diff --git a/meta/classes/packagedata.bbclass b/meta/classes/packagedata.bbclass
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3397f1e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/meta/classes/packagedata.bbclass
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+python read_subpackage_metadata () {
+    import oe.packagedata
+
+    vars = {
+        "PN" : d.getVar('PN', True), 
+        "PE" : d.getVar('PE', True), 
+        "PV" : d.getVar('PV', True),
+        "PR" : d.getVar('PR', True),
+    }
+
+    data = oe.packagedata.read_pkgdata(vars["PN"], d)
+
+    for key in data.keys():
+        d.setVar(key, data[key])
+
+    for pkg in d.getVar('PACKAGES', True).split():
+        sdata = oe.packagedata.read_subpkgdata(pkg, d)
+        for key in sdata.keys():
+            if key in vars:
+                if sdata[key] != vars[key]:
+                    if key == "PN":
+                        bb.fatal("Recipe %s is trying to create package %s which was already written by recipe %s. This will cause corruption, please resolve this and only provide the package from one recipe or the other or only build one of the recipes." % (vars[key], pkg, sdata[key]))
+                    bb.fatal("Recipe %s is trying to change %s from '%s' to '%s'. This will cause do_package_write_* failures since the incorrect data will be used and they will be unable to find the right workdir." % (vars["PN"], key, vars[key], sdata[key]))
+                continue
+            #
+            # If we set unsuffixed variables here there is a chance they could clobber override versions
+            # of that variable, e.g. DESCRIPTION could clobber DESCRIPTION_<pkgname>
+            # We therefore don't clobber for the unsuffixed variable versions
+            #
+            if key.endswith("_" + pkg):
+                d.setVar(key, sdata[key])
+            else:
+                d.setVar(key, sdata[key], parsing=True)
+}