Re: [Gnu-arch-users] re: licensing question

[Stephen J. Turnbull]

>>>>> "Andrew" == Andrew Suffield <address@hidden> writes:

    Andrew> Well, this isn't strictly a restriction on redistribution,
    Andrew> it's a one-off hoop-jumping requirement. The distinction
    Andrew> lies between these two licenses:

A one-off restriction is still a restriction if you've only got one
copy.  That copy is *not* free, and control of individual copies is
the fundamental mechanism of copyright.

I'm really surprised that that kind of sophistry persuaded anybody who
matters at Debian.  Even if it persuades a court, I don't see why
Debian should shy away from labelling such restrictions "non-free".

    Andrew> If there's one thing I learned from debian-legal, it's
    Andrew> that most people do not understand licensing, a
    Andrew> significant number of upstream authors do not care about
    Andrew> it, and the vast majority of licensing issues arise from
    Andrew> simple ignorance.

Sure, but none of those are the case here.

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