Proposed license from AT&T

[Justin Wells]

ATT license:

> "You represent and warrant that ... your Build Materials ... do not 
>  include any Software obtained under a license that conflicts with 
>  the obligations contained in this Agreement."

What are the terms of the warranty I am extending to AT&T, how much am I
liable for, and isn't this a bit extreme in the case where all I did was 
combine, through an error, AT&T's software with some other software which
turns out to be under an incompatible license. What if I didn't think the
license was incompatible? What if I included the incompatible software
by accident--I didn't know it was there?

I don't think I want to extend any warranty to AT&T. A violation like this
should result in me losing my rights to use the software until I resolve
the problem, and possibly voiding the copies I've distributed. It
shouldn't result in me being liable to AT&T under some warranty.

> regularly monitor the Website

And if I don't? Suppose I wrote some code based on AT&T's software, and 
then I forget about and move on with my life. 

This looks like it gives you two choices when you tire of maintaining 
some project you worked on:

  a) pull it from public use 
  b) continue monitoring the website for life

That's not realistic.


> "Capsule"

I know that a previous license was approved which had Capsule language in
it, but I don't like it. I think that open source software ought to be 
usable in bits and pieces, not just as a whole. 

It also places a large burden on anyone trying to use software based
on the AT&T code. If I create and distribute a derived work, recipients
are going to have to unpack this capsule. 

Other companies with equally large legal departments have managed to 
come up with licenses that do not involve capsules, so I think they are
not really necessary.


> "you shall ensure that the recipient enters into an agreement ..."

This needs to go to a lawyer, but my understanding is that the word 
"ensure" in a legal document means something along the lines of "do 
everything that you possibly can, no matter what the expense". 

This might mean you more or less cannot distribute this software on a CD
or other medium, because you wouldn't be able to "ensure" that recipients
of the CD accept the license. 

This seems to put too much restriction on your ability to distribute 
the software.


> If you prepare a Patch ... Contact AT&T

Previous licenses have been shot down when they require the person creating
the patch to contact someone each and every time they modify the software. 
It should be adequate to tell AT&T just once where to look for patches.


> Your rights terminate ... upon posting notice of a non-frivolous claim
> on the website...

This seems too broad to me, but it might not matter to the OSD. In 
particular, what if the non-frivolous claim exists in a different 
jurisdiction than the one I am in? Should I still have to stop
using the software, even though the claim has no effect on me?

For example, what if it depends on a patent which is enforceable only in
the United States, should people outside the US lose their rights to it?

Also, what happens if later this non-frivolous claim is denied by the 
courts, or settled somhow? Do I get to start using the code again, or 
have I lost my rights to it forever?

Justin