Comment 509 for bug 269656

> All of the software in question can be freely modified and distributed.
>
>Mark

This hasn't been true for a long time. The version of Firefox that is shipped can not be modified freely. If we don't get permission from Mozilla to ship a revised binary, we can't. This has to do with the artwork and name, both of which are not released under a free license.

The same is true for many games. The Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory game engine is free software, but the artwork is not. The Quake III code is free software, but the artwork is not. And this goes for many other games too.

And in a very practical literal sense: can we remove this new "Know your rights" information bar if we want to? After all, it's just informational, right? It's not a EULA anymore. I guess Mozilla doesn't allow that. The mere fact that Mozilla has any say in this makes Firefox non-free.

Those games will never end up in main, and neither should Firefox. If the non-free parts of Firefox are essential to Ubuntu, the package should be moved to restricted and the licensing page should be modified:

"All of the application software installed by default is Free Software. In addition, we install some hardware drivers that are available only in binary format, but such packages are clearly marked in the restricted component."

The first word "All" should be replaced with "Most" and added should be something along the lines of: "In addition, we install some application software that has a strong brand, which is a higher priority than absolute software freedom".