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diff --git a/zarb-ml/mageia-dev/2012-November/020011.html b/zarb-ml/mageia-dev/2012-November/020011.html new file mode 100644 index 000000000..4c5477b76 --- /dev/null +++ b/zarb-ml/mageia-dev/2012-November/020011.html @@ -0,0 +1,226 @@ +<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2//EN"> +<HTML> + <HEAD> + <TITLE> [Mageia-dev] Fw: GPL-compatibility Question: Distributing Binaries of GPLed Programs Which Link Against Non-Free Code + </TITLE> + <LINK REL="Index" HREF="index.html" > + <LINK REL="made" HREF="mailto:mageia-dev%40mageia.org?Subject=Re%3A%20%5BMageia-dev%5D%20Fw%3A%20GPL-compatibility%20Question%3A%20Distributing%20Binaries%0A%20of%20GPLed%20Programs%20Which%20Link%20Against%20Non-Free%20Code&In-Reply-To=%3C20121116225916.251a83d7%40lap.shlomifish.org%3E"> + <META NAME="robots" CONTENT="index,nofollow"> + <META http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=us-ascii"> + <LINK REL="Previous" HREF="020012.html"> + <LINK REL="Next" HREF="020017.html"> + </HEAD> + <BODY BGCOLOR="#ffffff"> + <H1>[Mageia-dev] Fw: GPL-compatibility Question: Distributing Binaries of GPLed Programs Which Link Against Non-Free Code</H1> + <B>Shlomi Fish</B> + <A HREF="mailto:mageia-dev%40mageia.org?Subject=Re%3A%20%5BMageia-dev%5D%20Fw%3A%20GPL-compatibility%20Question%3A%20Distributing%20Binaries%0A%20of%20GPLed%20Programs%20Which%20Link%20Against%20Non-Free%20Code&In-Reply-To=%3C20121116225916.251a83d7%40lap.shlomifish.org%3E" + TITLE="[Mageia-dev] Fw: GPL-compatibility Question: Distributing Binaries of GPLed Programs Which Link Against Non-Free Code">shlomif at shlomifish.org + </A><BR> + <I>Fri Nov 16 21:59:16 CET 2012</I> + <P><UL> + <LI>Previous message: <A HREF="020012.html">[Mageia-dev] [changelog] [RPM] cauldron core/release totem-3.6.3-2.mga3 +</A></li> + <LI>Next message: <A HREF="020017.html">[Mageia-dev] [changelog] [RPM] cauldron core/release urpmi-7.10-1.mga3 +</A></li> + <LI> <B>Messages sorted by:</B> + <a href="date.html#20011">[ date ]</a> + <a href="thread.html#20011">[ thread ]</a> + <a href="subject.html#20011">[ subject ]</a> + <a href="author.html#20011">[ author ]</a> + </LI> + </UL> + <HR> +<!--beginarticle--> +<PRE>Hi Aaron, + +I am forwarding your reply to the Mageia development mailing list. + +Regards, + + Shlomi Fish + +Begin forwarded message: + +Date: Thu, 15 Nov 2012 11:55:12 -0500 +From: Aaron Williamson <<A HREF="https://www.mageia.org/mailman/listinfo/mageia-dev">aaronw at softwarefreedom.org</A>> +To: <A HREF="https://www.mageia.org/mailman/listinfo/mageia-dev">shlomif at shlomifish.org</A> +Subject: Re: Fwd: Re: GPL-compatibility Question: Distributing Binaries of +GPLed Programs Which Link Against Non-Free Code + + +Hi Shlomi, + +Below I've outlined the significant legal issues here. This is not legal advice: +SFLC does not represent Mageia and I have not thoroughly reviewed the code at +issue here to comprehensively understand its copyright and licensing structure. +Rather, I have just identified the key issues based on the facts provided in +your email and a quick visit to Cinelerra's website. Additionally, SFLC is a US +legal services organization, and is not licensed to practice law in France, nor +are we familiar with French copyright law. If you'd like, I'd be happy to refer +you to a lawyer in Paris who is familiar with free software licensing issues. + +Our understanding of the linking issue comports with the Free Software +Foundation's position: linking a GPL'd program with a program under another +license results in a combined work based on both