Re: randlib licence

[David Bateman]

Petr Gajdos wrote:
> Hi,
> I maintain package octave and I've been warned of possible licence 
> incompatibility of randlib:
>
> -----
>   

I'd always assumed that the Author is the holder of the copyright of the
code, and you are subject to the license terms of the code from the ACM
if you get it from netlib or ACM itself. If you have a specific license
supplied by the author for the code then these can be different than the
ACM terms... So as you remarked the specific terms are

>                               LEGALITIES
>
> Code that appeared  in an    ACM  publication  is subject  to    their
> algorithms policy:
>
>      Submittal of  an  algorithm    for publication  in   one of   the  ACM
>      Transactions implies that unrestricted use  of the algorithm within  a
>      computer is permissible.   General permission  to copy and  distribute
>      the algorithm without fee is granted provided that the copies  are not
>      made  or   distributed for  direct   commercial  advantage.    The ACM
>      copyright notice and the title of the publication and its date appear,
>      and  notice is given that copying  is by permission of the Association
>      for Computing Machinery.  To copy otherwise, or to republish, requires
>      a fee and/or specific permission.
>
>      Krogh, F.  Algorithms  Policy.  ACM  Tran.   Math.  Softw.   13(1987),
>      183-186.
>   
Ok this part is bad and is non GPL compatible. However, then the authors
state

> We place the Randlib code that we have written in the public domain.  
>   

which makes the whole question moot. If the authors, as owners of the
copyright on the code, place the code in the public domain, I don't see
how an ACM restriction can apply. The only question I see is in the
statement "that we have written". If there is any code in randlib that
was not written by the authors, then it would default to the ACM license
as the only one under which you can distribute.. I don't believe this is
the case, so I think randlib is in the clear for incorporation in GPLed
software..

D.


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David Bateman                                address@hidden
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