hello debian-legal, as paul wise pointed out in march[1], some programs include "flattr this" or paypal donation buttons. i found that thread looking up what to do with my openscad package, which since recently includes a "flattr this" image. as i see it, my options as a packager are: 1. keep the image. impossible unless flattr releases the image under something dfsg-free. (i guess they could still restrict its use to "flattr this" links using trademark law -- would that be ok with debian?) 2. download the image at run time (after all, what displays such an image is often a web browser widget). if not for other reasons, that's out of league for reasons of privacy. 3. remove the flattr button. i'd be very reluctant to do that -- it'd be disrespectful towards the original authors. might even be covered by the "This notice may not be removed or altered from any source distribution" clause of many licenses, if the wording is like "Copyright (c) Some Person [[flattr me]] / This software is provided ... / may not be removed or altered". 4. replace the image with text. probably the most viable way. has the same implications as 3., but not that bad. 5. create free "flattr this" buttons. same implications as 4., but more work; might be upstreamable, though. if someone wants to take up the mass bug filing suggested by paul in [1], i suggest we first come up with a solution. best regards chrysn [1] http://lists.debian.org/debian-legal/2012/03/msg00054.html -- To use raw power is to make yourself infinitely vulnerable to greater powers. -- Bene Gesserit axiom
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