Three new proposed OSD terms

David A. Wheeler dwheeler at dwheeler.com
Wed Mar 2 21:30:59 UTC 2005


I said:
> >   So how do you pick the recommended list?  I think the short answer
> >   is, use popularity as your guide, both in lines of code and # of projects....
> >   A long list would probably look like
> >   GPL, LGPL, MIT, BSD-new, MPL (or some variant), Artistic.

Matthew Garrett said:
> While I agree that a recommended list would be an excellent aid, with
> the exception of the MPL there's no patent-defence clauses in the listed
> licenses. That's not something that concerns me a great deal, but I can
> see it being an issue for other people.

I see no conflict.  If you want patent-defense, use the MPL
(or whatever the "unified MPL" becomes, if one is ever developed).
It's already on the list.

If there's a simple patent-defense clause that's WIDELY accepted,
I can even imagine a small set of "common license riders" that
could be approved as "recommended". You can then "append" to your
license and still keep it Recommended/Gold/whatever.

But something to reduce the risk of incompatible licenses does sound
like a reasonable goal.

--- David A. Wheeler



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