ISC License, was: For Approval: The Simplified BSD License

[Tobia Conforto]

David Woolley wrote:
> such titles ... are in marketing language, like "new improved".
> For this licence, it is difficult to take much more out of it, but, in
> general, once you've simplified once, what do you call it the next
> time you take a clause out?

It is indeed possible to take more out of the Simplified BSD License.

The ISC License[1], used by the Internet Systems Consortium (of BIND and
DHCP fame--or should I say notoriety :-) is "functionally equivalent to
the 2-clause BSD licence, with language made unnecessary by the Berne
Convention removed."

It's the recommended license for new contributions to OpenBSD, OpenSSH,
and other projects under the same umbrella[2], and thus most of the code
in those projects is now under this license.

I'm also using it for my own little software projects, because I like
the simplicity and the wording.

Do you think it should be submitted for approval?


Here it is, in all its clarity and permissiveness:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright (c) 4-digit year, Company or Person's Name <E-mail address>

Permission to use, copy, modify, and/or distribute this software for any
purpose with or without fee is hereby granted, provided that the above
copyright notice and this permission notice appear in all copies.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND THE AUTHOR DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES
WITH REGARD TO THIS SOFTWARE INCLUDING ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHOR BE LIABLE FOR
ANY SPECIAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR ANY DAMAGES
WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS, WHETHER IN AN
ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER TORTIOUS ACTION, ARISING OUT OF
OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE.
------------------------------------------------------------------------


Tobia

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISC_licence
[2] http://www.openbsd.org/cgi-bin/cvsweb/~checkout~/src/share/misc/license.template