Request for info about the BSD licence change

nglnx ngmail at sapo.pt
Sun Jul 6 04:32:37 UTC 2008


As a translation contributor, I am trying to make an informed decision 
regarding the licence change. I have been trying to follow the discussion and 
a few doubts remain in my mind that I would like to see clarified. Since 
IANAL, I wish someone would publish a more thorough document than the 
licencing FAQ, detailing the changes in workflow and pitfalls to avoid. Here 
are some things I am not clear about.

-- Am I correct to assume that suggestions that come from GPL projects will be 
visibly flagged regarding potential licensing conflicts?

-- Also, a related question: when you use a suggestion, does the string become 
BSD licensed or does it retain the original license?

-- What happens with changed in Launchpad translations? Since our 
contributions are now BSD, if upstream GPL project has an error and you want 
to correct it in Ubuntu, are you able to do so or not?

-- Is the following correct? "Imports marked as published will retain original 
license. Only contributions made in Launchpad will be BSD. It will be up to 
the upstream to use it or not".

-- Since it is asked that contributors licence all *past* and future 
translations, what happens for past contributions. Do past suggestions 
accepted, imports made, corrections to upstream translations in Launchpad, 
etc., have to be reviewed to comply with the new requirements? That could 
become a problem to those with considerable contributions.

-- Regarding licensing conflicts, your FAQ states that checking compliance is 
the responsability of the contributor. Shouldn't this be included in the 
revised terms of use page, instead of just the FAQ page?

-- IANAL and most of the contributors also are not. Has this licence change 
been reviewed by one (at Canonical, for instance)?

-- Have any translation teams changed their workflow or membership 
requirements in any way to reflect the licencing change? Being member of a 
translation team, I would like to know how other teams are adapting to the 
change.

Thanks for your time,
nglnx




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