[winswitch] [Xpra] Android client

[Antoine Martin]

Hi,

On 22/06/15 22:47, Jakub Księżniak wrote:
> Hello,
>
> I've been writing an Android Xpra client for some time now (maybe you
> remember our previous conversation on a mailing list). It took me quite a
> lot of time to make a barely working app, but here it is. :) You can
> download source code from Github and build it by yourself:
> https://github.com/jksiezni/xpra-client
Good stuff!
I think this should replace the current "official" Android client, which
was never more than a quick and dirty proof of concept.
> Moreover, I've got some concerns regarding licensing. I'd like to share my
> code on terms of Apache License 2.0 and I'd like to know if it is OK with
> you.
This is not entirely up to me and IANAL.
My understanding is that if you've developed your code using a "clean
room design", then you can use any license you want for your code.
Otherwise, you probably fall under the "derived work" and therefore are
bound by the GPL.

I did write a lot of information on the wiki to try to make it easier to
implement new clients without referring to the actual code (though most
of it may be slightly out of date), starting here:
http://xpra.org/trac/wiki/NetworkProtocol

To make matters more complicated: although I would be quite happy to
re-license all of my code under a different license, which would cover
100% of the Java client for example (assuming you read some code and
that this is what you used)... but then again, by definition (since I
wrote a large portion of the GPL2+ xpra code) not using a "clean room
design", I don't think I could re-license it under anything less
restrictive than the GPL. And even if this was possible, I'm not sure
you could apply it retroactively - but maybe?

And it also depends what jurisdiction you fall under... etc.
> Also, I've added an Xpra icon to the android project, which makes an app
> much more recognizable. But it requires your permission, if I'm not
> mistaken. So, do you agree, to use the Xpra icon in this project?
No problem from me here... this icon is a bit too close to the official
X11 icon, and I should probably have sought permission from them...
I just wanted to get something done quickly, many years ago, and did not
foresee the project getting as successful as it is now.
The project also covers a lot more than just plain-X11 servers now, so
this may be a good time to come up with a better icon?
(there are also requirements for 1024x1024 to get into the Apple appstore)
> Any feedback would be appreciated.
I'm hoping others can chime in, hopefully with more experience in this area.

Cheers
Antoine

PS: Some pointers:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clean_room_design
http://hoviblog.blogspot.fr/2008/10/clean-room-defeats-software.html
" For purposes of proving such a claim of copyright or trade secret
misappropriation, it is not necessary to prove that actual copying
occurred. It is sufficient to show that (1) the accused party had access
to the code, and (2) the accused party's code is substantially similar
to the claimant's code."
I have no idea what "substantially similar" means here!

>
> Regards,
> Jakub Księżniak
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