From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Return-Path: X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.0 (2014-02-07) on aws-us-west-2-korg-lkml-1.web.codeaurora.org X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-1.0 required=3.0 tests=HEADER_FROM_DIFFERENT_DOMAINS, MAILING_LIST_MULTI,SPF_HELO_NONE,SPF_PASS autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no version=3.4.0 Received: from mail.kernel.org (mail.kernel.org [198.145.29.99]) by smtp.lore.kernel.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id B5F50C04AAF for ; Tue, 21 May 2019 17:58:16 +0000 (UTC) Received: from vger.kernel.org (vger.kernel.org [209.132.180.67]) by mail.kernel.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 89F76217D7 for ; Tue, 21 May 2019 17:58:16 +0000 (UTC) Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org via listexpand id S1729116AbfEUR6Q (ORCPT ); Tue, 21 May 2019 13:58:16 -0400 Received: from mail-ua1-f41.google.com ([209.85.222.41]:34476 "EHLO mail-ua1-f41.google.com" rhost-flags-OK-OK-OK-OK) by vger.kernel.org with ESMTP id S1728114AbfEUR6Q (ORCPT ); Tue, 21 May 2019 13:58:16 -0400 Received: by mail-ua1-f41.google.com with SMTP id 7so1570436uah.1 for ; Tue, 21 May 2019 10:58:15 -0700 (PDT) X-Google-DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=1e100.net; s=20161025; h=x-gm-message-state:mime-version:from:date:message-id:subject:to; bh=Q/RsiEhCK6y0oD+efnCzXRzWPnQ3P1U1PsxViSs1FjY=; b=of86X8/Y27hiwdMkycJ30ks//YbowkM5x+QfYTG2mjD0cN96igQ6V18LlETt7vn3ix Ai4Rt2Cw2HMYof0YElPunZnBBbA7kY8kTsyVJ2FVOsgDnT/ZSO/+4lUgXLkpJLZxM3dU u+2iUMPyMn9BJRHX/oxF7i4wR670EwVSn4ux95j/6a2ddFBPp9scl4Ylih4AlUsJtixq 1uPZKXAvDrFBsQcfNU8gRbRh6VY+8GPbPehbwYA5MAg5HCNE77kbdvHHmxpaZn+VwYcj lML5kswI4Gy16J5v/+FwKSxXf6Ivz0fwOMTQalp+UERUmO3xvF5PrFuGU+LSMk4kYv8b 8yOw== X-Gm-Message-State: APjAAAVgHYaL+Qf2IFenn7tQudd6d9HWlP0wJSeCH2WX7Civ8eOCwgxj QZOS+YnVWEA8GsnkwSAMI1m7DOAx0J+Cw+1/WvMCHqeLYHA= X-Google-Smtp-Source: APXvYqzMgEz5Eoed7T/FnZ1U6ano3LcP+c9e7FrBBbvTFJtqCt1L2VXzKXkHnJgXsXz0Q9o7ivBJvsd7nnj86dAMC9g= X-Received: by 2002:ab0:2c15:: with SMTP id l21mr1566682uar.139.1558461494895; Tue, 21 May 2019 10:58:14 -0700 (PDT) MIME-Version: 1.0 From: Richard Fontana Date: Tue, 21 May 2019 13:58:04 -0400 Message-ID: Subject: Meta-question on GPL compliance of this activity To: linux-spdx@vger.kernel.org Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" Sender: linux-spdx-owner@vger.kernel.org Precedence: bulk List-ID: X-Mailing-List: linux-spdx@vger.kernel.org I was at the LLW event in Barcelona last month but unfortunately did not attend the workshop relating to this activity, so I apologize if this is something that has already been considered. GPLv2 section 1 says: "You may copy and distribute verbatim copies of the Program's source code as you receive it, in any medium, provided that you conspicuously and appropriately publish on each copy an appropriate copyright notice and disclaimer of warranty; keep intact all the notices that refer to this License and to the absence of any warranty; and give any other recipients of the Program a copy of this License along with the Program." I have recently heard the argument that replacing a more or less standard old-school GNU license notice, or any sort of nonstandard pre-SPDX alternative human-oriented notice, with an SPDX license identifier string, without explicit permission from the copyright holder, complies with this condition, because in substance the SPDX string embodies equivalent licensing information (and has benefits of its own over the old-school notice). However, more conservative interpreters of GPLv2, including some copyright holders, might argue otherwise. The discovery of GPL notices juxtaposed with warranty disclaimers imported from non-GPL licenses, or warranty disclaimers that otherwise go beyond what is called out in GPLv2 and the traditional GNU license notice, also raises the question of whether this list's work is strictly compliant with the quoted language from GPLv2 section 1. Have other participants already thought about and addressed these sorts of compliance issues? Richard