Adding licensing info to my ports: some questions

[Chad Perrin]

On Tue, Jan 17, 2012 at 05:40:35AM +0300, Nikola Lečić wrote:
> On Mon, Jan 16, 2012 at 08:14:57PM -0500 Eitan Adler [email address
> elided] wrote:
> > 2012/1/16 Nikola Lečić <nikola.lecic at anthesphoria.net>:
> > >
> > > 6) I need three new items added to the licenses database because they
> > >   should be considered as 'known' licenses and thus belonging to the
> > >   'Case 1' in bsd.licenses.mk. There are: Common Public License, SIL
> > >   Open Font License and Public Domain [non-license]. I'd gladly
> > >   submit a PR, but I'd appreciate if someone could check this first,
> > >   especially _LICENSE_GROUPS_* including COPYFREE status.
> > 
> > Please submit this as a patch in a PR and email me. I'll make sure
> > they get added.
> 
> Will do.
> 
> > Common Public License is not copyfree.
> > SIL Open Font License is not copyfree.
> 
> Ok, thanks.

There are lists of licenses certified as complying with the Copyfree
Standard Definition and licenses explicitly rejected at the Copyfree
Initiative website:

    http://copyfree.org/licenses

    http://copyfree.org/rejected

I hope this helps in the future.  There are contact links on the site you
can use to send messages if you have other licenses than listed there you
want to ask about.  It might be worthwhile to check the page for the
Copyfree Standard Definition when wondering about a given license, if it
is not on one of those lists, though:

    http://copyfree.org/standard


> >
> > Putting something in the Public Domain doesn't work in any meaningful
> > sense and is not a license.
> 
> converters/base64 is public domain (see COPYING from its distfile).
> Do you mean that Public Domain shouldn't be added to the licenses
> database? NetBSD has it.

It seems like it would be useful to have a "public domain" category of
some kind, from where I'm sitting, with the understanding that it may not
mean anything useful depending on jurisdiction.  Beyond that, I probably
shouldn't say anything about it on this list.  The applicability of
plain ol' public domain dedications can be a contentious topic.

-- 
Chad Perrin [ original content licensed OWL: http://owl.apotheon.org ]