programs. The GPL requires that +the resulting work be licensed under the GPL, and that no additional +restrictions (besides those in the GPL) be placed on the work. Because the faac +code is encumbered by the "compliant implementations" restriction, the +combination would violate the GPL. + +That said, the linking question usually arises where a downstream user of a +GPL-licensed work wants to link it with proprietary modules. If I understand +your intention correctly, at least with regard to Cinelerra, you would not be +introducing the incompatibility, i.e. Cinelerra already links to faac -- you +would just be packaging and distributing both programs for Mageia. Is that +accurate? + +If that's right, and Cinelerra is responsible for the violation of the license +on its own software, it is difficult to imagine that they'd press the violation, +or that a court would permit them to. Rather, it would seem that they intend the +two programs to be used together and, even if they have not granted an explicit +GPL exception allowing the combination, may have at least granted an implied +license by distributing the combined work themselves. + +This analysis, however, assumes that the Cinelerra developers own all the +copyrights in the GPL-licensed code within Cinelerra, and thus have the right to +grant such an exception (implied or otherwise). If they have incorporated GPL'd +code produced by third parties, who never licensed such a combination, into +Cinelerra, then their use of faac can't provide their downstream users with any +sort of comfort regarding the violation. You may wish to contact the Cinelerra +developers and ask them to clarify who owns which portions of their codebase, +and whether they intend for others to link their GPL'd code with faac. + +Best, + +-- +Aaron Williamson +Senior Staff Counsel +Software Freedom Law Center +1995 Broadway, 17th Fl. +New York, NY 10023 +(212) 461-1911 direct +(212) 580-0898 fax +www.softwarefreedom.org + + +On 11/14/2012 06:00 PM, <A HREF="https://www.mageia.org/mailman/listinfo/mageia-dev">help at softwarefreedom.org</A> wrote: +><i> +</I>><i> +</I>><i> -------- Original Message -------- +</I>><i> Subject: Re: GPL-compatibility Question: Distributing Binaries of GPLed +</I>><i> Programs Which Link Against Non-Free Code +</I>><i> Date: Wed, 14 Nov 2012 18:07:31 +0200 +</I>><i> From: Shlomi Fish <<A HREF="https://www.mageia.org/mailman/listinfo/mageia-dev">shlomif at shlomifish.org</A>> +</I>><i> To: <A HREF="https://www.mageia.org/mailman/listinfo/mageia-dev">help at softwarefreedom.org</A> +</I>><i> +</I>><i> On Wed, 14 Nov 2012 10:17:00 -0500 +</I>><i> <A HREF="https://www.mageia.org/mailman/listinfo/mageia-dev">help at softwarefreedom.org</A> wrote: +</I>><i> +</I>>><i> On 11/09/2012 12:23 PM, Shlomi Fish wrote: +</I>>><i> > Dear Sir or Madam, +</I>>><i> > +</I>>><i> > I am writing you this letter on behalf of Mageia +</I>>><i> > ( <A HREF="https://www.mageia.org/en/">https://www.mageia.org/en/</A> ), which is a community-developed, operating +</I>>><i> > system, based on the GNU/Linux system and with a free-and-open-source +</I>>><i> > (FOSS) core. We would like to ask whether (and how) we can distribute +</I>>><i> > pre-built packages of a GPLed program (in our case, the video editor +</I>>><i> > cinelerra) after it was linked to a library with some proprietary and +</I>>><i> > non-GPLed code (in our case, faac). +</I>>><i> > +</I>>><i> > The longer story is that there has been some demand for including faac +</I>>><i> > ( <A HREF="http://sourceforge.net/projects/faac/">http://sourceforge.net/projects/faac/</A> - the