For Approval: Microsoft Permissive License

[Michael R. Bernstein]

On Sun, 2007-08-19 at 00:10 -0400, John Cowan wrote:
> Michael R. Bernstein scripsit:
> 
> > Hmm. So this sentence:
> > 
> >         (D) If you distribute any portion of the software in source code
> >         form, you may do so only under this license by including a
> >         complete copy of this license with your distribution.
> > 
> > Really should be:
> > 
> >         (D) If you distribute any portion of the software in source code
> >         form, you must distribute under this license by including a
> >         complete copy of this license with your distribution.
> > 
> > Or some similar less ambiguous construction.
> 
> I don't see any ambiguity:  "do so" means "distribute", and "may ... only"
> means "must".

Hmm. IANAL, but this seems at least a somewhat idiosyncratically narrow
interpretation of 'you may do so only under this license'.

You are grouping the words in one way, but ignoring the groupings 'may
do so' and 'only under', that produces the corollary interpretation 'you
may not distribute under any other license'. If this is NOT an intended
interpretation, rewording 3D (and the MS-CL 3E) to exclude that
interpretation should be relatively simple.

BTW, still haven't seen any statement from Bill Hilf or Jon Rosenberg as
to whether 3D (or indeed the license as a whole) is or is not intended
to exclude the use of other licenses for distribution in source form.

> > See, I read 3D as an exception or condition to 2A, effectively altering
> > the meaning of 2A to 'any derivative works except in source form'.
> 
> That would be plausible if 3D mentioned derivative works, but it doesn't.
> It speaks of the original software (or parts of it) only.

Hmm. Well, OK. Again, IANAL, but that seems... wrong somehow.

- Michael R. Bernstein
  michaelbernstein.com
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