On Fri, Jan 30, 2004 at 12:31:44PM -0700, paul cannon wrote:
> Since this issue has made it to slashdot [1], it may be the appropriate
> time for some discussion here. I haven't seen any here yet, but I may
> not have looked hard enough, so apologies in advance if this is old
> news.
>
> To summarize, an announcement [2] by David Dawes from last night indicates
> that the XFree86 Project, Inc. intends to release version 4.4.0 with a
> different license than the one it had before.
>
> The project has made available a diff [3] (subject to change, one would
> assume) of the changes to be applied to the source to get the new
> license in the applicable files.
>
> The actual changes to the license are detailed at
> http://www.xfree86.org/legal/licenses.html.
[snip]
I'd like to note two things:
This license change does not appear to have been committed to XFree86
CVS yet, at least judging by
xc/programs/Xserver/hw/xfree86/doc/sgml/LICENSE.sgml, which contains the
XFree86 license text.
(xc/programs/Xserver/hw/xfree86/doc/LICENSE is the plain text version,
but it is a generated file and not always up-to-date with the SGML
source.)
It should be noted that this is not the only recent license change to
XFree86 that is GPL-incompatible.
Please see:
http://cvsweb.xfree86.org/cvsweb/xc/programs/Xserver/hw/xfree86/doc/sgml/LICENSE.sgml.diff?r1=1.21&r2=1.22&f=h
<sect1>Thomas Winischhofer
<p>
Copyright (C) 2001-2004 Thomas Winischhofer
Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or
without modification, are permitted provided that the following
conditions are met:
<enum>
<item>Redistributions of source code must retain the above
copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following
disclaimer.
<item>Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above
copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following
disclaimer in the documentation and/or other materials provided
with the distribution.
<item>All advertising materials mentioning features or use of
this software must display the following acknowledgement: This
product includes software developed by Thomas Winischhofer.
<item>The name of the author may not be used to endorse or
promote products derived from this software without specific
prior written permission.
</enum>
THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE AUTHOR ``AS IS'' AND ANY
EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO,
THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A
PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHOR
BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL,
EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED
TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE,
DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND
ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT
LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING
IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF
THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
This is a standard 4-clause BSD license, and is GPL-incompatible for the
reasons described in <URL: http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/bsd.html >.
However, this change was only recently applied, and all of the code copyrighted
by Mr. Winischhofer in XFree86 4.3.0 is under the MIT/X11 license, with several
files indicating:
* If distributed as part of the linux kernel, the contents of this file
* is entirely covered by the GPL.
Parties using the 4-clause BSD license in the XFree86 codebase (at least
according to the LICENSE.sgml file) as of CVS revision 1.22 are:
1) Copyright (c) 1993 The Regents of the University of California.
This has probably been reverted to the 3-clause BSD license through the
Regents' mass relicensing of such code; see <URL:
ftp://ftp.cs.berkeley.edu/pub/4bsd/README.Impt.License.Change >.
Affected files:
xc/programs/Xserver/hw/sunLynx/fbio.h
xc/programs/Xserver/hw/xfree86/etc/MTRR-Lynx.shar [1]
xc/programs/Xserver/hw/xfree86/etc/apNetBSD.shar [1,5]
2) Copyright (c) 1993, 1994 Christopher G. Demetriou
Affected files:
xc/programs/Xserver/hw/xfree86/etc/MTRR-Lynx.shar [8]
xc/programs/Xserver/hw/xfree86/loader/aout.h [9]
3) Copyright (c) 2003 The NetBSD Foundation, Inc.
Affected files:
NONE!
There are no files copyrighted by the NetBSD Foundation in the XFree86 4.3.0
codebase that I could find with the method I used[10].
However, I did find the following:
* Copyright (c) 1999 Lennart Augustsson <augustss@netbsd.org>
* All rights reserved.
*
* Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
* modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions
* are met:
* 1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright
* notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
* 2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright
* notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the
* documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
*
* THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE AUTHOR AND CONTRIBUTORS ``AS IS'' AND
* ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE
* IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE
* ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHOR OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE
* FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL
* DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS
* OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION)
* HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT
* LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY
* OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF
* SUCH DAMAGE.
