Proposal for change to OSD#9

Rick Moen rick at linuxmafia.com
Sun Aug 26 18:55:48 UTC 2007


Quoting Josef Assad (josef.assad at gmail.com):

> A certain claim that a browser was integral to the OS comes to mind...

Understanding OSD#9 doesn't hinge on disambiguating OSes from browsers,
and has no connection to monopolists' packaging dodges.

> I agree that pinning down what "other software" means is problematic.

"Pinning down" is simply not required.  The plain language of OSD#9
draws a distinction between what software is licensed and all other
software, e.g., software that is merely on the same media as the covered
software but not encumbered by the covered software's copyright.

Determining what other software is encumbered by a particular codebase
within your jurisdiction, e.g, is part of the referenced software or a
derivative work of it, is a matter you either already know (because you
possess some common sense and were paying attention) or, if you lack
common sense, are free to determine using the services of attorneys and
judges, if you'd prefer.




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