SDCC, a free C compiler targeting microcontrollers wants to provide header files that contain I/O register names and locations for their targets. The header files are automatically generated from some files from the hardware vendor (e.g. tables in datasheets or some database).
For some targets, SDCC already has such files (e.g. https://sourceforge.net/p/sdcc/code/HEAD/tree/trunk/sdcc/device/non-free/include/pic16/pic18f1320.h). Problem: Hardware vendors want to impose non-free terms on the header files (via a copyright claim on the files that the headers were generated from). Are the register names and locations under copyright? Is the generated header file under copyright? If yes, who are the owners of the copyright? Does the situation vary across jurisdictions? SDCC developers are currently unsure about this. To err on the safe side, all such headers live in a separate directory called "non-free" since many years ago. The headers still live in the SDCC repository, are distributed with tarballs, etc. The Debian package does not currently include those headers. Naturally, it would be good for SDCC users, if they could be confident that they can use those headers in free software and if Debian could include the headers in the package. Philipp