...which applies to the following files:
xc/programs/Xserver/hw/xfree86/os-support/bsd/libusb/data.c
xc/programs/Xserver/hw/xfree86/os-support/bsd/libusb/descr.c
xc/programs/Xserver/hw/xfree86/os-support/bsd/libusb/parse.c
xc/programs/Xserver/hw/xfree86/os-support/bsd/libusb/usage.c
xc/programs/Xserver/hw/xfree86/os-support/bsd/libusb/usb.3
xc/programs/Xserver/hw/xfree86/os-support/bsd/libusb/usb.h
xc/programs/Xserver/hw/xfree86/os-support/bsd/libusb/usbvar.h
This 2-clause BSD license is, obviously, DFSG-free and GPL-compatible.
Other copyright licenses used by the Regents of the University of
California in the XFree86 codebase are:
A) Copyright (c) 1993-1997 Regents of the University of California
Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software and its
documentation for educational, research, internal corporate and
non-profit purposes, without fee, and without a written agreement is
hereby granted for all cases that do not conflict with the restriction
in the first sentence of this paragraph, provided that the above
copyright notice, this paragraph, and the following three paragraphs
appear in all copies.
Permission to incorporate this software into commercial products may
be obtained from the Office of Technology Licensing, 2150 Shattuck
Avenue, Suite 510, Berkeley, CA 94704.
IN NO EVENT SHALL THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BE LIABLE TO ANY PARTY
FOR DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES
ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE AND ITS DOCUMENTATION, EVEN IF
THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF
SUCH DAMAGE.
THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ANY WARRANTIES,
INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE SOFTWARE
PROVIDED HEREUNDER IS ON AN "AS IS" BASIS, AND THE UNIVERSITY OF
CALIFORNIA HAS NO OBLIGATION TO PROVIDE MAINTENANCE, SUPPORT, UPDATES,
ENHANCEMENTS, OR MODIFICATIONS.
*** The above license is not GPL-compatible.
*** The above license is not DFSG-free.
Affected files:
xc/extras/rman/README-rman [3]
B) Copyright 1985, 1986 The Regents of the University of California.
All rights reserved.
This code is derived from software contributed to Berkeley by
James A. Woods, derived from original work by Spencer Thomas
and Joseph Orost.
Redistribution and use in source and binary forms are permitted
provided that the above copyright notice and this paragraph are
duplicated in all such forms and that any documentation,
advertising materials, and other materials related to such
distribution and use acknowledge that the software was developed
by the University of California, Berkeley. The name of the
University may not be used to endorse or promote products derived
from this software without specific prior written permission.
THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED ``AS IS'' AND WITHOUT ANY EXPRESS OR
IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THE IMPLIED
WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
*** The above license is not GPL-compatible.
Affected files:
xc/lib/font/fontfile/decompress.c
xc/util/compress/Makefile [2]
xc/util/compress/compress.1 [2]
xc/util/compress/compress.c [2]
xc/util/compress/usermem.sh [2]
C) Copyright (c) 1987-1995 by the Regents of the University of California.
Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software and its
documentation for any purpose and without fee is hereby granted, provided
that the above copyright notice appear in all copies. The Daniver Limited,
the above companies and individuals makes no representations about the
suitability of this software for any purpose. It is provided "as is" without
express or implied warranty.
Affected files:
xc/programs/Xserver/afb/Xdaniver.doc [4]
The majority of code in the XFree86 codebase copyrighted by the Regents of the
University of California is under the following license:
D) Copyright (c) 1987 by the Regents of the University of California
Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this
software and its documentation for any purpose and without
fee is hereby granted, provided that the above copyright
notice appear in all copies. The University of California
makes no representations about the suitability of this
software for any purpose. It is provided "as is" without
express or implied warranty.
