Re: Did nmap just become non-free?

[zimoun <zimon.toutoune@gmail.com>]

Hi Marius,

On Thu, 15 Oct 2020 at 00:13, Marius Bakke <marius@gnu.org> wrote:

> > This is definitely not a consistent license for us.
>
> Having re-read the original text (without the annotations), the thing
> that stands out is:
>
>   Proprietary software companies wishing to use or incorporate Covered
>   Software within their programs must contact Licensor to purchase a
>   separate license. Open source developers who wish to incorporate parts
>   of Covered Software into free software with conflicting licenses may
>   write Licensor to request a waiver of terms.
>
> From <https://svn.nmap.org/nmap/LICENSE>.

IANAL, it’s a weird way to "double" license; it’s fine since it’s GPLv2
too.


> I'll see what licensing@fsf.org has to say first.

For the record, the free GNU/linux distributions Parabola (listed here
[1]) distributes "nmap": 

   <https://www.parabola.nu/packages/?q=nmap>

It will be interesting to know what FSF licensing will say.


> PS: Licenses make terrible bed-side reading!

Boring enough to want to sleep fast? ;-)


All the best,
simon