From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Return-Path: To: devel@altlinux.ru From: Peter Novodvorsky Organization: ALT Linux Date: Sun, 06 Oct 2002 15:24:56 +0400 Message-ID: <87u1jzlshj.fsf@shamrock.office.altlinux.ru> User-Agent: Gnus/5.090008 (Oort Gnus v0.08) Emacs/21.2 (i386-debian-linux-gnu) MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=koi8-r Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Subject: [devel] RE: Warning to Debian Developers regarding BitKeeper Sender: devel-admin@altlinux.ru Errors-To: devel-admin@altlinux.ru X-BeenThere: devel@altlinux.ru X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.9 Precedence: bulk Reply-To: devel@altlinux.ru List-Unsubscribe: , List-Id: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , List-Archive: Archived-At: List-Archive: List-Post: Привет. Нас это по идее тоже касается. Во всяком случае employees фирмы ALTLinux. Будьте очень осторожны. -*-*-*-*- From: Branden Robinson [mailto:branden@debian.org] Sent: Saturday, October 05, 2002 3:13 PM To: debian-devel-announce@lists.debian.org Subject: Warning to Debian Developers regarding BitKeeper It has come to the attention of several Debian developers that any of us may be exposed to tort claims from BitMover, Inc., the company that produces BitKeeper, the software that is in wide usage as a revision-control system among Linux kernel developers. Specifically, the BitKeeper license states the following: (d) Notwithstanding any other terms in this License, this License is not available to You if You and/or your employer develop, produce, sell, and/or resell a product which contains substantially similar capabil- ities of the BitKeeper Software, or, in the reason- able opinion of BitMover, competes with the BitKeeper Software. Note the broad sweep of these terms. If: 1) you OR 2) the company you work for A) develops OR B) produces OR C) sells OR D) resells *) anything containing functionality substantially similar to BitKeeper OR **) anything which, in the "reasonable" opinion of BitMover, competes with BitKeeper ...you have no license to use the BitKeeper software. To use the software legally under any conjunction of the above circumstances, you will have to pay BitMover for a license. Take special note that: * The license on the "anything" containing substantially similar capabilities to BitKeeper *does not matter*. In other words, if you or employer develops, produces, sells, or resells anything containing, say Subversion or CVS, you have no gratis license to use BitKeeper. * BitMover reserves the right to express its "reasonable opinion" about what does and does not compete with BitKeeper. The burden is on *you* to persuade them in *each* and *every* case that the work you do doesn't "compete" with BitKeeper. Alternatively, you could take BitMover to court and seek something like a declaratory judgement. Specifically, this problem has been seen to affect Ben Collins, former DPL and GNU C Library maintainer, who just happens to work on both the Subversion project -- a freely-licensed revision control system designed to supplant CVS -- and the Linux 1394 ("FireWire") Project. Because the Debian Project distributes revision control tools like RCS, CVS, and Subversion (and Arch in the near future, if we don't already), and because we are a large organization with many members who likely have many different employers, I felt ethically obliged to bring this issue to the Project's attention. Until and unless BitMover changes the license on BitKeeper to eliminate this onerous clause, the wisest course of action may be to refrain from using BitKeeper altogether. You may also want to bring this problem to the attention of your employer, if you think it is likely that your organization may be affected. To read more about this issue, see your favorite archive of the linux-kernel mailing list. For example: http://www.uwsg.indiana.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/0210.0/1496.html I express no opinion as to whether to the requirements of the BitKeeper license are legitimate, valid, or enforceable in any particular jurisdiction. If you are concerned about this issue, please retain counsel. -- G. Branden Robinson | A celibate clergy is an especially Debian GNU/Linux | good idea, because it tends to branden@debian.org | suppress any hereditary propensity http://people.debian.org/~branden/ | toward fanaticism. -- Carl Sagan -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-devel-request@lists.debian.org with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmaster@lists.debian.org -- Peter Novodvorsky nidd@myxomop.com http://garcia.myxomop.com/NiddWiki Deadheads, unite! Kill 'em all, and let God sort 'em out