Ubuntu Policy & System Libraries

[Dave Walker]

Hi,

I'd like to seek clarification on a section of Ubuntu Policy.

Currently, the Ubuntu Policy seems to make no reference to the term
'system library' which is a well documented part of of the GPL.
Essentially, software distributed under the GPL may link against
software that is usually considered incompatible with the GPL (either
by non-compatible open source licence or plainly proprietary).

A clear example of this is the toolchain, libc and friends, where
little consideration is used in licence adherence of binaries linking
against this.  However, the policy could be interpreted to be more
hard line than the FSF intend.  In such, GPL software should only link
against GPL compatible system libraries.  I don't believe this to be
the intention of ubuntu-policy, but would request that the wording is
amended to make this clear.

As outlined in Ubuntu Policy, 2.1[0], titled "Must not be distributed
under a license specific to Ubuntu" it states - "The rights attached
to the software must not depend on the programme's being part of
Ubuntu system. So we will not distribute software for which Ubuntu has
a "special" exemption or right, and we will not put our own software
into Ubuntu and then refuse you the right to pass it on.".  Which
oddly applies to 3 of the 4 archive components (I would have expected
it to be main & universe, or all 4).

I feel that the intention of this, is to protect the Ubuntu Archives
from software provided with Ubuntu specific licence, or software that
would normally belong in Canonical Partner archive and not binaries
merely linking against system libraries.

Specifically, the GPL's definition of System Library seems to be:
' The “System Libraries” of an executable work include anything, other
than the work as a whole, that (a) is included in the normal form of
packaging a Major Component, but which is not part of that Major
Component, and (b) serves only to enable use of the work with that
Major Component, or to implement a Standard Interface for which an
implementation is available to the public in source code form. ' [1]

[0] http://people.canonical.com/~cjwatson/ubuntu-policy/policy.html/ch-archive.html#s-ulp
[1] http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html

Thanks.

-- 
Kind Regards,

Dave Walker <Dave.Walker at canonical.com>
Engineering Manager,
Ubuntu Server