270 lines
10 KiB
Plaintext
270 lines
10 KiB
Plaintext
On DXPC retroactive relicensing as BSD-2-clause
|
|
===============================================
|
|
|
|
TL;DR; In May 2015, all versions of DXPC released before version 3.8.1 (sometime
|
|
in 2002) have retroactively been re-licensed by all previous maintainers
|
|
of DXPC as BSD-2-clause.
|
|
|
|
This README file gives an overview of the discussion thread that lead to
|
|
the retroactive re-licensing of DXPC.
|
|
|
|
For the full discussion, see doc/DXPC_re-licensed_debug_784565.mbox in
|
|
this source project or #784565 on the Debian bug tracker [1].
|
|
|
|
light+love,
|
|
20150521, Mike Gabriel <mike.gabriel@das-netzwerkteam.de>
|
|
|
|
[1] https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=784565
|
|
|
|
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
|
|
STEP 1
|
|
======
|
|
|
|
In May 2015, a serious license issue around the nxcomp code shipped in
|
|
this source project was raised and solved on the Debian bug tracker (thanks to
|
|
Francesco Poli and many others): http://bugs.debian.org/784565
|
|
|
|
"""
|
|
From: "Francesco Poli \(wintermute\)" <invernomuto@paranoici.org>
|
|
To: Debian Bug Tracking System <submit@bugs.debian.org>
|
|
Date: Wed, 06 May 2015 19:35:32 +0200
|
|
|
|
I noticed that the debian/copyright states:
|
|
|
|
[...]
|
|
| Parts of this software are derived from DXPC project. These copyright
|
|
| notices apply to original DXPC code:
|
|
|
|
|
| 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.
|
|
|
|
|
| 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.
|
|
|
|
|
| Copyright (c) 1995,1996 Brian Pane
|
|
| Copyright (c) 1996,1997 Zachary Vonler and Brian Pane
|
|
| Copyright (c) 1999 Kevin Vigor and Brian Pane
|
|
| Copyright (c) 2000,2001 Gian Filippo Pinzari and Brian Pane
|
|
[...]
|
|
|
|
This license lacks the permission to modify the DXPC code.
|
|
Hence, the original DXPC code does not appear to comply with the
|
|
DFSG. And the nx-libs-lite is in part derived from DXPC code.
|
|
|
|
This basically means that nx-libs-lite includes parts which are
|
|
non-free (as they are derived from non-modifiable code) and
|
|
are also possibly legally undistributable (as they are non-modifiable,
|
|
but actually modified). The combination with the rest of nx-libs-lite
|
|
(which is GPL-licensed) may also be legally undistributable (since
|
|
the license with no permission to modify is GPL-incompatible).
|
|
|
|
|
|
If there's anything I misunderstood, please clarify.
|
|
|
|
Otherwise, please address this issue as soon as possible.
|
|
The copyright owners for the original DXPC code should be
|
|
contacted and persuaded to re-license under GPL-compatible
|
|
terms.
|
|
"""
|
|
|
|
The issue has been settled by asking all recent maintainers (i.e.,
|
|
copyright holders) of DXPC, to agree on considering the BSD-2-clause
|
|
license (as introduced in DXPC 3.8.1) retro-actively as the license of
|
|
all pre-3.8.1 DXPC releases.
|
|
|
|
STEP 2:
|
|
=======
|
|
|
|
Kevin Vigor, the (at that time being) latest known maintainer of DXPC
|
|
replied back immediately and provided the info given below. He also
|
|
stated that he agrees to applying BSD-2-clause retroactively to all
|
|
pre-3.8.1 releases of DXPC.
|
|
|
|
"""
|
|
From: Kevin Vigor <kevin@vigor.nu>
|
|
To: Mike Gabriel <mike.gabriel@das-netzwerkteam.de>
|
|
CC: 784565@bugs.debian.org, [...]
|
|
Subject: Re: Bug#784565: nx-libs-lite: parts are derived from non-free code
|
|
|
|
Hi Mike, et al,
|
|
|
|
I am not the original author of dxpc, that being Brian Pane. However,
|
|
I took over maintenance circa 1999 and am still the primary maintainer
|
|
(though the project has effectively been dead for most of a decade
|
|
now).
