[development] Contributions: remove LICENSE.txt

[Thomas Barregren]

Dries Buytaert skrev:

> On 09 Oct 2006, at 08:02, Gary Feldman wrote:
>>> the package script at drupal.org automatically includes a 
>>> LICENSE.txt when packaging your modules.  As explained in the CVS 
>>> guidelines, it is not necessary to add a LICENSE.txt to CVS.  It 
>>> just takes up disk space, and more importantly, bandwidth.  Please 
>>> remove LICENSE.txt files from your contributed projects.  Thanks.
>> From a legal perspective, this seems wrong.  The implication is that 
>> the license only applies to the packaged bundles, and not to source 
>> code downloaded directly from CVS.
>
>
> * There is a license file in the root of the contributions 
> repository.  (Yes, you can checkout modules on their own,  or files on 
> their own but that is not what 95% of the Drupal users do.)

Nevertheless, the regulation of GPL must be followed. Section 1 of GPL
reads:

    1. You may copy and distribute ... 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.

Since a checkout in fact means that the repository owner distributes
code under GPL, the repository owner is responsible for

   1. conspicuously and appropriately publish on *each* copy an
      appropriate copyright notice and disclaimer of warranty,

   2. keep intact all the notices that refer to this License and to the
      absence of any warranty, and

   3. give any other recipients ... a copy of this License.

Thus, I figure that Gary is right.

> * Having to add a copyright notice to each file sucks in dynamically 
> interpreted languages.

I agree, but that doesn't change facts. According to GPL, as I read it,
the copyright notice *must* be there for GPL to apply. Section 0 of GPL
reads:

    0. This License applies to any program or other work which contains
    a notice placed by the copyright holder saying it may be distributed
    under the terms of this General Public License. - - -

Moreover, after the end of terms and conditions in the GPL, it is stated
that "each file should have at least the 'copyright' line and a pointer
to where the full notice is found." More on this can be found in the GPL
FAQ.

To summarize, I agree with Gary that each file must contain a copyright
notice and a pointer to where the full notice as given at the end of GPL
can be found. With this proviso, I think it is safe to remove
LICENCE.txt from the modules. But, as Gary said, "in the absence of such
notices, the omission of the license from the CVS package directory
seems penny wise and pound foolish."

Regards,
Thomas

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