A few more comments to add to my post elsewhere in this thread. Again, the standard disclaimer: I am not a lawyer, this is not legal advice or an official mozilla.org statement.
Gervase Markham wrote: >> If Mozilla is a international free software project supported by >> developers of many countries (not only from U.S.), why is under U.S. >> export laws?? > > > Because the development of the cryptographic software was done in the > US, and the primary download servers are in the US, and both the code > servers are in the US. Correct. And I would add that it's the people and companies in the US who are most directly affected by US laws and export regulations relating to encryption. (Incidentally, I don't mean to imply by that statement that US laws and regulations don't indirectly affect people in other countries -- they do. But the people who need to be most concerned about complying with US laws are the people who are US citizens and/or live in the US.) >> If any individual person from Iran, Iraq, Libya, etc. >> want to use the software or collaborate in the project, is banned? > > Depends what you mean by "banned". I would have thought it would be safe > to install all RPMs apart from PSM, for example. As I wrote in my other message, I don't think that US laws and regulations prohibit people in other countries from installing and using Mozilla, including the encryption parts of Mozilla; however, local laws in those countries may regulate the use of Mozilla encryption functionality. As for people in other countries collaborating in the Mozilla project, again, I don't know of any US law or regulation that prohibits someone from another country (including the prohibited countries) from posting to Mozilla newsgroups, sending in patches, reporting bugs, etc., even for the encryption parts of Mozilla. However, there _are_ parts of the US export regulations that prohibit people in the US from providing people in the prohibited countries (or people otherwise on the "denial" list) certain types of "technical assistance" relating to encryption software; see 744.9, page 9 in the following PDF document: http://w3.access.gpo.gov/bxa/ear/pdf/744.pdf This is somewhat of a gray area, since on the one end of the spectrum you have clearly permitted activities like participating in research conferences and the like, and on the other end you have clearly prohibited activities like calling up Saddam Hussein and helping him create encryption products for his secret police. However, again, the prohibitions in the US regulations are primarily directed at US citizens and residents, and don't directly apply to non-US persons. >> If the reason is that the server mozilla.org resides phisically in the >> U.S. what about move this server to another country that don't have >> these reestricticons? > > > Are you offering to host it? Note that there are already non-US mirrors of the Mozilla code. Frank -- Frank Hecker [EMAIL PROTECTED]
