Generic Simple License

[David Johnson]

On Tue, 23 May 2000, Forrest J. Cavalier III wrote:

> > Also, since you do not
> > require people to copy the license on to further works, you will get sued by
> > third parties who had no opportunity to read your disclaimers.
> 
> I don't understand how.  OK, well I understand that anyone can
> bring a lawsuit against anyone just by going through the motions,
> but let's discuss liability.

I believe this is because the third parties receive the license from
YOU. So they get to sue YOU. If you had a clause allowing sublicensing,
then they would sue whomever they received it from.

You definitely want stuff in your disclaimer about no merchantibility
or suitability or purpose. These will be the grounds you will be sued
with. The Commercial Code (which UCITA seeks to pollute) operates under
clearly defined rules, and the winners and losers in such cases are not
determined by the wealthiest antagonists or savvyist attorneys, but
rather who covered their butts the best or who was most forthright in
the transaction. I once worked in a small mom-and-pop shop and we never
once lost a lawsuit against billion dollar suppliers or scam artist
customers (and once the state of California) because we covered our
butts and were open and honest with one and all.

I would take the MIT, BSD or GPL disclaimers and use them as is. That's
your safest bet next to hiring an attorney who specializes in such
things.

-- 
David Johnson...
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