Re: [PATCHES] [0/4] Proposal of SE-PostgreSQL patches

"Joshua D. Drake" <jd(at)commandprompt(dot)com> writes:
> Everything that I read says that libselinux is GPL.

What exactly did you read? The LICENSE file in the source tarball
says

: This library (libselinux) is public domain software, i.e. not copyrighted.
:
: Warranty Exclusion
: ------------------
: You agree that this software is a
: non-commercially developed program that may contain "bugs" (as that
: term is used in the industry) and that it may not function as intended.
: The software is licensed "as is". NSA makes no, and hereby expressly
: disclaims all, warranties, express, implied, statutory, or otherwise
: with respect to the software, including noninfringement and the implied
: warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose.
:
: Limitation of Liability
: -----------------------
: In no event will NSA be liable for any damages, including loss of data,
: lost profits, cost of cover, or other special, incidental,
: consequential, direct or indirect damages arising from the software or
: the use thereof, however caused and on any theory of liability. This
: limitation will apply even if NSA has been advised of the possibility
: of such damage. You acknowledge that this is a reasonable allocation of
: risk.

I have a feeling that NSA did not bother to run this by any actual
lawyers, because the second and third paragraphs are only meaningful as
part of a license (ie something recipients agree to) and by definition
there is no license on public-domain software. They've given up
*everything*, including the right to make you agree to any terms of
distribution.

Not that anyone would likely be dumb enough to try to sue the NSA,
but it's still pretty funny.

regards, tom lane