Debian contemplates patch management

You don't have to argue about who has whatever right. You can ask the original packager to
update the package. The formal way of doing it is to file a wishlist bug on the package. See
http://bugs.debian.org/ (this takes sending an email. No need to create an account or
anything).

If the old package is broken in interesting ways, mention it. If the old package is buggy it
may need to get more love and care, or maybe just get thrown away.

It also sounds like there are no debian/patches/ because the package does not patch anything
in the tarball itself. debian/patches/ are just some of the files created by applying the
.diff.gz .