Xfree86 includes software under non-free licenses

Filed in: Bugs.00103 · Modified on : Sat, 12 Jan 08

Summary
Xfree86 includes software under non-free licenses
Type
Bug
Category
Main
Raised by
mattflaschen
Date opened
2007–07–18
Description
From Debian 211765 (http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=211765) and Ubuntu #6765 (https://bugs.launchpad.net/debian/+bug/6765), Xfree86 includes software under the GLX Public License and SGI Free Software License B, which are non-free.

Ubuntu maintainers don’t seem interested.

chris_debian 03 Sep 07: Is xfree86 in the repository? I thought we were using xorg.

kgoetz xfree86 is not per-se, but since xorg is a direct descendant, and contains all the same core code, its not unsurprising that a bug like this can carry through.

From gNS bug report http://bugs.gnewsense.org/Bugs/00129 :

( kgoetz I decided these two were similar enough to mark as a dupe. )

xserver-xorg has a license from SGI that is very wordy. It appears to be MIT, but may have something non-free in it.

Place an inquiry to licensing@fsf.org?

Michael Fötsch responded to my licensing#fsf.org request today, confirming that the GLX Public License is in-fact, not a Free Software license.
“The GLX Public License is non-free because of section 7 (and maybe others). It terminates if your use of the software infringes copyrights or patents which are not SGI’s (or whoever is the copyright holder). This is problematic for the same reason as discussed on <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/license-list.html> for the SGI Free Software License B, which is similar to the GLX Public License.” - kdean06

Heres http://lists.nongnu.org/archive/html/gnewsense-users/2007-11/msg00046.html is the link to the FSFs reply to kdean06 re the GLX licence. kgoetz

Status
Closed
Importance
2
Target Release
none
Resolution
This is fixed as of SVN 153. -bbrazil January 12, 2008, at 09:03 PM
Date closed
2008–01–12
Comments

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Page last modified on January 12, 2008, at 09:03 PM

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