The curses module and licensing

[benjamin schnitzler]

I think I have accidentially not sent this to the python list:

On 02:17 Fri 07 Dec     , Chris Angelico wrote:
> Hi!
>
> Here's some info on ncurses:
>
> http://invisible-island.net/ncurses/ncurses.faq.html
>
> I would generally assume that it's safe to use any Python standard
> library module without worrying about what license its underlying
> library/ies are distributed under - because I trust the Python core
> developers to ensure that they're creating a product that's not bound
> by unexpected license terms. But you'll probably get an on-list
> response with more detail.
>
> Chris Angelico
Thanks for your answer. I guess you're right. It's just, that I
never really worked for a project where I got into license
issues. (At least I think so.) And I am not really used to it.
The FAQ states:

"Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person
obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation
files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without
restriction, including without limitation the rights to use,
copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, distribute with
modifications, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software,
and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so,
subject to the following conditions:
The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be
included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND,
EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES
OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND
NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE ABOVE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE
LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN
ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN
CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE
SOFTWARE.

Except as contained in this notice, the name(s) of the above
copyright holders shall not be used in advertising or otherwise
to promote the sale, use or other dealings in this Software
without prior written authorization."

"...to deal in the Software without restriction..."
"...distribute, distribute with modifications, sublicense..."

Sounds good. Ok, but I have to include this into all "copies or
substantial portions of the Software" . Ok, thats a bit vague.
And if I include this notice into my files: It sounds a bit, as
if this would be then a copyright for them.
Substantial portions are, I guess, the libraries themselves.
Which are other substantial portions? Those files which extend
the libraries maybe? I looked into the files of my
/usr/lib/python2.7/curses directory. None of them had this text
portion from above included. On the other hand the FAQ also
states that the Free Software Foundation, who got hold of the
copyright, had promised to use the above distribution terms only
for 5 years, which was in 1998, so it might not be relevant at
all. Well ok. I guess I can just leave my files, as they are,
since they are no real extensions of the library. But I am not
completely sure. If anyone has a better idea: Just let me know
it.

Benjamin


On Thu, Dec 6, 2012 at 4:02 PM, Benjamin Schnitzler <
benjaminschnitzler at googlemail.com> wrote:

> Hello everyone,
>
> I am new to this list.
> I have a question concerning the curses module (I am using
> python2.7). Which license does this module have? Is it bases
> completely on the curses library? In the documentation the
> following is stated:
>
> "The curses module provides an interface to the curses library,
> the de-facto standard for portable advanced terminal handling."
>
> But also:
>
> "Changed in version 1.6: Added support for the ncurses library
> and converted to a package."
>
> Is it maybe built on both libraries? However, the crucial point
> is, that I want to build a curses terminal interface for some GPL
> software project. Can You give me a hint, if that is possible
> (yes, I know, You are no lawyers) and if and where I have to
> include licensing informations regarding the license of
> curses/ncurses ?
>
> Thank You
>
> Benjamin
>
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