StarOffice under the GPL ?

[Brian Behlendorf]

On Wed, 9 Aug 2000 kmself at ix.netcom.com wrote:
> I'll have to give it a closer read, but I believe there's also a
> definition of what it is to be an API in the Sun version of the license.
> I'm talking through my hat as I'm not looking at SISSL at the moment.

No need to speculate, it's online and in HTML, at

  http://www.openoffice.org/project/www/sissl_license.html

It doesn't really "define" a standard so much as give a template (in
Exhibit B):

  The Standard is defined as the following: 
    * OpenOffice.org XML File Format Specification, Version X.n
      Date: mm/dd/2000 
    * OpenOffice.org Application Programming Interface Specification,
      Version X.n
      Date: mm/dd/2000 

The most interesting section of the license is 3.

I believe it's fair to say, as a very gross simplification, that the terms
are this: if you stick to the standards, it's BSD-like (i.e. you may
create a proprietary fork) but if you "deviate" from the standard (i.e.  
fail the "must comply with all specifications set out by the Standards
body" test) then you must release the source of your deviation under the
SISSL, thus GPL-like.  Now, you can actually release just a "reference
implementation" of your change if you like; that seems fair.  

I don't have the faculties to determine this right now, but it seems like
this license might even be GPL-compatible (e.g., the "larger work" made
when combining SISSL and GPL code must be collectively licensed as GPL).

	Brian