FYI: http://blog.joda.org/2011/10/today-time-zone-database-was-closed.html
This could impact PHP as well since it bundles the database.
David
P.S. I hope Google/IBM/Oracle/whoever just buys those guys and then fires everyone.
FYI: http://blog.joda.org/2011/10/today-time-zone-database-was-closed.html
This could impact PHP as well since it bundles the database.
We don't actually bundle the database as rules. Instead, we bundle a
compiled version of that, and the original rules do not remain in what
we bundle. Not sure whether that means it impacts us or not, and I will
not be making any comments about that.
Derick
Derick Rethans wrote:
FYI:http://blog.joda.org/2011/10/today-time-zone-database-was-closed.html
This could impact PHP as well since it bundles the database.
We don't actually bundle the database as rules. Instead, we bundle a
compiled version of that, and the original rules do not remain in what
we bundle. Not sure whether that means it impacts us or not, and I will
not be making any comments about that.
Unfortunately if the courts rule that the data is not public domain, then any
use of it would be blocked and liable to license claims? It is the current block
on making any future updates to the data which is a problem that will need to be
addressed at some point? So ignoring the problem is not really practical :(
--
Lester Caine - G8HFL
Contact - http://lsces.co.uk/wiki/?page=contact
L.S.Caine Electronic Services - http://lsces.co.uk
EnquirySolve - http://enquirysolve.com/
Model Engineers Digital Workshop - http://medw.co.uk//
Firebird - http://www.firebirdsql.org/index.php
hi Lester,
See the blog post itself for more information. They create a mailing
list to create an alternative database but not to argue about the
legal case. I would suggest to discuss things there instead.
Cheers,
Derick Rethans wrote:
FYI:http://blog.joda.org/2011/10/today-time-zone-database-was-closed.html
This could impact PHP as well since it bundles the database.
We don't actually bundle the database as rules. Instead, we bundle a
compiled version of that, and the original rules do not remain in what
we bundle. Not sure whether that means it impacts us or not, and I will
not be making any comments about that.Unfortunately if the courts rule that the data is not public domain, then
any use of it would be blocked and liable to license claims? It is the
current block on making any future updates to the data which is a problem
that will need to be addressed at some point? So ignoring the problem is not
really practical :(--
Lester Caine - G8HFLContact - http://lsces.co.uk/wiki/?page=contact
L.S.Caine Electronic Services - http://lsces.co.uk
EnquirySolve - http://enquirysolve.com/
Model Engineers Digital Workshop - http://medw.co.uk//
Firebird - http://www.firebirdsql.org/index.php--
--
Pierre
@pierrejoye | http://blog.thepimp.net | http://www.libgd.org
Pierre Joye wrote:
See the blog post itself for more information. They create a mailing
list to create an alternative database but not to argue about the
legal case. I would suggest to discuss things there instead.
I had no doubt that the data would continue to exist, and it has been confirmed
that it will be updated on the Australian site. The remaining question is "Is
there any problem using that data to update the PHP version?" Since there are
apparently already a number of corrections in the pipeline ... ;)
--
Lester Caine - G8HFL
Contact - http://lsces.co.uk/wiki/?page=contact
L.S.Caine Electronic Services - http://lsces.co.uk
EnquirySolve - http://enquirysolve.com/
Model Engineers Digital Workshop - http://medw.co.uk//
Firebird - http://www.firebirdsql.org/index.php
From: Lester Caine [mailto:lester@lsces.co.uk]
Sent: Friday, October 07, 2011 8:15 AM
Subject: Re: [PHP-DEV] Re: Time zone database shut down by legal threatPierre Joye wrote:
See the blog post itself for more information. They create a mailing
list to create an alternative database but not to argue about the
legal case. I would suggest to discuss things there instead.I had no doubt that the data would continue to exist, and it has been confirmed
that it will be updated on the Australian site. The remaining question is "Is
there any problem using that data to update the PHP version?" Since there are
apparently already a number of corrections in the pipeline ... ;)--
Lester Caine - G8HFL
IANAL but yes, if the copyright claim is determined to be valid I'm sure they could go after anyone else that continues to reproduce it (using the Olsen database or a derivative in a software product like PHP or Linux would certainly apply.) If for some reason this holds up in court, I would not be at all surprised to see them go after a larger (more lucrative) target next.
Also, as far as I understand willful copyright violation (you knew about the copyright claim and reproduced the work anyway) is a much more expensive mistake than something less deliberate. The safest thing for PHP is probably to immediately stop bundling the Olsen database or derivatives until this issue is sorted. Since that isn't really possible or practical, I think a next best option would be to (at least for now) remove the portion of the data that is in dispute (as far as I understand this is just historical pre-1991 US TZ data?).
I'm not sure what impact this has on distribution of current and/or previous versions of PHP but I worry that it isn't pretty.
Obviously the issue is big enough that legal counsel should be involved if possible.
John Crenshaw
Priacta, Inc.
Derick Rethans wrote:
FYI:http://blog.joda.org/2011/10/today-time-zone-database-was-closed.html
This could impact PHP as well since it bundles the database.
We don't actually bundle the database as rules. Instead, we bundle a
compiled version of that, and the original rules do not remain in
what we bundle. Not sure whether that means it impacts us or not,
and I will not be making any comments about that.Unfortunately if the courts rule that the data is not public domain,
then any use of it would be blocked and liable to license claims? It
is the current block on making any future updates to the data which is
a problem that will need to be addressed at some point? So ignoring
the problem is not really practical :(
The TZ database maintenance is/was in the process of being put under the
IANA as DAO is going on retirement soon. In that light, a new ML has
already been set-up where the timezone database is now being maintained.
New versions of the database will come out as usual, and we'll update
PHP with those new database rules.
cheers,
Derick
--
http://derickrethans.nl | http://xdebug.org
Like Xdebug? Consider a donation: http://xdebug.org/donate.php
twitter: @derickr and @xdebug
Is the IANA tz database subject to the same constraints as the old one?
If so, it may be subject to the same legal constraints. I believe it
would be wise to seek some quality legal advice on the issue. I have
tried to contact the Free Software Foundation and the EFF just to see
what they might say. I'll pass on anything interesting.
Derick Rethans wrote:
FYI:http://blog.joda.org/2011/10/today-time-zone-database-was-closed.html
This could impact PHP as well since it bundles the database.
We don't actually bundle the database as rules. Instead, we bundle a
compiled version of that, and the original rules do not remain in
what we bundle. Not sure whether that means it impacts us or not,
and I will not be making any comments about that.
Unfortunately if the courts rule that the data is not public domain,
then any use of it would be blocked and liable to license claims? It
is the current block on making any future updates to the data which is
a problem that will need to be addressed at some point? So ignoring
the problem is not really practical :(
The TZ database maintenance is/was in the process of being put under the
IANA as DAO is going on retirement soon. In that light, a new ML has
already been set-up where the timezone database is now being maintained.
New versions of the database will come out as usual, and we'll update
PHP with those new database rules.cheers,
Derick
FYI: http://blog.joda.org/2011/10/today-time-zone-database-was-closed.html
This could impact PHP as well since it bundles the database.
David
P.S. I hope Google/IBM/Oracle/whoever just buys those guys and then fires everyone.
I spent this past week correlating PHP release dates and version numbers with celestial alignments, and can now guarantee that this lawsuit will implode immediately before the upcoming Uranus at Opposition event. Therefore, we are safe.
Regards,
A fellow Olson