[License-discuss] License which requires watermarking? (Attribution Provision)

[Karl Fogel]

ldr ldr <stackoverflowuser95 at gmail.com> writes:
>E.g.: This project was created by Google therefore should say on all
>interface screens "Foo, a project by Google" or if a fork: "Bar, a
>fork of the Google project Foo" with a link from Foo back to its
>github repo.

I'm not sure a license that has such onerous attribution requirements
(every interface screen) could be open source.  Open source license have
various attribution requirements, but usually they apply in only two
places:

  - At the source code level

  - In the UI on a designated credits screen or wherever credits
    notices typically appear (i.e., not on every UI screen!)

There have been licenses that came closer to what you want to require,
but they've been very controversial.  I know that if someone proposed a
license now with the requirement you describe, I -- speaking only for
myself, not the OSI -- would argue that it cannot be open source.

-K