[License-review] Submitting CC0 for OSI approval

[Chad Perrin]

On Sun, Feb 19, 2012 at 03:08:54PM -0500, Russ Nelson wrote:
> 
> OR they are belt-and-suspendering. US copyright law doesn't allow the
> holder of a legally-obtained copy of a work from using or destroying
> it in any way desired. But that could change, or a court could
> interpret it differently, or laws outside the US may give copyright
> the ability to control use.

It seems theoretically possible, at least, that a copyright license could
affect or control use for a licensee, insofar as getting the licensee to
accept the terms of the license in order to receive certain
considerations (permission to distribute modified copies, for instance)
that are offered only on condition that the licensee abide by particular
use restrictions.  I say "theoretically" because I don't generally
consider a matter of law proven until decided in a court of law (and
sometimes not even then, thanks to the capriciousness of courts from time
to time).  I'm not sure how much that pertains to the current discussion,
though.


> 
> Patent licensing is a mess. It would be better to establish one policy
> for all OSI-approved licenses, possibly modifying the OSD, than to try
> to piecemeal it one license at a time.

I think the state of patent licensing reflects the state of patent law in
general, to a significant degree.  I wonder if it might be a good idea to
reserve judgment under the auspices of the OSI on matters of patent
licenses as much as possible unless and until an explicit policy exists
to guide future decisions.

-- 
Chad Perrin [ original content licensed OWL: http://owl.apotheon.org ]