Affected files:
xc/programs/Xserver/cfb/cfbbstore.c
xc/programs/Xserver/hw/sun/sun.h
xc/programs/Xserver/hw/sun/sunCfb.c
xc/programs/Xserver/hw/sun/sunFbs.c
xc/programs/Xserver/hw/sun/sunInit.c
xc/programs/Xserver/hw/sun/sunIo.c
xc/programs/Xserver/hw/sun/sunKbd.c
xc/programs/Xserver/hw/sun/sunMfb.c
xc/programs/Xserver/hw/sun/sunMouse.c
xc/programs/Xserver/hw/sunLynx/sun.h
xc/programs/Xserver/hw/sunLynx/sunLyCfb.c
xc/programs/Xserver/hw/sunLynx/sunLyFbs.c
xc/programs/Xserver/hw/sunLynx/sunLyInit.c
xc/programs/Xserver/hw/sunLynx/sunLyIo.c
xc/programs/Xserver/hw/sunLynx/sunLyKbd.c
xc/programs/Xserver/hw/sunLynx/sunLyMouse.c
xc/programs/Xserver/include/bstore.h [6]
xc/programs/Xserver/include/bstorestr.h [7]
xc/programs/Xserver/iplan2p4/iplbstore.c
xc/programs/Xserver/mi/mibstore.h
E) This software is copyrighted by the Regents of the University of
California, Sun Microsystems, Inc., and other parties. The following
terms apply to all files associated with the software unless
explicitly disclaimed in individual files.
The authors hereby grant permission to use, copy, modify, distribute,
and license this software and its documentation for any purpose,
provided that existing copyright notices are retained in all copies
and that this notice is included verbatim in any distributions. No
written agreement, license, or royalty fee is required for any of the
authorized uses. Modifications to this software may be copyrighted
by their authors and need not follow the licensing terms described
here, provided that the new terms are clearly indicated on the first
page of each file where they apply.
IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR DISTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE TO ANY PARTY
FOR DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES
ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, ITS DOCUMENTATION, OR ANY
DERIVATIVES THEREOF, EVEN IF THE AUTHORS HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE
POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
THE AUTHORS AND DISTRIBUTORS SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ANY WARRANTIES,
INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND
NON-INFRINGEMENT. THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" BASIS, AND
THE AUTHORS AND DISTRIBUTORS HAVE NO OBLIGATION TO PROVIDE
MAINTENANCE, SUPPORT, UPDATES, ENHANCEMENTS, OR MODIFICATIONS.
RESTRICTED RIGHTS: Use, duplication or disclosure by the government
is subject to the restrictions as set forth in subparagraph (c) (1)
(ii) of the Rights in Technical Data and Computer Software Clause as
DFARS 252.227-7013 and FAR 52.227-19.
Affected files:
xc/programs/Xserver/hw/xfree86/XF86Setup/tclxkbui.c
xc/programs/Xserver/hw/xfree86/XF86Setup/tcllib/button.tcl
xc/programs/Xserver/hw/xfree86/XF86Setup/tcllib/dialog.tcl
xc/programs/Xserver/hw/xfree86/XF86Setup/tcllib/entry.tcl
xc/programs/Xserver/hw/xfree86/XF86Setup/tcllib/init.tcl
xc/programs/Xserver/hw/xfree86/XF86Setup/tcllib/listbox.tcl
xc/programs/Xserver/hw/xfree86/XF86Setup/tcllib/menu.tcl
xc/programs/Xserver/hw/xfree86/XF86Setup/tcllib/optionMenu.tcl
xc/programs/Xserver/hw/xfree86/XF86Setup/tcllib/scale.tcl
xc/programs/Xserver/hw/xfree86/XF86Setup/tcllib/scrollbar.tcl
xc/programs/Xserver/hw/xfree86/XF86Setup/tcllib/tearoff.tcl
xc/programs/Xserver/hw/xfree86/XF86Setup/tcllib/text.tcl
xc/programs/Xserver/hw/xfree86/XF86Setup/tcllib/tk.tcl
xc/programs/Xserver/hw/xfree86/XF86Setup/tcllib/tkerror.tcl
(It's worth noting that XF86Setup has been dead code since XFree86 4.0 was
released.)
