Re-using copyrighted code

[Chris Angelico]

On Sun, Jun 9, 2013 at 7:31 AM, Malte Forkel <malte.forkel at berlin.de> wrote:
> # This version of the SRE library can be redistributed under CNRI's
> # Python 1.6 license.  For any other use, please contact Secret Labs
> # AB (info at pythonware.com).

I presume that's referring to this:

http://www.handle.net/python_licenses/python1.6_9-5-00.html
http://www.python.org/download/releases/1.6/license_faq/

This is looking like a hairy mess. I would recommend seeking an
alternative to this code that's under a simpler license. One
unfortunate consequence of license proliferation is that it's harder
for code to be reused. For your own code, please use one of the
better-known licenses - MIT, GPL, etc - as it will make life ever so
much easier for the next person!

Alternatively, since this is something that's still in current Python
releases (at least, that's how I understand your opening paragraphs),
this could be something to take up with the Python dev/legal team. You
may be able to use it under the terms of the modern Python license:

http://docs.python.org/3.3/license.html

But before you publish, I'd look for an authoritative answer from
someone in the PSF (which may involve a source-file edit to update the
license annotation).

ChrisA