Re: XKeyboardConfig wants to rip gkb-new - but ...

[jens persson <jens persson cx>]

On Sun, Jun 13, 2004 at 03:26:20AM +0100, Sergey V. Udaltsov wrote:
> Hi all
> 
> There is new X Keyboard Configuration database project
> (http://freedesktop.org/Software/XKeyboardConfig) which is trying to
> build the storage of X Keyboard Configuration elements (layouts etc). As
> a maintainer of this project, I'd like to borrow xmodmap configuration
> files included with gkb-new applet (which was historically first
> keyboard applet and is working now in xkb-less environments) - and
> include them in our project. But there is a licensing problem.
> XKeyboardConfig uses standard MIT X11 license, while gkb-new (being a
> part of gnome-applets) is covered by GPL. I am not a big specialist in
> the licesing and legislation - so I ask here: is there any way to export
> this data? What could I do about it?
> 

Hello Sergey (et. all).

Well, IANAL (nor keyboard specialist) but I think that what you are
asking is that you want to take the files I found here:
http://cvs.gnome.org/viewcvs/gnome-applets/gkb-new/xmodmap/ (and
xmodmap.sun) which are licensed under GPL and use them under a MIT 
X11 license. I think this is possible in two ways:

* The content of the files seems to be basic lists of definitions and
  therefor are not "original works of authorship" [1] and you could just
  strip out the comments and use the data which is "information that is
  common property and containing no original authorship"[2]. Aka there
  is no copyright on the information and you can use it freely. The
  problem with this is that you loose all comments, and its somewhat rude
  :-).
* From the CVS logs it seems to be relatively few commiters/authors
  (single digit), so it shoulden't be impossible to contact all the
  presumptive copyright holders and ask them to relicense to MIT X11


An armchair layer _not_ giving out legal advice
/jp

[1] http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1.html#wwp
[2] http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1.html#wnp

-- 
 jens persson         #         In the face of ambiguity, refuse the
 <jens persson cx>    #                         temptation to guess.
 Mäster Olofsväg 24   #           -- Tim Peters 12th Pythonic Thesis
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