Re: Re: Access to the TFluka code

Dear colleagues,

these are really very sad news. We invested a lot of efforts and time working with vmc just because we wanted to have a control of physics implemented in G4 and FLUKA for our detector within the same framework. We are not a part of the experiments listed in the e-mail of Federico. However already several years we use VMC with G4, G3 and FLUKA and systematically check our results with all three "propagators". Should we stop using Fluka from now on? Are we left outside from further developments of FLUKA vmc?

Actually I do not understand the reason for such an action. FLUKA VMC is an open source software which does not matter much without the FLUKA code itself. However in order to get FLUKA one should pass all FLUKA needed steps like registering, asking permission to use FLUKA etc. And in the end one signs a paper explicitly stating to properly cite FLUKA etc ( If I am not wrong, it was quite time ago when I did this myself). Where is a loophole here ? What is the matter how one calls FLUKA routines afterwards: explicitly or via an interface?

Thank you, Dmitry

Rene Brun пишет:
> Hi Federico,
>
> I understand your embarrassment. This is totally unacceptable and this
> should be made very clear to Alfredo.
> Fluka has been developed with 99.9% of the money coming from CERN, so
> he should stop this stupid game
> with licensing. I hope that, once more, CERN will not leave this
> opportunity to clarify the situation.
> In the opposite assumption, we will have no choice but to remove the
> fluka_vmc as one of the possible choices
> from our VMC distribution.
>
> Rene
>
> Carminati Federico wrote:
>> Dear All,
>> as you know the Virtual MonteCarlo package of Root allows one to
>> run simulations with different transport engines. At the moment the
>> package has been interfaced with GEANT3, GEANT4 and FLUKA. While the
>> licenses that accompany the first two are standard Open Source
>> licenses that allow the access to the code and its usage with the
>> VMC, the FLUKA license is in many ways more restrictive. In
>> particular, the usage of the FLUKA programme with interfaces such as
>> the VMC is explicitly forbidden. As you know the fluka_vmc code has
>> been developed and validated under the direction of A.Morsch with the
>> help and guidance of the FLUKA team, which we gratefully acknowledge.
>> As a consequence of this, the FLUKA Team has accepted the concept of
>> considering the granting upon request of special exceptions to the
>> FLUKA license to single users or to experiments interested in the use
>> of fluka_vmc. Therefore to be able to use fluka_vmc one has to
>> request this special exception from the FLUKA team directly. All this
>> is clearly explained in the README that accompanies the TFluka
>> package. To date the CBM_at_FAIR-GSI, PANDA_at_FAIR-GSI, ALICE_at_LHC and
>> 4thConcept_at_ILC experiments have requested and obtained this
>> exception. The open source distribution policy applied till now
>> to all of the ALICE code, and therefore also to the fluka_vmc
>> interface (https://alisoft.cern.ch/fluka_vmc). However, this opened
>> a loophole in the procedure. Any individual could have downloaded the
>> fluka_vmc interface freely, obtained a legal FLUKA license, and then
>> used the VMC with FLUKA without obtaining the special exception to
>> the standard FLUKA license from the FLUKA team, either maliciously or
>> because the README that accompanies the package went unnoticed.
>> Yesterday the FLUKA Team has formally requested that we take
>> immediate steps to close this loophole. Note that what is at issue
>> here is not our right to distribute the fluka_vmc code, but rather
>> our obligation to exert our best efforts to avoid illegal use of the
>> FLUKA programme. As a consequence of this request, we have
>> closed access to the fluka_vmc repository. Members of the
>> aforementioned experiments can obtain access to it upon simple
>> request (to be addressed to peter.hristov_at_cern.ch
>> <mailto:peter.hristov_at_cern.ch>), as they already have a valid
>> permission to use the fluka_vmc code with FLUKA for work related to
>> their experiment. Individuals who are not members of these
>> experiments or other experiments should ask the FLUKA team permission
>> to use the fluka_vmc before being granted access to the code. I must
>> sincerely apologise to all of you for the short notice and for the
>> inconvenience that this may cause you, but the FLUKA team asked us to
>> take action immediately and in the interest of maintaining our
>> excellent relations with them, we decided to act quickly. Thanks a
>> lot for your understanding and best regards,
>> Federico Carminati
>> CERN-PH 1211 Geneva 23
>> Switzerland
>> Tel: +41 22 76 74959
>> Fax: +41 22 76 68505
>> Mobile: +41 76 487 4843
>>
>>
>>
Received on Tue Nov 10 2009 - 10:55:52 CET