[[copyright]]
=== *debian/copyright*

Debian takes the copyright and license matters very seriously. The ``Debian Policy Manual'' enforces to have summary of them in the *debian/copyright* file in the package.

You should format it as the http://www.debian.org/doc/packaging-manuals/copyright-format/1.0/[machine-readable debian/copyright file] (DEP-5).

The *debmake* command creates the initial DEP-5 compatible template file by scanning the entire source tree.  It uses an internal license checker to clasify each license text. footnote:[The *licensecheck* command from the *devscripts* package was referenced to make this internal checker.]

NOTE: If you updated package with the new upstream source, running *debmake* with the *-k* option gives you good idea if the *debian/copyright* file is current or not.

NOTE: If you find issues with this license checker, please file a bug report to the *debmake* package with the problematic part of text containing the copyright and license.