Freeware Advance Audio +</I>>><i> > Coder), which is both non-free in part and patent encumbered, in our +</I>>><i> > distribution, and to prepare versions of the appropriate packages for +</I>>><i> > which it is an optional dependency. These packages, such as cinelerra ( +</I>>><i> > <A HREF="http://cinelerra.org/">http://cinelerra.org/</A> - a video editor), are licenced under +</I>>><i> > the GPL, which restricts which code its distributed binaries may be legally +</I>>><i> > linked to. +</I>>><i> > +</I>>><i> > So our question is: assuming we package faac as a package, can we still +</I>>><i> > provide pre-made and binary packages of GPLed programs that use it? +</I>>><i> > Furthermore, would this require receiving an explicit permission from the +</I>>><i> > copyright owner of the program under the GPL? +</I>>><i> > +</I>>><i> > We would appreciate any advice that you can give to us on the matter. +</I>>><i> > +</I>>><i> > Sincerely yours, +</I>>><i> > +</I>>><i> > — Shlomi Fish, on behalf of the Mageia development team. +</I>>><i> > +</I>>><i> > +</I>>><i> +</I>>><i> +</I>>><i> +</I>>><i> The Software Freedom Law Center has received an email from you sent to +</I>>><i> <A HREF="https://www.mageia.org/mailman/listinfo/mageia-dev">help at softwarefreedom.org.</A> We look forward to helping you in any way we +</I>>><i> can, but before we can do that we need to make sure that you understand +</I>>><i> that your email to us does not create an attorney-client relationship +</I>>><i> with us and any information you send us will not be considered +</I>>><i> confidential or privileged. If you understand that, just reply to this +</I>>><i> message by keeping the text of this paragraph and adding "Understood" +</I>>><i> and we will respond to your email shortly. However, if your message +</I>>><i> contains any information that you would like to be considered +</I>>><i> confidential or privileged (in other words, you do not want it to be +</I>>><i> considered public information), please respond to this message with +</I>>><i> "Delete my message" or just "Delete." We understand that this procedure +</I>>><i> may seem burdensome, but it is required by law in order to ensure your +</I>>><i> rights and the rights of our clients are protected. +</I>><i> +</I>><i> Understood +</I>><i> +</I> + +-- +----------------------------------------------------------------- +Shlomi Fish <A HREF="http://www.shlomifish.org/">http://www.shlomifish.org/</A> +Escape from GNU Autohell - <A HREF="http://www.shlomifish.org/open-source/anti/autohell/">http://www.shlomifish.org/open-source/anti/autohell/</A> + +mplayer 0.9.999.2010.03.11-rc5-adc83b19e793491b1c6ea0fd8b46cd9f32e592fc is +now available for download. + — Shlomi Fish and d3x. + +Please reply to list if it's a mailing list post - <A HREF="http://shlom.in/reply">http://shlom.in/reply</A> . +</PRE> + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +<!--endarticle--> + <HR> + <P><UL> + <!--threads--> + <LI>Previous message: <A HREF="020012.html">[Mageia-dev] [changelog] [RPM] cauldron core/release totem-3.6.3-2.mga3 +</A></li> + <LI>Next message: <A HREF="020017.html">[Mageia-dev] [changelog] [RPM] cauldron core/release urpmi-7.10-1.mga3 +</A></li> + <LI> <B>Messages sorted by:</B> + <a href="date.html#20011">[ date ]</a> + <a href="thread.html#20011">[ thread ]</a> + <a href="subject.html#20011">[ subject ]</a> + <a href="author.html#20011">[ author ]</a> + </LI> + </UL> + +<hr> +<a href="https://www.mageia.org/mailman/listinfo/mageia-dev">More information about the Mageia-dev +mailing list</a><br> +</body></html> |