Lars Wirzenius <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > If they distribute their work without an e-mail address attached, > should the Debian packager go dig one up? > > If they distribute their work with the attached e-mail address > obfuscated in some way, should the Debian packager un-obfuscate it?
I'm of the opinion that a copyright statement for the work in a Debian package should include valid contact details, preferably an email address, for the work's primary copyright holders at the time the work was packaged. To knowingly accept packages without that is to knowingly accept a copyright statement that is unverifiable to third parties, purely in the interest of someone who wants to hold copyright but not give a valid email address. I think that's an unacceptable risk for Debian to take. If they want to avoid giving valid contact information they can grant all rights in the work to the public domain or to some other copyright holder. If they want to hold copyright, it's an unfair burden on those who need to verify copyright status if their contact details are not valid at the time they distribute their work. -- \ "Intellectual property is to the 21st century what the slave | `\ trade was to the 16th." —David Mertz | _o__) | Ben Finney -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
