[GNU-linux-libre] firmware with licence problems

[Paul O'Malley]

Hi,

When I applaud the list of "blobs" being created, it strikes me that the 
community may wish to think of a question or two around this issue.
Is it enough to label these things as incompatible?

When is the person who chose the licence to politely explain how their 
licence prevents people from using their software.

It was exactly this kind of process that got GLX freed up and allowed 
back in to the libre stack.

It takes time, in the case of GLX about a year.
http://www.fsf.org/blogs/licensing/2009-01-xorg-glx

What should not happen is that you accept someone else's word for it. 
This can leave you exposed to at least being wrong and perhaps angering 
the person or people you want on your side.

For instance there are a batch of fonts that seem to be nonfree however 
if you dig into the debian licence documentation the non free licence is 
actually turned into a licence which has more in common with WTFPL than 
anything else, except it could used in the politest of company. I'm not 
naming them for the simple reason this is a tangent to my main thought.

The results of action in this space may be to get code released with a 
good licence and save reinventing the wheel should anyone wish to work 
on materials in this space.

When seeking a licence change you should request that it is retroactive 
so anyone with any version can choose either the new free licence or the 
old one, given that people have come to depend on both.

Regards,

Paul O'Malley