java

[Colin Watson]

On Sat, Nov 27, 2004 at 02:11:36PM +1100, David Coldrick wrote:
> Color me confused. How does Sun Java come out non-free (capitalized or
> not :-))? What's the difference between including NVIDIA drivers and
> including Java?

The most current Sun Java licence I can find,
http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.5.0/jdk-1_5_0-license.txt, includes the term
"you do not distribute additional software intended to replace any
component(s) of the Software (unless otherwise specified in the
applicable README file)". This places an unacceptable restriction on
what we're allowed to distribute; for example, it forbids us to
distribute both Sun Java and Kaffe.

It also includes the term "you agree to defend and indemnify Sun and its
licensors from and against any damages, costs, liabilities, settlement
amounts and/or expenses (including attorneys' fees) incurred in
connection with any claim, lawsuit or action by any third party that
arises or results from the use or distribution of any and all Programs
and/or Software", which at the very least requires some serious thought.

Cheers,

-- 
Colin Watson                                    [cjwatson at canonical.com]