[Date Prev][Date Next] [Thread Prev][Thread Next] [Date Index] [Thread Index]

Re: Request for official help



Chris Lamb writes ("Re: Request for official help"):
> Henrique de Moraes Holschuh wrote:
> > Run that through some legal advice, though.  If "we" (Debian, SPI, etc)
> > get to be co-responsible for the actions of someone using our EANs with
> > permission [in some relevant juridisction], it is best to not have them
> > in the first place.

Henrique, can you please point me to the documentation about these
exemption letters ?  I continue to think that this is perhaps the
right route, but that your proposed letter wording is backwards.

> I'm inclined to agree… Jean-Phillipe, is there no other way you can
> ship these images? I would be very happy to write/sign some kind of
> "yeah this is really all fine" document but am wary of going doing
> some kind of official EAN registration thing that might tie us to
> .. well, who knows.

I think part of the problem here is the misunderstanding that Debian
is the manufacturer here.  We are not (except in the very limited
cases where Debian people make and sell Debian merchandise for
Debian's funds).

EANs usually refer to specific manufactured products, from a specific
manufacturer.  I don't think the EAN system is well set up for a
situation where a particular product can be manufactured independently
by multiple people.  (The products are presumably supposed to be
more-or-less identical: but of course different manufacturers might
use different DVD stock, or print with or without a picture on the
front, etc.)

So I think the "right" way for the EAN system to operate in this case,
if it is to be operated at all, is for each manufacturer to get a
different EAN for each product.  If manufacturers find registering
with the EAN system too cumbersome then surely we can look into using
our institutional resources to help.

Can someone show us the agreement we (or SPI or FFIS or some other TO)
would have to sign if we were to become an issuer of EANs ?  Perhaps
we can simply do that and have an easy way for a Debian vendor to get
an EAN from our allocation.

I'd also be interested to see what approach is taken for physical
prints of 3D models, which have certain similarities to (say) Debian
DVDs in this context.

Thanks,
Ian.

-- 
Ian Jackson <ijackson@chiark.greenend.org.uk>   These opinions are my own.

If I emailed you from an address @fyvzl.net or @evade.org.uk, that is
a private address which bypasses my fierce spamfilter.


Reply to: