License of "debian/" directories

[Joel Ray Holveck]

I'm currently asking my employer to let me upstream some changes I've 
got to some Debian packaging.  Usually, they like to know what the 
license is.

What's the license of "debian/" directories in source packages?  Not for 
native packages, but the packaging for third-party software.  Is it the 
same as the upstream code, or does Debian own the copyright and have a 
particular license for that, or what?

I looked over the Policy Manual and the Legal FAQ, but didn't see an 
answer.  Is this something that's been discussed before?

Best,
joelh