Bug#602499: ITP: flex-sdk -- The Adobe Flex SDK

[Joey Parrish <joey.parrish@gmail.com>]

On Fri, Nov 5, 2010 at 17:42, Damien Raude-Morvan <drazzib@drazzib.com> wrote:
> [This time a full email...]
>
> Hi Joey,
>
>> On Fri, 05 Nov 2010 12:05:22 +0100, Joey Parrish
> <joey.parrish@gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>> * Package name    : flex-sdk
>>   Version         : 4.1.0.16076
>>   Upstream Author : Adobe Systems Incorporated
>> * URL             :
>> http://opensource.adobe.com/wiki/display/flexsdk/Download+Flex+4
>> * License         : MPL v1.1
>>   Programming Lang: Java
>>   Description     : The Adobe Flex SDK
>
> I don't know if it's your first Debian package but it will be a hard
> one...
>
> I've looked a bit a 3.3 release and found quite disapointed by many files
> in Flex SVN
> which had no-licence or were using some non-free licence. You'll have to
> do a very carefull
> review of every source file in tarball.
>
> You'll find more information here :
> http://ovirt.et.redhat.com/page/FlexSDK_RPM
>
> You can also join Flash Packaging Team on Alioth to work in our common SVN
> repository :
> https://alioth.debian.org/projects/pkg-flash/
>
> Cheers,
> --
> Damien
>

Yes, it is my first package.  I'll admit, the technical stuff is not
nearly so complex as the legal stuff.  I've had a perfectly functional
package installed for a few days now.  I thought it would be a matter
of cleaning up policy violations and I'd be able to move forward with
it.

I cleared up all lintian warnings, read all the policy docs, and
everything seemed to meet specs.  Then I realized that my
debian/copyright file was insufficient.  Since then, I've not been
able to make any clear progress.  I thought I knew what the license
was, but I'm just getting lost trying to make sure.

According to Adobe's website, everything in the open-source package is
MPL, and all of the closed-source code is in a separate package under
the Adobe Flex SDK License.  However, the readme.htm in the
open-source package says that everything not explicitly listed
otherwise is under the Adobe Flex SDK License.  There's a list of
folders licensed under the MPL, and a list of all the third-party
software and its licenses... but all of the samples and xml manifests
and such are in the "not explicitly listed" category.  Taking one
random example, mx-manifest.xml says:

<!--
    ADOBE SYSTEMS INCORPORATED
    Copyright 2008 Adobe Systems Incorporated
    All Rights Reserved.

    NOTICE: Adobe permits you to use, modify, and distribute this file
    in accordance with the terms of the license agreement accompanying it.
-->

I guess that would mean that the "license" referred to by this file is
the Adobe Flex SDK License, not the MPL.  I haven't taken the time to
try to interpret the Adobe Flex SDK License yet.  As I understand it
though, so long as everything's re-distributable, I could at least
target non-free.  Do I have that right?  At what point should I ask
for help on the legal list?

Thanks,
--Joey