RPL 1.1--How do we do to move forward here.
Randall Burns
randall_burns at yahoo.com
Thu Nov 7 21:49:03 UTC 2002
Last Month, I posted the attached new iteration of the
Reciprocal Public License(version 1.1). There were
some criticisms of this license that were made,
but I don't think anything showed that the
conditions in the RPL were outside the OSI guidelines.
What do we need to do to get approval on this license?
RJB
Original message:
A while back, I submitted a license to this list
a software license the we wanted to get approval on.
We've rewritten the license-and hope that we've
covered the objections that were raised then-so we'd
like folks to take another look at it. Thanks for the
previous input.
RJB
Justification for a New license
The Reciprocal Public License (RPL) is a license
derived largely from the Apple Public Source License
or APSL version 1.2 and the GNU General Public License
version 2. The LGPL and MPL were also referenced, as
was the Jabber Open Source License. Our main goal in
creating the RPL was to create a license similar in
intent to the GPL with respect to being "viral", but
which did not include a "privacy clause" such as that
found in the GPL. In particular, we wanted to ensure
that consumers of RPL code were required to release
their source code under the RPL subsequent to any
deployment, internal or otherwise. We further wanted
to create terminology surrounding the question of what
code was covered that did not rely on terms such as
"linking" etc. which are difficult to define in a
world dominated by interpreted languages and
virtualmachines. The RPL's use of the term "Required
Components" addresses this issue while attempting to
remain open to the integration of RPL-based code with
code from other licenses. One additional goal was to
create a license that could be used by other parties
in licensing their code, therefore we've attempted to
limit references to a specific company and provided
for the construction of derivative licenses whose only
modification is to the Notice required in each source
code file, as well as other license derivatives so
long as they are renamed to avoid confusion. We feel
the RPL is compatible for use with other open source
licenses. First, the RPL makes no claims on code which
is not authored by the licensee. For code which is
authored by the licensee there are a few scenarios. If
the new code wouldn't be covered by another license
the RPL applies and the new code is inherently
governed by the RPL. When code authored by the
licensee is a derivative work of code licensed under a
different license, the RPL requires that the new code
be dual-licensed such that both licenses may be
honored while ensuring that a pure-RPL version remains
available to all parties. When, for some reason, a
conflict in license terms would still exist the RPL
specifies that the licensee should contact the
Licensor for permission to resolve the conflicting
terms in a fashion which remains consistent with the
intent of the RPL. See Section 6.6 for specific
wording here.
===============================
RECIPROCAL PUBLIC LICENSE
Version 1.1, November 1, 2002
Copyright (C) 2001-2002
Technical Pursuit Inc.,
All Rights Reserved.
PREAMBLE
This Preamble is intended to describe, in plain
English, the nature, intent, and scope of this
License. However, this Preamble is not a part
of this License. The legal effect of this License
is dependent only upon the terms of the License
and not this Preamble.
This License is based on the concept of reciprocity.
In exchange for being granted certain rights under
the
terms of this License to Licensor's Software, whose
Source Code You have access to, You are required to
reciprocate by providing equal access and rights to
all
third parties to the Source Code of any Modifications,
Derivative Works, and Required Components for
execution of same (collectively defined as Extensions)
that You Deploy by Deploying Your Extensions under the
terms of this License. In this fashion the available
Source Code related to the original Licensed Software
is enlarged for the benefit of everyone.
Under the terms of this License You may:
a. Distribute the Licensed Software exactly as You
received it under the terms of this License either
alone or as a component of an aggregate
software distribution containing programs from
several different sources without payment of a royalty
or other fee.
b. Use the Licensed Software for any purpose
consistent with the rights granted by this License,
but the Licensor is not providing You any warranty
whatsoever, nor is the Licensor accepting
any liability in the event that the Licensed
Software doesn't work properly or causes You any
injury or damages.
c. Create Extensions to the Licensed Software
consistent with the rights granted by this
License, provided that You make the Source Code
to any Extensions You Deploy available to all third
parties under the terms of this License, document
Your Modifications clearly, and title all
Extensions distinctly from the Licensed Software.
d. Charge a fee for warranty or support, or for
accepting indemnity or liability obligations for Your
customers.
Under the terms of this License You may not:
a. Charge for the Source Code to the Licensed
Software, or Your Extensions, other than a nominal
fee not to exceed Your cost for reproduction and
distribution where such reproduction and
distribution involve physical media.
b. Modify or delete any pre-existing copyright
notices, change notices, or License text in the
Licensed Software.
c. Assert any patent claims against the Licensor or
Contributors, or which would in any way restrict the
ability of any third party to use the Licensed
Software or portions thereof in any form under
the terms of this License, or Your rights to the
Licensed Software under this License
automatically terminate.
d. Represent either expressly or by implication,
appearance, or otherwise that You represent Licensor
or Contributors in any capacity or that You have any
form of legal association by virtue of this License.
Under the terms of this License You must:
a. Document any Modifications You make to the
Licensed Software including the nature of the change,
the authors the change, and the date of the change.
This documentation must appear both in the Source Code
and in a text file titled "CHANGES" distributed with
the Licensed Software and Your Extensions.
b. Make the Source Code for any Extensions You Deploy
available in a timely fashion via an Electronic
Distribution Mechanism such as FTP or HTTP download.
c. Notify the Licensor of the availability of Source
Code to Your Extensions in a timely fashion and
include in such notice a brief description of the
Extensions, the distinctive title used, and
instructions on how to acquire the Source Code
and future updates.
d. Grant Licensor and all third parties a
world-wide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license
under any intellectual property rights owned or
controlled by You to use, reproduce, display, perform,
modify, sublicense, and distribute Your Extensions,
in any form, under the terms of this License.
