[License-discuss] Network copyleft license without requiring 'Installation Information'

[Wiebe Cazemier]

Hello "License Discuss",

Have there been attempts / is there interest in making a network-copyleft license like the AGPLv3 without requiring "Installation Information" (known as 'anti-Tivoization')? I feel there is a gap, and it should be easy to base it on AGPLv3. Or, more permissive licenses are also fine, as long as they are network copy-left.

For a network server project, I currently use the AGPLv3 because network-copyleft is important to me. I never gave the Installation Information requirement much thought, but now there's interest from a hardware manufacturer to include the software. I have written up a draft of the required AGPLv3 exception, but I'm troubled by it.

As by the famous Linus Torvalds rant [2], somebody can fork it, and remove the exception. If they then become popular, they can even out of spite remove the exception and I can't take the changes back. This seems very anti open-source.

Theoretically, I could very easily make a copy of the AGPLv3 and remove the Installation Information requirement to make a custom license. It wouldn't have compatibility with (A)GPL3, but that excluded GPL2 already anyway, and is one-way (because of the exception).

If I do make one, I could offer it for review, hence my polling for interest.

I see MongoDB also tried something similar [1] but failed, but that license was more restrictive, not less.

Or, is there simply an existing alternative?

Regards,

Wiebe


[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Server_Side_Public_License
[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaKIZ7gJlRU