ghostscript source package
are documented in the debian/copyright file as distributed under
the terms of a non-free Unicode license.
The two files are:
Files: base/ConvertUTF.c
base/ConvertUTF.h
Copyright: 2001-2004, Unicode, Inc
License: Unicode
and the license text is claimed to be:
License: Unicode
This source code is provided as is by Unicode, Inc. No claims are made
as to fitness for any particular purpose. No warranties of any kind are
expressed or implied. The recipient agrees to determine applicability
of information provided. If this file has been purchased on magnetic or
optical media from Unicode, Inc., the sole remedy for any claim will be
exchange of defective media within 90 days of receipt.
.
Limitations on Rights to Redistribute This Code
.
Unicode, Inc. hereby grants the right to freely use the information
supplied in this file in the creation of products supporting the
Unicode Standard, and to make copies of this file in any form for
internal or external distribution as long as this notice remains
attached.
At the very least, this license does not grant any permission
to modify the files (thus failing DFSG#3). Moreover, the license grant
seems to attempt to restrict use to "products supporting the Unicode
Standard" (thus failing DFSG#6).
See also
https://lists.debian.org/debian-legal/2015/12/msg00000.html
where an FTP Assitant confirmed that files which restrict "use to
only that of implementing a standard" are not fit for Debian main.
Therefore, the two files under discussion appear to be non-free.
However, this issue could possibly be easy to solve.
If Unicode Inc has published new versions of the two files in
more recent times, the updated versions should be under the
current unicode.org public license, as explained in
http://www.unicode.org/copyright.html#Exhibit1
Please check whether newer versions of those files are released
in one of the Unicode web site areas mentioned in the cited Exhibit1.
The newer versions could perhaps be used as replacements for the
non-free ones.
I hope this issue may be addressed soon.
Thanks for your time!
Bye.
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