LICENSE TERMS
1.0 General; Applicability & Definitions. This
Reciprocal Public License Version 1.0 ("License")
applies to any programs or other works as well
as any and all updates or maintenance releases
of said programs or works ("Software") not
already covered by this License which
the Software copyright holder ("Licensor")
makes publicly available containing a Notice
(hereinafter defined) from the Licensor
specifying or allowing use or distribution under
the terms of this License. As used in this License
and Preamble:
1.1 "Contributor" means any person or entity who
created or contributed to the creation of an
Extension.
1.2 "Deploy" means to use, Serve, sublicense or
distribute Licensed Software other than for
Your internal Research and/or Personal Use,
and includes without limitation, any and all
internal use or distribution of Licensed
Software within Your business or organization
other than for Research and/or Personal Use,
as well as direct or indirect sublicensing or
distribution of Licensed Software by You to any
third party in any form or manner.
1.3 "Derivative Works" as used in this License is
defined under U.S. copyright law.
1.4 "Electronic Distribution Mechanism" means a
mechanism generally accepted in the software
development community for the electronic transfer of
data such as download from an FTP or web
site, where such mechanism is publicly accessible.
1.5 "Extensions" means any Modifications, Derivative
Works, or Required Components as those terms are
defined in this License.
1.6 "License" means this Reciprocal Public License.
1.7 "Licensed Software" means any Software licensed
pursuant to this License. Licensed Software also
includes all previous Extensions from any
Contributor that You receive.
1.8 "Licensor" means the copyright holder of any
Software previously uncovered by this License who
releases the Software
under the terms of this License.
1.9 "Modifications" means any additions to or
deletions from the substance or structure of
(i) a file or other storage containing Licensed
Software, or
(ii) any new file or storage
that contains any part of Licensed Software, or
(iii) any file or storage which replaces or otherwise
alters the original functionality of
Licensed Software at runtime.
1.10 "Notice" means the notice contained in EXHIBIT
A.
1.11 "Personal Use" means use of Licensed Software by
an individual solely for his or her personal, private
and non-commercial purposes. An individual's use of
Licensed Software in his or her capacity as an
officer, employee, member, independent contractor or
agent of a corporation, business or organization
(commercial or non-commercial) does not qualify
as Personal Use.
1.12 "Required Components" means any text, programs,
scripts, schema, interface definitions, control
files, or other works
created by You which are required by a third party
of average skill
to successfully install and run Licensed Software
containing Your
Modifications, or to install and run Your Derivative
Works.
1.13 "Research" means investigation or
experimentation
for the purpose of understanding the nature and
limits of the Licensed
Software and its potential uses.
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and/or
Your Extensions by means of a computer network to one
or more
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Software
and/or Your Extensions.
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works as well as any updates or maintenance releases
of those programs
or works which are distributed publicly by Licensor.
1.16 "Source Code" means the preferred form for
making
modifications to the Licensed Software and/or Your
Extensions,
including all modules contained therein, plus any
associated text, interface
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compilation and installation
of an executable program or other components
required by a third party
of average skill to build a running version of the
Licensed Software or
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created by a Contributor. These actions are
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ALL THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS LICENSE
DO NOT USE, MODIFY, CREATE DERIVATIVES, OR
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SOFTWARE. IF IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR YOU TO COMPLY WITH
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CONDITIONS OF THIS LICENSE THEN YOU CAN NOT USE,
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DERIVATIVES, OR DISTRIBUTE THE SOFTWARE.
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terms and conditions of this License, Licensor
hereby grants You a
world-wide, royalty-free, non-exclusive license,
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claims derived from the Licensed Software under this
License, to do the
following:
3.1 Use, reproduce, modify, display, perform,
sublicense and distribute Licensed Software
and Your Extensions in both Source Code form or as an
executable program.
3.2 Create Derivative Works (as that term is defined
under U.S. copyright law) of Licensed Software by
adding to or
deleting from the substance or structure of said
Licensed Software.
3.3 Under claims of patents now or hereafter owned or
controlled by Licensor, to make, use, have made,
and/or otherwise
dispose of Licensed Software or portions thereof,
but solely to the extent
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made, and/or otherwise dispose of Licensed Software
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thereof.
3.4 Licensor reserves the right to release new
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specifications, capabilities, functions, licensing
terms, general availability or other characteristics.
Title,
ownership rights, and intellectual property rights in
and to the Licensed Software shall remain in
Licensor and/or its
Contributors.
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of the provisions in Section 6 below, each
Contributor
hereby grants You a world-wide, royalty-free,
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License, to do the following:
4.1 Use, reproduce, modify, display, perform,
sublicense and distribute any Extensions Deployed
by such Contributor or portions thereof, in
both Source Code form or as an executable program,
either
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Works.
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and/or otherwise
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Contributor grants the licenses to their respective
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Licensed Software set forth herein, no assurances are
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distributing the Licensed
Software.
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You create or to which
You contribute are governed by the terms of this
License including,
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on the same media
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Licensed Software,
or via an Electronic Distribution Mechanism. The
Source Code for
any version of Licensed Software, or its Extensions
that You Deploy
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