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Date: Mon, 5 Dec 2011 10:27:40 +0000 (UTC)
From: "Andrea Pescetti (Commented) (JIRA)" <jira@apache.org>
To: legal-discuss@apache.org
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Subject: [jira] [Commented] (LEGAL-117) Aggregation of GPL dictionaries with
 Apache OpenOffice (incubating) binary releases
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    [ https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/LEGAL-117?page=com.atlassian.jira.plugin.system.issuetabpanels:comment-tabpanel&focusedCommentId=13162708#comment-13162708 ] 

Andrea Pescetti commented on LEGAL-117:
---------------------------------------

Risks that this could be mispackaged and stop being aggregation do not exist: modern versions of OpenOffice.org (and thus, Apache OpenOffice) only provide and use dictionaries in the form of extensions, so the packaging is separate by design.

Downloading: indeed it is an option we discussed, but it has several major drawbacks with respect to mere aggregation, like requiring a redesign of significant portions of the application and being unpractical for many of the Apache OpenOffice use cases we expect (i.e., usage in countries where Internet access is not ubiquitous, or usage in structures like schools that may apply strict policies on downloads). And in this moment it would also require us to restructure the extensions hosting, that already has traffic problems and that would not be able to sustain the traffic.

Being clear on licenses: as Rob wrote, we can take advantage of the fact that Apache OpenOffice is a GUI application to give effective information to users.
                
> Aggregation of GPL dictionaries with Apache OpenOffice (incubating) binary releases
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>                 Key: LEGAL-117
>                 URL: https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/LEGAL-117
>             Project: Legal Discuss
>          Issue Type: Question
>            Reporter: Andrea Pescetti
>
> Localized versions of OpenOffice.org have traditionally included dictionaries (a term used to designate data files for writing aids in general, like spell-checking dictionaries and thesauri) under the GPL license. These dictionaries are provided in the form of data files.
> Dictionaries are not a dependency of OpenOffice.org: they are packaged, even in the installer for native builds, as extensions. Any Windows version of OpenOffice.org is shipped as one file, containing separate modules for OpenOffice.org and for each linguistic extension (i.e., the dictionaries).
> This is possible because OpenOffice.org dictionaries, as confirmed by the Free Software Foundation in 2007 https://issues.apache.org/ooo/show_bug.cgi?id=65039 fall in the "mere aggregation" provision of the GPL license http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html#MereAggregation
> The only remaining issue to be able to include GPL dictionaries in Apache OpenOffice is thus the Apache policy http://www.apache.org/legal/resolved.html which forbids GPL software from being included in Apache projects; but the rationale for this choice http://www.apache.org/licenses/GPL-compatibility.html clearly states that "This licensing incompatibility applies only when some Apache project software becomes a derivative work of some GPLv3 software", definitely not the case under discussion.
> In light of the above, can Apache OpenOffice include GPL spell-checking dictionaries with its binary releases? 

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