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Re: [Nmh-workers] [patch] Exchange of MD5 implementation due to license

2010-11-09 08:02:02
[2010-11-05 21:43] Peter Maydell 
<pmaydell(_at_)chiark(_dot_)greenend(_dot_)org(_dot_)uk>
markus schnalke wrote:
Could be that the license changed since then, because it reads:

* This software was written by Alexander Peslyak in 2001.  No copyright is
* claimed, and the software is hereby placed in the public domain.
* In case this attempt to disclaim copyright and place the software in the
* public domain is deemed null and void, then the software is
* Copyright (c) 2001 Alexander Peslyak and it is hereby released to the
* general public under the following terms:
*
* Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
* modification, are permitted.
*
* There's ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY, express or implied.
*
* (This is a heavily cut-down "BSD license".)

That just means that the license depends on whether your local
jurisdiction thinks "public domain" exists and what "deemed null
and void" means legally under local law. The author should just
have put the thing under a reasonable license in the first place,
then we'd know where we stood.

I had private conversation with Solar Designer. He said:

Peter has a valid point, but:

- Yes, the terms are "conditional", but so what.  Peter does not show
how this is a problem for their use of the code.  I think that it is
not.

- If they want unconditional BSD license, they can place their copy of
my code under that, without having to ask me.  This is possible because
it is a valid change in _either_ case.  It is valid if the code is in
the public domain - because they can license it any way they like then
-
and it is also valid because the fallback license I provided is cut-down
BSD.  So just remove the "public domain part" of my permission text.
No GPL-like "license virus" here. :-)

- I dislike including a copyright+license only, with no public domain
option (for those who find it acceptable for their use/redistribution).
This is because I dislike forcing people to list me as a copyright
holder in their copyright statements for their larger "products".


I don't want to push this too much because I understand that we cannot
work on all ends at the same time.


meillo

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