https://bugs.freebsd.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=284783
Bug ID: 284783
Summary: Potential licensing issue of source file
'sys/cam/scsi/scsi_all.h'
Product: Base System
Version: CURRENT
Hardware: Any
OS: Any
Status: New
Severity: Affects Only Me
Priority: ---
Component: kern
Assignee: b...@freebsd.org
Reporter: msl0000023...@gmail.com
When trying to add my ported mfiutil package to Debian, which depends on a
small fraction of this file, a Debian FTP Master member pointed out that its
license did not explicitly greated the redistribution permission to general
public.
The license text as of
https://cgit.freebsd.org/src/tree/sys/cam/scsi/scsi_all.h?id=2ffd30f7ee15c87ee092cbac6a4438bcb3af923c
is:
/*-
* Largely written by Julian Elischer (jul...@tfs.com)
* for TRW Financial Systems.
*
* TRW Financial Systems, in accordance with their agreement with Carnegie
* Mellon University, makes this software available to CMU to distribute
* or use in any manner that they see fit as long as this message is kept with
* the software. For this reason TFS also grants any other persons or
* organisations permission to use or modify this software.
*
* TFS supplies this software to be publicly redistributed
* on the understanding that TFS is not responsible for the correct
* functioning of this software in any circumstances.
*
* Ported to run under 386BSD by Julian Elischer (jul...@tfs.com) Sept 1992
*/
Reference to Debian FTP Master member Thorsten Alteholz's interpretation:
> according to the TFS-CMU license, the copyright holder (TRW) only allows CMU
> to
> redistribute this software.
> "Any other persons" are only allowed to use or modify it and especially
> Debian is
> not allowed to redistribute it.
Given the ambiguity of the license text, this interpretation reasonable.
I believe when the license is written, the copyrighit holder didn't intended to
prohibit redistribution of this software by 3rd parties; but with this
unfortunate wording, it is unclear whether redistribution it is actually
permitted.
I'm aware that this license is really old (likely be earlier than Sept 1992 as
hinted by the last line), but is it possible to get it clearified somehow?
--
You are receiving this mail because:
You are the assignee for the bug.
