GNU bug report logs - #24520
25.1.50; calccard.tex has somewhat unclear licensing

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From: Richard Stallman <rms <at> gnu.org>
To: Glenn Morris <rgm <at> gnu.org>
Cc: eliz <at> gnu.org, naesten <at> gmail.com, 24520 <at> debbugs.gnu.org, rms <at> gnu.org
Subject: bug#24520: 25.1.50; calccard.tex has somewhat unclear licensing
Date: Mon, 17 Oct 2016 15:54:43 -0400

[[[ To any NSA and FBI agents reading my email: please consider    ]]]
[[[ whether defending the US Constitution against all enemies,     ]]]
[[[ foreign or domestic, requires you to follow Snowden's example. ]]]

Practically speaking, the only thing you can easily do with the TeX
output is make exact copies.  If you want to make modified versions,
the feasible way is to use the source.  The source carries a free
license, so you are allowed to do that.

As for what to say on the binaries, there are three issues:

* We don't have room to include a usual GPL notice, let 
alone the GPL itself.

* We don't want to permit modified versions without the requirements
of the GPL.  Thus, the change in 2007 was not correct.

* We need to reconcile this with the GPL.

Perhaps what we need is (1) an additional permission saying that
reference cards printed, or formatted for printing, may be distributed
with the notice "Released under the terms of the GNU General Public
License version 3 or later" and a copyright notice, without the usual
GPL notice and without a copy of the GPL itself.

What do you think of that?

-- 
Dr Richard Stallman
President, Free Software Foundation (gnu.org, fsf.org)
Internet Hall-of-Famer (internethalloffame.org)
Skype: No way! See stallman.org/skype.html.

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