|
|
|
|
As you are aware, when I inherited the code, it was licensed under a
|
|
variant of the BSD license that did not include the 'with
|
|
modification' clause. To the best of my recollection, somebody from
|
|
the FSF contacted me circa 2001 regarding this and as a result,
|
|
subsequent releases were done under a standard 2-clause BSD license
|
|
with the modification clause. Again, to the best of my recollection, I
|
|
contacted Brian about this change and he offered no objection.
|
|
|
|
Further, I recall distinctly that NoMachine contacted me and
|
|
explicitly asked permission before including DXPC code in NX, which I
|
|
happily granted with no new conditions beyond the BSD license already
|
|
in play.
|
|
|
|
It is possible, though by no means certain, that I could dig up
|
|
ancient email to corroborate this account if necessary. However, I am
|
|
more than willing to publicly state that I believe NoMachine's use of
|
|
DXPC code to be both legal and ethical, and that my intent when
|
|
changing the license to 2-clause BSD was simply to clarity the
|
|
existing intent and that it ought therefore be considered retroactive.
|
|
|
|
Yours,
|
|
Kevin Vigor
|
|
|
|
[...]
|
|
"""
|
|
|
|
STEP 3:
|
|
-------
|
|
|
|
We were not able to dig out any recent mail address of Zachary Volner,
|
|
another of the DXPC copyright holders, but a phone number.
|
|
|
|
On Friday, May 15th, I (Mike Gabriel) called that phone number and left a
|
|
message on - hopefully - Zach's voicebox, asking him to mail me, so I
|
|
could explain everything. He mailed back and later on posted the below
|
|
statement to the Debian BTS, also expressing his agreement to the
|
|
retroactive re-licensing of DXPC.
|
|
|
|
"""
|
|
Date: Mon, 18 May 2015 10:05:38 -0500
|
|
Subject: Re: Bug#784565: nx-libs-lite: parts are derived from non-free code
|
|
From: Zach Vonler <zvonler@gmail.com>
|
|
To: 784565@bugs.debian.org
|
|
|
|
On Thu, 14 May 2015 05:55:42 +0000 Mike Gabriel <
|
|
mike.gabriel@das-netzwerkteam.de> wrote:
|
|
|
|
>
|
|
> TL;DR; So here comes my actual question: are you (Brian Pane, Zachary
|
|
> Vonler, Gian Filippo Pinzari) ok with retroactively regarding
|
|
> pre-3.8.1 code of DXPC (that you probably all worked on at that time)
|
|
> as BSD-2-clause? Are you ok with others having taken or taking the
|
|
> pre-3.8.1 DXPC code and distribute it in a modified form?
|
|
>
|
|
|
|
|
|
> A yes from all of you as DXPC copyright holders is essential for the
|
|
> continuation of nx-libs development under a free license. This may
|
|
> also possibly be an issue for NXv4 in case parts of it have been
|
|
> derived from DXPC.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Yes, I am fine with considering the license change to be retroactive to
|
|
cover the time I was the maintainer.
|
|
|
|
I have no objections to others distributing modified versions of that code.
|
|
|
|
Zach
|
|
"""
|
|
|
|
STEP 4:
|
|
-------
|
|
|
|
By 18th May 2015, Brian Pane had not mailed back to us. Hoping he is well
|
|
and alive. Giving my personal gratitude to him for his work on DXPC back
|
|
in the nighties.
|
|
|
|
However, Kevin found an old archive of the DXPC mailing lists, esp. a
|
|
post by Brian expressing openness to modifications of all DXPC code
|
|
versions.
|
|
|
|
We refer to this regarding his consent on the re-licensing.
|
|
|
|
"""
|
|
Date: Mon, 18 May 2015 15:11:42 -0600
|
|
From: Kevin Vigor <kevin@vigor.nu>
|
|
To: Mike Gabriel <mike.gabriel@das-netzwerkteam.de>, 784565@bugs.debian.org, Francesco Poli <invernomuto@paranoici.org>
|
|
CC: [...]
