[License-discuss] Evaluating the Enforceability of a License Should Not be a Criteria for OSI License Review

[Patrick Schleizer]

The primary focus of OSI should be to determine whether a license 
adheres to the Open Source Definition (OSD), thereby classifying it as 
Open Source or not.

Concerns regarding the enforceability of a license, especially across 
different jurisdictions, should not be a determinant in the approval or 
rejection of a license. Enforceability can vary significantly across 
different regions due to the diverse legal landscapes, making it a less 
consistent metric for license review. The issue lies in the fact that 
enforceability is largely subjective and lacks an independent, quick 
reproducible testing framework.

Should OSI decide to extend its responsibilities, a possible approach 
could be to introduce a categorization system for licenses, 
distinguishing between recommended and discouraged licenses.

In this scenario, one criterion for discouragement could be the 
perceived unenforceability of a license in certain territories.

This additional layer of evaluation could provide clearer guidance to 
the community, while keeping the core license review process focused and 
objective.

In the event that OSI disagrees with this perspective, the requirement 
for enforceability (in which countries?) should be explicitly outlined 
in the review criteria to ensure transparency and clear understanding 
within the open source community. Conversely, if OSI concurs that 
enforceability should not be a criteria, this stance should also be 
clearly articulated in the review guidelines to avoid any ambiguity.