Re: Require "this program is free software .... " notice to be preserved on the splash screen

[Jean Louis <bugs@gnu.support>]

* Richard Stallman <rms@gnu.org> [2021-02-15 07:46]:
> [[[ To any NSA and FBI agents reading my email: please consider    ]]]
> [[[ whether defending the US Constitution against all enemies,     ]]]
> [[[ foreign or domestic, requires you to follow Snowden's example. ]]]
> 
>   > Did person request altering of a license or excercising of section
>   > 7.4.?
> 
> I think I misread it before.  Sorry.
> 
> Section 7.4 says it is possible to add to the license of a program
> a clause saying to preserve a specific notice.  We could do that,
> but I am not sure it is wise.
> 
> Let's ask the Spacemacs developers to cooperate.

In this regard I have filed the bug at Github:
https://github.com/syl20bnr/spacemacs/issues/14444

with the comment below:

 gnusupport commented Mar 1, 2021

After reading the GPL, and reviewing Spacemacs, I am of the opinion that Spacemacs is not merely an aggregate, it is one full work that includes various other parts. It does not matter if parts come from various places, the whole package is there.

Review:
https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html#MereAggregation
https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html#AggregateContainers

I am proposing that authors review the section 5. about Conveying Modified Source Versions, and to see if there is need to comply to it. As it is actually a distribution of Emacs in modified form IMHO. I have not found copy of license inside. I found the reference, but the reference like GPLv3 is not enough to comply to licensing.

Please review:

    a) The work must carry prominent notices stating that you modified
    it, and giving a relevant date.

    b) The work must carry prominent notices stating that it is
    released under this License and any conditions added under section
    7.  This requirement modifies the requirement in section 4 to
    "keep intact all notices".

    c) You must license the entire work, as a whole, under this
    License to anyone who comes into possession of a copy.  This
    License will therefore apply, along with any applicable section 7
    additional terms, to the whole of the work, and all its parts,
    regardless of how they are packaged.  This License gives no
    permission to license the work in any other way, but it does not
    invalidate such permission if you have separately received it.

    d) If the work has interactive user interfaces, each must display
    Appropriate Legal Notices; however, if the Program has interactive
    interfaces that do not display Appropriate Legal Notices, your
    work need not make them do so.