For Approval: Microsoft Community License

[David Dillard]

Mr. Cowan,

Are you doing this on Microsoft's behalf?

If not, this presents an interesting question: should someone be able to
submit a license created by another entity for approval as an open
source license?  I can definitely see a logic to it.  But I'm just not
sure it would be the right thing to do.


--- David


> -----Original Message-----
> From: John Cowan [mailto:cowan at ccil.org] 
> Sent: Friday, December 09, 2005 3:30 PM
> To: license-discuss at opensource.org
> Subject: For Approval: Microsoft Community License
> 
> Microsoft is adding new licenses to its Shared Source 
> Initiative which I believe qualify as open-source licenses.  
> The second of these is a simple permissive license called the 
> Microsoft Community License (MS-CL).
> The HTML is online at
> http://www.microsoft.com/resources/sharedsource/licensingbasic
> s/communitylicense.mspx
> I include the full text in plain form here for convenience in 
> commenting.
> 
> I believe that this license should be approved by OSI even 
> though it is basically similar to more widely used 
> weak-reciprocal licenses, because it is better to encourage 
> Microsoft in particular to release under an OSI-approved 
> license than not -- I think it very unlikely that they will 
> go back and adopt some existing license.
> 
> Microsoft Community License (Ms-CL)
> Published: October 18, 2005
> 
> This license governs use of the accompanying software. If you 
> use the software, you accept this license. If you do not 
> accept the license, do not use the software.
> 
> 1. Definitions
> 
> The terms "reproduce", "reproduction", and "distribution" 
> have the same meaning here as under U.S. copyright law.
> 
> "You" means the licensee of the software.
> 
> "Licensed patents" means any Microsoft patent claims which 
> read directly on the software as distributed by Microsoft 
> under this license.
> 
> 2. Grant of Rights
> 
> (A) Copyright Grant- Subject to the terms of this license, 
> including the license conditions and limitations in section 
> 3, Microsoft grants you a non-exclusive, worldwide, 
> royalty-free copyright license to reproduce the software, 
> prepare derivative works of the software and distribute the 
> software or any derivative works that you create.
> 
> (B) Patent Grant- Subject to the terms of this license, 
> including the license conditions and limitations in section 
> 3, Microsoft grants you a non-exclusive, worldwide, 
> royalty-free patent license under licensed patents to make, 
> have made, use, practice, sell, and offer for sale, and/or 
> otherwise dispose of the software or derivative works of the software.
> 
> 3. Conditions and Limitations
> 
> (A) Reciprocal Grants- Your rights to reproduce and 
> distribute the software (or any part of the software), or to 
> create and distribute derivative works of the software, are 
> conditioned on your licensing the software or any larger work 
> you create under the following terms:
> 
> 1.  If you distribute the larger work as a series of files, 
> you must grant all recipients the copyright and patent 
> licenses in sections 2(A) & 2(B) for any file that contains 
> code from the software. You must also provide recipients the 
> source code to any such files that contain code from the 
> software along with a copy of this license. Any other files 
> which are entirely your own work and which do not contain any 
> code from the software may be licensed under any terms you choose.
> 
> 2.  If you distribute the larger work as a single file, then 
> you must grant all recipients the rights set out in sections 
> 2(A) & 2(B) for the entire larger work. You must also provide 
> recipients the source code to the larger work along with a 
> copy of this license.
> 
> (B) No Trademark License- This license does not grant you any 
> rights to use Microsoft's name, logo, or trademarks.
> 
> (C) If you distribute the software in source code form you 
> may do so only under this license (i.e., you must include a 
> complete copy of this license with your distribution), and if 
> you distribute the software solely in compiled or object code 
> form you may only do so under a license that complies with 
> this license.
> 
> (D) If you begin patent litigation against Microsoft over 
> patents that you think may apply to the software (including a 
> cross-claim or counterclaim in a lawsuit), your license to 
> the software ends automatically.
> 
> (E) The software is licensed "as-is". You bear the risk of 
> using it. Microsoft gives no express warranties, guarantees 
> or conditions. You may have additional consumer rights under 
> your local laws which this license cannot change. To the 
> extent permitted under your local laws, Microsoft excludes 
> the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a 
> particular purpose and non-infringement.
> 
> [Note:  The Microsoft Limited Permissive License and the 
> Microsoft Limited Community License forbid usage on 
> non-Windows systems and are obviously not open source.  The 
> Microsoft Reference License forbids modification and is 
> likewise obviously not open source.]
> 
> -- 
> De plichten van een docent zijn divers,         John Cowan
> die van het gehoor ook.                         cowan at ccil.org
>       --Edsger Dijkstra                         
> http://www.ccil.org/~cowan
>