Quick Reference For Choosing a Free Software License

[Rod Dixon, J.D., LL.M.]

Oh, my! I most defintely do not want to discourage you, and the chart is not
a bad idea, but your commentary is written as if you ARE dispensing legal
advice. You use phrases like "a court might decide that" and "it has no
legal effect" too frequently. I would suggest rewriting some of the material
you have so that it is clearly written as commentary or opinion. With regard
to the chart, why is the public domain list at all since the list denotes
licenses? It is not correct to portray the public domain as anything like a
software license. Finally, some of your statements appear to be misleading.
For example, "The License Does Not Restrict You! It Only Restricts Other
People" is not legally sound, nor is the paragraph following it. There might
be a way to express your point clearly and accurately, but, first, you  need
to make it less legalistic.

Rod

Rod Dixon
Visiting Assistant Professor of Law
Rutgers University Law School - Camden
www.cyberspaces.org
rod at cyberspaces.org

>
> I've written a table comparing a few of the more frequently
> chosen licenses.
>
> http://zooko.com/license_quick_ref.html
>
> Doubtless, the inaccuracies and biases presented therein will
> frustrate some
> people, but I have observed a need for such a table, and earlier
> revisions of
> this document have satisfied the need, so now I'm going to make it public.
>
> I've tried to be clear about the places where my ignorance and bias show
> through.
>
> I very much appreciate corrections and suggestions.
>
> Regards,
>
> Zooko
>
>