Hi Cyril, On Sun, Mar 23, 2008 at 02:15:08AM +0100, Cyril Brulebois wrote: > the license of tolua isn't DFSG-compliant, which caused the REJECT of > boswars (which includes a modified copy of tolua++, under the same terms > as tolua) — I didn't look into that license too much at that time, since > the very same terms were used for a package in main.
I took a look at the copyright file you listed, and I don't see what's DFSG-nonfree about the original tolua license. Certainly it doesn't grant permission to use the program, but then again neither does the GPL version 2: "Activities other than copying, distribution and modification are not covered by this License; they are outside its scope." (Quote from Section 0.) It goes on to say that the act of running the program is not restricted, but not only does it never grant permission to run the program, such permission would explicitly be outside the scope of the license according to that quote. Copyright law does NOT restrict running programs which you legally obtain, as evidenced e.g. by Section 117 of the US Copyight Act; EULAs that impose usage restrictions are going beyond copyright law and using contract law or the conditional nature of a distribution and modification license to add restrictions which would not otherwise exist. (If they're using a conditional distribution and modification license, then any consequent usage restrictions also don't apply to any end users who neither distribute nor modify the software, given that they've never needed to accept the license.) Can you provide more information on the REJECTion so that I can discuss it with the relevant ftpmaster? I'll certainly update the copyright file when Waldemar releases a new version with the new license, but it's bad if ftpmasters are using an erroneous basis to reject packages. - Jimmy Kaplowitz [EMAIL PROTECTED] P.S. - According to copyright law, permission from the copyright holder is necessary to "publicly perform" a work, but the DFSG seems to allow the GPLv2 even though it never explicitly grants public performance rights (which are not identical to use rights).
