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Re: is copyleft packaging bad for Debian?

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Short summary, how about a new `Packaging:` field in machine-readable
`debian/copyright` files?

[My answer below was proof-read by MS Copilot]

Le Fri, Jan 30, 2026 at 02:04:44PM +0100, Jonas Smedegaard a écrit :
>
>When I package a project for inclusion into Debian, I commonly license
>my packaging work using a copyleft license¹.

>What triggers me in asking this is that, as part of a recent NEW queue
>processing, this pattern of mine was noticed and questioned.

My experience is almost the opposite: when I generate a new package
using automated scripts, I don’t want to claim copyright on the
packaging. Unfortunately, this has been considered mandatory—the
previous team rejected packages without explicit license statements for
files under debian/.

To comply, many maintainers simply reuse the upstream license for
debian/*, which becomes messy when upstream later relicenses (common in
some ecosystems). And as Matthias noted, using a different license for
packaging plus the machine‑readable format adds overhead whenever we
introduce new upstream patches.

It would help to have a default mechanism for maintainers who prefer to
waive as much copyright as possible without spending time hand‑editing
debian/copyright.

Perhaps we could define a standard Comment or a new Packaging field in
the machine‑readable format pointing to a Debian‑hosted explanation:
that most packaging work is not copyrightable, that some files may carry
upstream copyright, and that maintainers otherwise place their
contributions in the public domain (or equivalent).

Have a nice day,

Charles

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Re: is copyleft packaging bad for Debian? Charles Plessy <plessy@debian.org> - 2026-01-31 14:50 +0100
  Re: is copyleft packaging bad for Debian? Jonas Smedegaard <dr@jones.dk> - 2026-01-31 15:50 +0100

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