[Bug 468580] New: License: export control restrictions violates GNU/FSF recommendation

[Red Hat Bugzilla]

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Summary: License: export control restrictions violates GNU/FSF recommendation

https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=468580

Summary: License: export control restrictions violates GNU/FSF
                    recommendation
           Product: Fedora
           Version: rawhide
          Platform: All
               URL: https://bugzilla.redhat.com/attachment.cgi?id=295106
        OS/Version: All
            Status: NEW
          Severity: low
          Priority: medium
         Component: liberation-fonts
        AssignedTo: [e-mail]
        ReportedBy: [e-mail]
         QAContact: [e-mail]
                CC: [e-mail], [e-mail]
    Classification: Fedora

Excuse me for my bad English :-)

Description of problem:

The Liberation fonts are known to most people as "free" now. But license of
Liberation fonts contain some restrictions that makes this fonts not free.

Let's see to license of "liberation" fonts - paragraph 5 "Export control":
"[...] As required by U.S. law, Client represents and warrants
that it: (a) [...]; (b)
is not located in a prohibited destination country [...] (currently Cuba, Iran,
Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Sudan
and Syria) [...]".
So, please think: Can we say that fonts with such license are free?
Hyperbolic variant A: is the font that can not be legally used at California
and Columbia free or not free?
Hyperbolic variant B: is the font that can be used legally only at Moon free or
not free?

I understand that Redhat must not break U.S. laws. But it seems that license
may not contains such things. Lets see what GNU/FSF writes about it -
http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html, paragraph below freedoms list:

"Thus, you should be free to redistribute copies, either with or without
modifications, either gratis or charging a fee for distribution, to anyone
anywhere".

And so - http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html#exportcontrol:
"Sometimes government export control regulations and trade sanctions can
constrain your freedom to distribute copies of programs internationally.
Software developers do not have the power to eliminate or override these
restrictions, but what they can and must do is refuse to impose them as
conditions of use of the program. In this way, the restrictions will not affect
activities and people outside the jurisdictions of these governments."

Please accept this GNU/FSF recommendation and exclude export limitations from
license if it is possible.

Version-Release number of selected component (if applicable):
1.0-1

How reproducible:
Always

Steps to Reproduce:
1. Download archive from https://bugzilla.redhat.com/attachment.cgi?id=295106
2. Unpack
3. Read file "License.txt", paragraph 5 intently. Imagine that prohibited
destination is you home or home of your friend.

Actual results:
Fonts is not really free.

Expected results:
Fonts should be free because it was included to Fedora to be free.

Additional info:
-none-

[Bug 468580] License: export control restrictions violates GNU/FSF recommendation

[Red Hat Bugzilla]

Please do not reply directly to this email. All additional
comments should be made in the comments box of this bug.

https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=468580

Nicolas Mailhot  changed:

What    |Removed                     |Added
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 CC|                            |[e-mail]
             Blocks|                            |182235

[Bug 468580] License: export control restrictions violates GNU/FSF recommendation

[Red Hat Bugzilla]

Please do not reply directly to this email. All additional
comments should be made in the comments box of this bug.

https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=468580

Jens Petersen  changed:

What    |Removed                     |Added
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 CC|                            |[e-mail]
         AssignedTo|[e-mail]          |[e-mail]

--- Comment #1 from Jens Petersen   2008-10-26 20:23:22 EDT ---
Reassigning to spot so that Fedora Legal can take care of this.

[Bug 468580] License: export control restrictions violates GNU/FSF recommendation

[Red Hat Bugzilla]

Please do not reply directly to this email. All additional
comments should be made in the comments box of this bug.

https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=468580

Tom "spot" Callaway  changed:

What    |Removed                     |Added
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
             Status|NEW                         |CLOSED
         Resolution|                            |NOTABUG

--- Comment #2 from Tom "spot" Callaway   2008-10-26 23:13:24 EDT ---
The version you pulled out of bugzilla is a much older revision. The text
you're worried about isn't in the latest version of the Liberation Font
license:

https://fedorahosted.org/liberation-fonts/browser/trunk/License.txt

Paragraph 5 says (in its entirety):

5. General. If any provision of this agreement is held to be unenforceable,
that shall not affect the enforceability of the remaining provisions. This
agreement shall be governed by the laws of the State of North Carolina and of
the United States, without regard to any conflict of laws provisions, except
that the United Nations Convention on the International Sale of Goods shall not
apply.

In fact, the wording "destination country" that you quote, never appears in the
current license.

The only font package that still is under the old license terms seems to be the
Fedora 8 package, definitely not rawhide as you've claimed.

Closing as NOTABUG.

[Bug 468580] License: export control restrictions violates GNU/FSF recommendation

[Red Hat Bugzilla]

Please do not reply directly to this email. All additional
comments should be made in the comments box of this bug.

https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=468580

--- Comment #3 from sergey   2008-10-28 13:28:04 EDT ---
Excuse me for reporting bug for inappropriate fonts version. And thanks for
quick detailed answer :-)