|
|
Subject: Re: Bug#784565: nx-libs-lite: parts are derived from non-free code
|
|
|
|
By the way, poking around the interwebs I find there is an archive of the old DXPC mailing list available at:
|
|
|
|
http://marc.info/?l=dxpc&r=1&w=2
|
|
|
|
I think you will find this of particular interest:
|
|
|
|
|
|
http://marc.info/?l=dxpc&m=93093790813555&w=2
|
|
|
|
|
|
List: dxpc
|
|
Subject: Re: future tecnologies
|
|
From: Brian Pane <brianp () cnet ! com>
|
|
Date: 1999-07-02 16:42:18
|
|
[Download message RAW]
|
|
|
|
Kevin Vigor <kvigor@eng.ascend.com> wrote:
|
|
> On 01-Jul-99 dxpc@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu wrote:
|
|
> > Speaking of licensing, are you putting your 3.8.0 changes to the dxpc
|
|
> > code itself under GPL, or are they going to use the original dxpc's
|
|
> > licensing?
|
|
>
|
|
> No, as you can probably guess, I am no fan of the GPL. For stuff on
|
|
> this level, where my hacking is pretty simple and probably devoid of
|
|
> commercial value, I'll just release my changes to the public domain and
|
|
> give up even a copyright interest in them.
|
|
>
|
|
> Your and Zach's copyrights still stand, of course.
|
|
>
|
|
> I *think* that fact that we use the LZO library and API, but do not
|
|
> directly incorporate the code, allows us to escape the clutch of the GPL
|
|
> virus.
|
|
>
|
|
> btw, is there an original dxpc license? I haven't seen anything but a
|
|
> copyright notice, which to my non-lawyerly mind translates as "free to
|
|
> all the world as is, negotiate with copyright owner if modifying or
|
|
> including in some other product".
|
|
|
|
The copyright banner in the Readme is all the documentation there's ever
|
|
been. My intent was to allow _any_ distribution, use, and modification
|
|
of the source, without imposing restrictions on the licensing style of
|
|
any system into which others might incorporate the code. We probably
|
|
should start stating this clearly in the distributions.
|
|
|
|
-brian
|
|
|
|
[prev in list] [next in list] [prev in thread] [next in thread]
|
|
"""
|
|
|
|
STEP 5:
|
|
-------
|
|
|
|
Last but not least, Kevin informed us that Gian Filippo Pinzari never
|
|
contributed any code to any of the official DPXC releases. So we assumed
|
|
that his copyrights on the code stem from the time where he - under the
|
|
NoMachine umbrella - worked on the code and should probably be associated
|
|
with the GPL-2 re-licensing of the code later on done by NoMachine
|
|
(which we did in the LICENSE file).
|
|
|
|
It also appears, that there has been an incongruity between the copyright
|
|
statement in nxcomp/Misc.cpp and nxcomp/LICENSE for Gian Filippo Pinzari.
|
|
We used the copyright years (2000,2003) from nxcomp/Misc.cpp instead of
|
|
those originally given in nxcomp/LICENSE (2000,2006).
|
|
|
|
"""
|
|
Date: Mon, 18 May 2015 19:16:25 -0600
|
|
From: Kevin Vigor <kevin@vigor.nu>
|
|
To: Francesco Poli <invernomuto@paranoici.org>,
|
|
Mike Gabriel <mike.gabriel@das-netzwerkteam.de>
|
|
CC: 784565@bugs.debian.org, [...]
|
|
Subject: Re: [pkg-x2go-devel] Bug#784565: Bug#784565: nx-libs-lite: parts are derived from non-free code
|
|
|
|
On 5/18/2015 4:14 PM, Francesco Poli wrote:
|
|
> If it is confirmed that Gian Filippo contributed to the forking of
|
|
> DXPC within the NoMachine project, but not directly to DXPC, then I
|
|
> think that he made his contributions available under the terms of the
|
|
> GPL v2 of the NoMachine project. If this is the case, no feedback
|
|
> should be required from his side.
|
|
I can confirm that Gian Fillippo never contributed directly to DXPC.
|
|
You'll note his name does not appear in the DXPC README, and never has.
|
|
"""
|