vdbergh <vdb### [at] lucacbe> wrote:
> The use of an OSI incompatible license complicates the inclusion of Povray
> in Linux distributions

  Why? The distribution license of POV-Ray explicitly allows its distribution
in such ways as eg. a Linux distribution.

  What stops a Linux distribution from including even commercial products
as long as the distribution license of that product allows it?
  I don't think there's anything in the GPL license which forbids
non-GPL software to be bundled alongside GPL software.

> Note that it would be perfectly possible for Povray to be licensed both
> under its
> original license and under the GPL.

  As noted in many places, distributing POV-Ray under the GPL license
is problematic because the pov-team has no permission for that. They
do not own the source code of POV-Ray completely because it has not
been made completely by them, and they have been unable to locate and
get explicit permission from all the contributors who have written
parts of the POV-Ray source during its entire 10+ years history.
  The makers of POV-Ray have agreed to the usage license which was
in effect back then, and changing this license radically without
their permission would be inconsiderate at best (at worst prone to
lawsuits).

  When POV-Ray is rewritten completely from scratch the license issue
can be addressed with less problems.

-- 
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<1,1,3>hollow}text{ttf"timrom""Warp".1,0translate<-1,-.1,2>}//  - Warp -

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