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@@ -129,6 +129,7 @@ <li><a href="#packages" >List of Packages</a></li> <li><a href="#creating-packages">Creating Packages</a></li> <li><a href="#copyright" >Copyright</a></li> + <li><a href="#legal" >Legal</a></li> <li><a href="#history" >History</a></li> </ul> <ul> @@ -2457,7 +2458,8 @@ local-pkg-list: $(LOCAL_PKG_LIST)</pre> <a href="https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html">free</a> <a href="http://www.debian.org/social_contract#guidelines">software</a> <a href="http://www.opensource.org/osd.html">library</a> - that is really used by one of your applications. + that is really used by one of your applications. Please also review our + <a href="#legal">legal notes</a>. </p> <p> @@ -2759,6 +2761,166 @@ endef</pre> </div> <div class="section"> +<h2 id="legal">Legal</h2> + + <h3>Disclaimer - it's all code...</h3> + + <p> + Modern legal systems are like any other large, complex, and evolving body + of code you're likely to encounter. + </p> + + <p> + They have their own language with quirky parsers, compilers, and + interpreters (though these tend to be human). Their issue trackers are + a backlog of court cases. They have bugs. They have traps for the + uninitiated that may potentially do more than waste your time. + </p> + + <p> + We currently limit ourselves to: + </p> + <pre>--enable-languages='c,c++,objc,fortran'</pre> + <p> + so nothing mentioned here or on the mailing list should be taken as + legal advice. :-) + </p> + + <h3>Choosing the right compiler</h3> + + <p> + The best starting point for any legal questions would be the + </p> + <p> + <a href="http://fsfe.org/projects/ftf/">FTF (Freedom Task Force of the FSFE (Free Software Foundation Europe)).</a> + </p> + <p> + They have been very helpful in the past, and maintain an + <a href="http://fsfe.org/projects/ftf/network.en.html">extensive network</a> + of legal contacts, both within and outside Europe. + </p> + + <p>Your local jurisdiction may be a signatory to various + <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_parties_to_international_copyright_agreements">international agreements,</a> + so be sure to mention where you are in any correspondence (much like any + detailed bug report really). + </p> + + <p>Additionally, you should also do some background reading from the + <a href="http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html#GPLIncompatibleLibs">FSF (Free Software Foundation)</a> + and + <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_Lesser_General_Public_License">Wikipedia</a> + to familiarise yourself with some of the potential issues (and experience + some context-switching overhead). + </p> + + <h3 id="contributions">Contributions</h3> + + <p> + Contributions are always welcome! + </p> + + <p> + Ownership of all contributions (bug fixes, new packages, doc updates, etc.) + remain with the author. All we require is a real name (no l33t handles, + please), and that you release your work under + <a href="#copyright">our licence</a>. + </p> + + <p>If you prefer not to be credited with a contribution, please notify + the committer. + </p> + + <h3 id="package-licenses">Package Licences</h3> + + <p> + Each package is individually licensed under terms specified by the + authors of that package. Please see the respective source tarball + and/or project website for details. + </p> + + <p> + Packages that are + <a href="http://www.audiocoding.com/faac.html">non-free</a> + or + <a href="http://glaros.dtc.umn.edu/gkhome/metis/metis/faq#distribute">ambiguous</a> + will be + <a href="http://lists.nongnu.org/archive/html/mingw-cross-env-list/2010-12/msg00049.html">removed</a> + or + <a href="http://lists.nongnu.org/archive/html/mingw-cross-env-list/2010-09/msg00063.html">rejected</a>. + </p> + + <p> + The definition of free must be one of: + <ul> + <li><a href="http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html">The Free Software Definition</a></li> + <li><a href="http://www.debian.org/social_contract#guidelines">The Debian Free Software Guidelines (DFSG)</a></li> + <li><a href="http://www.opensource.org/osd.html">The Open Source Definition</a></li> + </ul> + </p> + + <p> + Please contact the + <a href="http://lists.nongnu.org/mailman/listinfo/mingw-cross-env-list">mailing list</a> + if you notice a package that doesn't meet these guidlines. + </p> + + <h3 id="other-legal-considerations">Other Considerations</h3> + + <p> + In addition to the usual considerations (copyrights, patents, + trademarks, export regulations etc.), building + <a href="http://lists.nongnu.org/archive/html/mingw-cross-env-list/2010-12/msg00025.html">statically linked</a> + libraries + <a href="http://lists.nongnu.org/archive/html/mingw-cross-env-list/2011-02/msg00018.html">for Windows</a> + exposes some edge cases that you may not have encountered before. + </p> + + <p> + According to + <a href="http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html">freedom 0</a> and our + <a href="#copyright">own licence</a>, + you can use mxe in countless different + environments, each with it's own special legal considerations. The + configuration options of certain packages (e.g ffmpeg) allow the use of + non-free software and/or combinations that cause license violations. + </p> + + <p> + For these packages, we will provide sensible defaults aimed + at achieving the following goals: + <ol> + <li>avoid causing inherent licensing issues with conflicting options</li> + <li>make the package as feature complete as possible</li> + </ol> + </p> + + <p> + Note that this does not prevent downstream violations, or affect any + further obligations a licence may impose on you. + </p> + + <h3 id="potential-legal-issues">Potential Issues - Non Exhaustive List</h3> + + <h4>LGPL and Static Linking</h4> + + <p> + Review the + <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_Lesser_General_Public_License#Differences_from_the_GPL">Differences from the GPL</a> + section of the Wikipedia article mentioned above. + </p> + + <h4>GPL and OpenSSL</h4> + + <p> + See conflicting accounts from the + <a href="http://www.gnu.org/licenses/license-list.html#OpenSSL">FSF</a> + and the + <a href="http://www.openssl.org/support/faq.html#LEGAL2">OpenSSL project</a>. + </p> +</div> + +<div class="section"> <h2 id="history">History</h2> <dl> |