[License-discuss] in opposition of 'choice of law' provisions in FOSS licenses

[Pamela Chestek]

On 12/13/2022 11:15 AM, Bradley M. Kuhn wrote:
> First, is there an approved license that chooses a*specific*,*named*
> jurisdiction?
There are many licenses that either name a specific jurisdiction, will 
have a specific, named jurisdiction once you know who the licensor is, 
or allow the licensor to unilaterally choose a jurisdiction:

Open Software License 3.0, " Any action or suit relating to this License 
may be brought only in the courts of a jurisdiction wherein the Licensor 
resides or in which Licensor conducts its primary business, and under 
the laws of that jurisdiction excluding its conflict-of-law provisions."

Adaptive Public License 1.0, "'GOVERNING JURISDICTION' means the state, 
province or other legal jurisdiction identified in Part 3 of Exhibit A. 
... PART 3: GOVERNING JURISDICTION.
For the purposes of this License, the Governing Jurisdiction is 
_________________________________________________. [Initial Contributor 
to Enter Governing Jurisdiction here]"

Cryptographic Autonomy License version 1.0, "7.2. Choice of Jurisdiction 
and Governing Law. A Licensor may require that any action or suit by a 
Licensee relating to a Work provided by Licensor under this License may 
be brought only in the courts of a particular jurisdiction and under the 
laws of a particular jurisdiction (excluding its conflict-of-law 
provisions), if Licensor provides conspicuous notice of the particular 
jurisdiction to all Licensees."

Common Development and Distribution License 1.0, "This License shall be 
governed by the law of the jurisdiction specified in a notice contained 
within the Original Software (except to the extent applicable law, if 
any, provides otherwise), excluding such jurisdictions conflict-of-law 
provisions."

Non-Profit Open Source Software License version 3.0, "Any action or suit 
relating to this License may be brought only in the courts of a 
jurisdiction wherein the Licensor resides or in which Licensor conducts 
its primary business, and under the laws of that jurisdiction excluding 
its conflict-of-law provisions."

Reciprocal Public License 1.5, "This License shall be governed by 
Colorado law provisions (except to the extent applicable law, if any, 
provides otherwise), excluding its conflict-of-law provisions."

European Union Public License, version 1.2, "any litigation arising 
between other parties and resulting from the interpretation of this 
License, will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the competent 
court where the Licensor resides or conducts its primary business."

Apple Public Source License 2.0, "Any litigation or other dispute 
resolution between You and Apple relating to this License shall take 
place in the Northern District of California, and You and Apple hereby 
consent to the personal jurisdiction of, and venue in, the state and 
federal courts within that District with respect to this License."

The Ricoh Source Code Public License, "This License shall be governed by 
California law provisions (except to the extent applicable law, if any, 
provides otherwise), excluding its conflict-of-law provisions."

The Sybase Open Source Licence, "Any litigation or other dispute 
resolution between You and Sybase relating to this License shall take 
place in the Northern District of California, and You and Sybase hereby 
consent to the personal jurisdiction of, and venue in, the state and 
federal courts within that District with respect to this License."

RealNetworks Public Source License Version 1.0, "Any litigation or other 
dispute resolution between You and Licensor relating to this License 
shall take place in the Seattle, Washington, and You and Licensor hereby 
consent to the personal jurisdiction of, and venue in, the state and 
federal courts within that District with respect to this License."

Cea Cnrs Inria Logiciel Libre License (CECILL), version 2.1, "The 
Agreement is governed by French law."

Common Public Attribution License Version 1.0, "With respect to disputes 
in which at least one party is a citizen of, or an entity chartered or 
registered to do business in the United States of America, any 
litigation relating to this License shall be subject to the jurisdiction 
of the Federal Courts of the Northern District of California, with venue 
lying in Santa Clara County, California ..."

Sun Public License, Version 1.0, "This License shall be governed by 
California law provisions (except to the extent applicable law, if any, 
provides otherwise), excluding its conflict-of-law provisions."

Computer Associates Trusted Open Source License 1.1, "Any litigation or 
other dispute resolution between a Recipient and CA relating to this 
License shall take place in the State of New York ..."

Jabber Open Source License, "This License shall be governed by 
California law provisions (except to the extent applicable law, if any, 
provides otherwise), excluding its conflict-of-law provisions."

Licence Libre du Québec – Réciprocité (LiLiQ-R) version 1.1 and Licence 
Libre du Québec – Permissive (LiLiQ-P) version 1.1, "To the extent that 
the licensor is a government department, public body or legal person 
established in the public interest and created under a law of the 
National Assembly of Québec, the licence is governed by the laws 
applicable in Québec and, in the event of a dispute, the courts of 
Québec have sole jurisdiction."

The Q Public License Version 1.0, "This license is governed by the Laws 
of Norway. Disputes shall be settled by Oslo City Court."

Pam

Pamela S. Chestek
Chestek Legal
PO Box 2492
Raleigh, NC 27602
pamela at chesteklegal.com
+1 919-800-8033