FOR APPROVAL - Python License Changes

[VanL]

On 5/25/2011 9:28 PM, Lawrence Rosen wrote:
>
>>> Can't the Python Foundation find a single license that covers the
>>> entire Python collective or derivative work that they are now
>>> distributing? Hopefully an existing license so that we can limit
>>> proliferation....
>>  From what I understand, only the top-level license is operative.  Other
>> licenses are there because their own conditions say they must be
>> carried
>> along with derivatives of the old code, but all old code has acquired
>> enough patches that it is no longer available solely on the terms of
>> old
>> licenses.
>>
>> I may be quite wrong about this.
>>

This is the correct situation - and Larry, I don't blame you for being 
confused about the Python license situation. It took me a fairly long 
time to understand, and it has never really been elevated to the level 
of urgent because people generally have the rights they need.

The genesis of this request was the SPDX project wanting a way to 
distinguish between the licenses that apply to different Python 
distributions. As long as we were doing that, I wanted the PSF license 
to become usable standalone so that it is not horribly ambiguous when 
people say they are licensing under the PSF license.

As for proliferation, again, this is recognizing things as they are, not 
going out and trying to carve out a different set of rights just because 
we can.

Thanks,

Van