[License-review] Request for consultation with CC on patent issue

[Clark C. Evans]

On Tue, Feb 21, 2012, at 12:29 PM, Tzeng, Nigel H. wrote:
> CC0 very clearly states that trademark and patent rights of the affirmer
> are not affected ­ CC0¹s sole reach is copyright and related and
> neighboring rights, including database rights.

However, the CC0 is more than simply a public domain statement, 
it includes an active reservation of patent rights.  

Either way, this choice will be active policy making by the OSI.  
In my opinion, if the OSI decides to approve the CC0, it should 
go further and retroactively accept the MXM license, update its 
mission and the OSD to reflect a strict consideration to copyright 
law, and be prepared for other permutations which include this 
additional licensing variation.

On Tue, Feb 21, 2012, at 10:01 AM, Rick Moen wrote:
> That having been said, for reasons amply cited by others, 
> I do agree that it's highly unlikely that patents held by 
> a CC0 licensor will ever be a problem.

I don't agree.  I see this as exactly the kind of vehicle that 
a patent-driven organization would be very enthusiastic to use.
 
Best,

Clark