F) Copyright 1987 by the Regents of the University of California
All Rights Reserved
Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software and its
documentation for any purpose and without fee is hereby granted,
provided that the above copyright notice appear in all copies and that
both that copyright notice and this permission notice appear in
supporting documentation, and that the name of Digital [SIC: BR] not be
used in advertising or publicity pertaining to distribution of the
software without specific, written prior permission.
Affected files:
xc/programs/Xserver/hw/xfree86/xf4bpp/ppcBStore.c
G) Copyright 1987 by the Regents of the University of California
All Rights Reserved
Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software and its
documentation for any purpose and without fee is hereby granted, provided that
the above copyright notice appear in all copies and that both that copyright
notice and this permission notice appear in supporting documentation, and that
the name The Open Group not be used in advertising or publicity pertaining to
distribution of the software without specific, written prior permission.
The University of California makes no representations about the suitability of
this software for any purpose. It is provided "as is" without express or
implied warranty.
Affected files:
xc/programs/Xserver/mi/mibstore.c
[1] Note that this file also contains the 4-clause BSD license applied by other
copyright holders: University of Utah; The XFree86 Project Inc.
[2] This file doesn't contain the 4-clause BSD license in the precise form that
we're used to seeing it, but it's copyrighted by the regents. the
"advertising clause" is even *more* broad, though: "and that any
documentation, advertising materials, and other materials related to
such distribution and use acknowledge that the software was
developed by the University of California, Berkeley."
[3] Therefore, probably everything in xc/extras/rman is under this license.
[4] Everything in xc/programs/Xserver/afb is likely under this license,
according to xc/programs/Xserver/README.
[5] This file also contains some code with a GPL-incompatible copyright:
X * Copyright 1994 Doug Anson, danson@lgc.com & David Holland, davidh@use.com
[...]
X * Copyright notice:
X * Permission to use, copy, modify, distribute, and sell this software and its
X * documentation for any purpose is hereby granted without fee, provided that
X * the above copyright notice appear in all copies and that both that
X * copyright notice and this permission notice appear in supporting
X * documentation, and that the name of Doug Anson, and David Holland be used in
X * advertising or publicity pertaining to distribution of the software
X * Doug Anson, and David Holland make no * representations about the
X * suitability of this software for any purpose.
X * It is provided "as is" without express or implied warranty.
X *
X * Disclaimer:
X * DOUG ANSON, AND DAVID HOLLAND DISCLAIMS ALL WARRIENTS WITH REGARD TO THIS
X * SOFTWARE, INCLUDING ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, AND FITNESS,
X * IN NO EVENT SHALL DOUG ANSON, OR DAVID HOLLAND BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL,
X * INDIRECT, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, OR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM
X * USAGE OF THIS SOFTWARE.
[6] I seriously question the applicability of copyright to this file. Once the
comments are removed, the code consists of:
#ifndef _BSTORE_H_
#define _BSTORE_H_
#include "bstorestr.h"
#endif
[7] For that matter, I question the applicability of copyright to this one as
well.
[8] Except Mr. Demetriou actually uses the 3-clause BSD license on this file:
X * Copyright (c) 1993 Christopher G. Demetriou
X * All rights reserved.
X *
X * Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
X * modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions
X * are met:
X * 1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright
X * notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
X * 2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright
X * notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the
X * documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
X * 3. The name of the author may not be used to endorse or promote products
X * derived from this software without specific prior written permission
X *
X * THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE AUTHOR ``AS IS'' AND ANY EXPRESS OR
X * IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES
X * OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED.
X * IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHOR BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT,
X * INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT
X * NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE,
X * DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY
X * THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT
X * (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF
X * THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
[9] This file says it is "Borrowed from NetBSD's exec_aout.h", so it may have
since been relicensed "upstream".
[10] Unpack the Debian source package (4.3.0-0pre1v5 will do), run
"debian/rules setup" to get the upstream archive unpacked and
patched, cd to "build-tree", and run "grep -lir
'copyright.*netbsd'".
--
g. branden robinson | there's something wrong if you're
debian gnu/linux | always right.
branden@debian.org | -- glasow's law
http://people.debian.org/~branden/ |
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