Re: ooops copyright questions

[Jim Blandy <jimb at red-bean dot com>]

> I've just been reading the COPYRIGHTS file inside the (preliminary?) release
> of guile-ooops.  From my reading, this Guile extension differs from most GNU
> software in that I must do the following if I want to use it in my code:
> 
> 1.  Any supporting documentation I write must include a copy of the Paradigm
>     Associates copyright notice.
> 
> 2.  I can't charge a fee for distributing the software without getting the
>     written permission of Erick Gallesio.
> 
> Requirement #2 seems particularly bad.  Have you tried to negotiate
> different terms with Erick?  Doesn't he distribute newer versions of STk
> with less restrictive terms.
> 
> What about Paradigm Associates?  Can that copyright notice and its
> requirements be removed as well by contacting the author of Scheme in One
> Defun.  Does any SIOD code even still exist in the source?

This is one of the reasons GOOPS isn't distributed with guile-core.
Erick Gallesio is amenable to fixing this somehow; I just haven't
gotten around to sorting it out yet.

But the long-term plan is indeed to distribute GOOPS under the same
terms as the rest of Guile.