=== modified file 'softwareproperties/SoftwareProperties.py'
--- softwareproperties/SoftwareProperties.py	2014-09-24 09:50:37 +0000
+++ softwareproperties/SoftwareProperties.py	2014-10-20 12:49:14 +0000
@@ -799,6 +799,7 @@
     """Add a gnupg key to the list of trusted software vendors"""
     if not isinstance(path, str):
       path = str(path) # allows non-ascii filenames
+    path = path.encode('utf-8') # ensure path is encoded in UTF-8
     if not os.path.exists(path):
         return False
     try: