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<FONT COLOR="#ff0000"><H1 ALIGN="CENTER">The Open Information Definition</H1>
</FONT><P ALIGN="CENTER">(Version 0.1)</P>
<P>Open information doesn't just mean access to information. The distribution terms of open-information documents must comply with the following criteria: <A NAME="clause1"></P>
<H2>1. Free Redistribution</H2>
<P>The license may not restrict any party from selling or giving away the information as a component of an aggregate distribution containing information from several different sources. The license may not require a royalty or other fee for such sale.</A> <A HREF="OpenInfoDefinition_rationale.html#clause1"><FONT SIZE=2>(rationale)</FONT></A> <A NAME="clause2"></P>
<H2>2. Readable Source Format</H2>
<P>The open-information document must include the complete information in a format that is readable, understandable and usable by an educated person without any knowledge of internal procedures of the information provider. For parts of the information that are only executable on a computer, the document must include source code. The formats used must have been documented extensively and must be publicly available free of charge on a continuous basis, they are referred to below as "readable source format".</P>
<P>The license must allow distribution in readable source format as well as executable form. Where some form of a product is not distributed with readable source format, there must be a well-publicized means of obtaining the readable source format for no more than a reasonable reproduction cost -- preferably, downloading via the Internet without charge. The readable source format must be the preferred form in which a peer would modify the information. Deliberately obfuscated source format is not allowed. Intermediate forms such as the output of a preprocessor or translator are not allowed.</A> <A HREF="OpenInfoDefinition_rationale.html#clause2"><FONT SIZE=2>(rationale)</FONT></A> <A NAME="clause3"></P>
<H2>3. Derived Works</H2>
<P>The license must allow modifications and derived works, and must allow them to be distributed under the same terms as the license of the original information.</A> <A HREF="OpenInfoDefinition_rationale.html#clause3"><FONT SIZE=2>(rationale)</FONT></A> <A NAME="clause4"></P>
<H2>4. Integrity of The Author's Information.</H2>
<P>The license may restrict information from being distributed in modified form <EM>only</EM> if the license allows the distribution of "updates/deviations (?)" with the information for the purpose of modifying the information at build time. The license must explicitly permit distribution of documents built from modified information. The license may require derived works to carry a different name or version number from the original document.</A> <A HREF="OpenInfoDefinition_rationale.html#clause4"><FONT SIZE=2>(rationale)</FONT></A> <A NAME="clause5"></P>
<H2>5. No Discrimination Against Persons or Groups.</H2>
<P>The license must not discriminate against any person or group of persons.</A> <A HREF="OpenInfoDefinition_rationale.html#clause5"><FONT SIZE=2>(rationale)</FONT></A> <A NAME="clause6"></P>
<H2>6. No Discrimination Against Fields of Endeavor.</H2>
<P>The license must not restrict anyone from making use of the information in a specific field of endeavor. For example, it may not restrict the program from being used in a business, or from being used for genetic research.</A> <A HREF="OpenInfoDefinition_rationale.html#clause6"><FONT SIZE=2>(rationale)</FONT></A> <A NAME="clause7"></P>
<H2>7. Distribution of License.</H2>
<P>The rights attached to the information must apply to all to whom the information is redistributed without the need for execution of an additional license by those parties.</A> <A HREF="OpenInfoDefinition_rationale.html#clause7"><FONT SIZE=2>(rationale)</FONT></A> <A NAME="clause8"></P>
<H2>8. License Must Not Be Specific to a Product.</H2>
<P>The rights attached to the information must not depend on the information's being part of a particular distribution. If the information is extracted from that distribution and used or distributed within the terms of the information's license, all parties to whom the information is redistributed should have the same rights as those that are granted in conjunction with the original distribution.</A> <A HREF="OpenInfoDefinition_rationale.html#clause8"><FONT SIZE=2>(rationale)</FONT></A> <A NAME="clause9"></P>
<H2>9. License Must Not Contaminate Other Information.</H2>
<P>The license must not place restrictions on other information that is distributed along with the licensed information. For example, the license must not insist that all other information distributed on the same medium must be open-information documents.</A> <A HREF="OpenInfoDefinition_rationale.html#clause9"><FONT SIZE=2>(rationale)</FONT></A></P>
<P><A NAME="conformance"></P>
<H2>Conformance</H2>
<P>(This section is not part of the Open Information Definition.)</P>
<P>The <STRONG>OII Certified</STRONG> mark is OII's way of certifying that the license under which the information is distributed conforms to the OID; the generic term "Open Information" cannot provide that assurance, but we still encourage use of the term "Open Information" to mean conformance to the OID.</P></A>
<H2>Change history:</H2>
<P>0.1 -- rough adaptation of the "Open Source Definition" (version 1.7) by the Open Source Initiative to the concept of Open Information.</P>
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