Re: Is Packaging Copyrightable (was: is copyleft packaging bad for Debian?)

Jonas Smedegaard <[email protected]> Tue, 03 Feb 2026 14:16:46 +0100

Newsgroups	gmane.linux.debian.devel.project
Message-ID	<[email protected]>

Hi Soren,

Quoting Soren Stoutner (2026-02-02 20:04:57)
> On Monday, February 2, 2026 11:43:34 AM Mountain Standard Time Jonas 
> Smedegaard wrote:
> > Related to that, I now (since yesterday) add the following section to
> > the debian/copyright file of packages that I maintain:
> > 
> > Files: debian/patches/*
> > Copyright: None
> > License: None
> > Comment:
> >  Patches are generally assumed not copyright-protected by default.
> >  Please list any patch with copyright claims separately.
> 
> As I just wrote in a separate email, I disagree strongly with the
> idea that Debian packaging is not copyrightable.  I do not think that
> any packages with the above debian/copyright entry should be allowed
> in Debian.

I read your previous email and I fully agree with you on that, but I
disagree with your conclusion (second sentence of your above).

For the record: I disagree strongly with the idea that Debian packaging
is *in general* is not copyrightable.

The reason I disagree with your conclusion has to do with a work
consisting of multiple parts, where some parts may be both easily
identifiable and also not in itself be copyrightable. Debian packaging
consist of such a subset, which has a third feature of being
potentially upstreamable: patches to upstream source.

(please see my response to Russ for more details on that reasoning)

Initially I talked about Debian packaging, but then I shifted to talk
more narrowly about the subset of "debian/patches*", and that is what
you quoted. Your position I fully agree with, but I am unsure if you
really mean that it holds true also for debian/patches as a subset on
its own - and I suspect that I would disagree with such a position.

Do you insist so very strongly that *patches* are not copyrightable?

 - Jonas

-- 
 * Jonas Smedegaard - idealist & Internet-arkitekt
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