[R-pkg-devel] Adding package with 3rd party library to CRAN: legal question

[Uwe Ligges]

A package can have one or more licneses, but they have to apply to the 
whole package, otehrwise the componentes havbe to be distributed separately.

Also note that CRAN accepts FOSS licenses. This sounds like a case that 
CRAN will not agree to distribute the (non FOSS) binaries.

Best,
Uwe Ligges


On 24.07.2021 18:14, Russell Almond wrote:
> This is related to my previous technical question, but really is a 
> question about CRAN policy.
> 
> I'm currently the maintainer of the RNetica package 
> (https://github.com/ralmond/RNetica) which provides an R binding for the 
> C API of the Netica Bayes net library (https://norsys.com).  The Netica 
> library is available in both a "student" and "professional" version, the 
> difference being a license code available from Norsys.  The student 
> version is sufficiently functional to run the test suite and to be used 
> for educational purposes.  Installing the package from github installs 
> the student version, which can be converted to a professional version by 
> purchasing a license code.
> 
> In the past, Norsys has been fine with me distributing binaries which 
> included the Netica code (but not the license keys), and I'm sure that 
> they would be okay with CRAN distributing student-mode binaries as well. 
>   Currently, the source version will download the Netica API kit from 
> the Norsys web site and install Netica (still working out one or two 
> technical glitches).
> 
> What are the policy issues associated with distributing this package 
> through CRAN?  My own code is licensed under the Artistic license (which 
> is CRAN compatible), but the 3rd party shared library has a different 
> license from Netica.  Can I distribute RNetica through CRAN or am I 
> stuck with a github-only distribution.
> 
> Thanks for your assistance.
>      --Russell Almond
> 
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