Possible DRM protected non free software in repos
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Now that I have your attention, I would have you note package simutrans-pak64, necessary files for the game Simutrans.
While the game it self is free (Artistic License), the object necessary for gameplay in the above package are stored in PAK files and disributed separately (since the are different pak sets available). These files are problematic for several reasons. Firstly, there is no license given, while Debian's copyright file mentions only the "Simutrans source code" which seems to apply only to the program itself. The second problem is the file format itself the official simutrans FAQ states "The PAK file is there to protect the rights of the creator of the PAK file. It was designed specifically not to be unpackable for that reason..." This sounds a lot like DRM.
What do you think? If the consensus is that is an issue I will file a bug report with Trisquel, Debian and Ubuntu and report the issue to the FSF.
Of course it is debatable as to whether or not the PAK files are "software." According to this source the PACs consist of a PNG and a text config file. While the DRM issue is important regardless, is a text cofig file software?
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A text config file is software because it's code that runs on your computer, but like a PNG file, they can be freely read and modified as-is. Binary code, on the other hand, is impossible for a human being to interpret and modify and therefore source code is necessary. That's the entire point of requiring source code to be distributed along with binaries, because the freedom to modify could not exist otherwise.
Nevertheless, the fact that a PAK file format is being used specificall to protect the author's assets is definitely problematic. Fully free software allows the user to modify and share any and all parts of the software for any reason, and the only intermittent issue should be whether or not it is copyleft.
That's what I thought, I'll file the bug reports
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Furthermore, I recommend the popular OpenTTD as the replacement if this gets removed from the repos. The latest version of OpenTTD is fully free and only lacks music; that too will change when the music replacement project is completed.
I am a translator!
"The copyright file here states that at least some of the PNG files are GPL 3, but fails to mention the text files. Does this change anything?"
I'm not an expert on these questions, but I think that since text files do not require source code, and since the whole codebase is under the Artistic License, the license also applies to the text files as well.
Does the Pak file count as a script or library file? See part 6 of the Artistic License:
6. The scripts and library files supplied as input to or produced as
output from the programs of this Package do not automatically fall
under the copyright of this Package, but belong to whomever generated
them, and may be sold commercially, and may be aggregated with this
Package.
Another question: what about source for pak-128 and the other ones?
I'll see if I can get some answers for the SFLC.
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