[cairo] Cairo license change follow-up

[Keith Packard]

Around 15 o'clock on Aug 13, Carl Worth wrote:

> Additionally, there is language in the Preamble of the LGPL that guides
> my interpretation of this section. It says that for certain software,
> (for which the LGPL is appropriate), it is important that "non-free
> programs must be allowed to use the library".

I think this brings up an important point.

The only people with standing to bring a suit for copyright infringement
are the copyright holders.  So, the process of interpreting the license
falls to precisely two people -- you and the copyright holder.  No one else
has any input into this process.  In places like this where you may not feel
clear about the wording of the license, it is sufficient to ask those
copyright holders to explain their intent more clearly.

So, when Carl says "my interpretation" in his statement above, it is not 
just a casual opinion in the matter; his interpretation really does 
constrain the effect of the license on code to which he holds the 
copyright (which is essentially the entire cairo library).

(not that I'm an attorney either, but I've certainly heard this from more 
than one).

-keith


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