Re: Icons for proprietary software in contrib package

On Fri, 17 Apr 2026 21:24:37 -0700 Soren Stoutner <[email protected]>
wrote:
> No, there isn=E2=80=99t.  The best case scenario is when upstream include=
s specific
> license information for all of their icons.  However, many don=E2=80=99t.
>
> Debian has to assume that icons are non-free when we can=E2=80=99t establ=
ish that they
> are released under a DFSG-free license.  That being said, usage of icons =
in
> some of these cases is considered fair-use, particularly if the icons are=
 used
> by a launcher to refer to the service the icon represents.  In those case=
s, it
> is acceptable for Debian to distribute them in non-free, even if the icon=
s are
> not released under a DFSG-free license.  This is similar to how a reviewe=
r can
> include the icon of a product they are reviewing under fair use without
> needing permission of the company that made the icon.  One of the importa=
nt
> aspects of this type of fair use is that the user should be able to tell =
the
> icon is referring to the other company=E2=80=99s products/service and not=
 to the
> software that is being distributed by us.

Thank you for such a detailed response. This made me look at other
package that I am working on. It includes QR codes with a payment
processor icon in the middle. Which is fair use, but I want to have
packages that I maintain in main/contrib so I will remove them.

--=20
Cheers
Ilya