[License-review] Request for Approval : Modular Open-source Software License (MOSL)
Hadrien Grasland
guydeloinbard at yahoo.fr
Sun Sep 23 10:01:22 UTC 2012
Dear everybody,
I would like to submit a draft for a new software license. I have
decided to write it because I enjoy the idea of enforced source code
redistribution that is found in the GPL, but have had enough of the GNU
political agenda that the rest of that license brings with it. I wanted
something much simpler, something that basically states "If you have
legally acquired a copy of the binary software, you can legally request
a copy of the source code from the authors and use it in private too.
This requirement is transmitted to any derivative work based on this
software". And that's it. Redistribution conditions otherwise default to
BSD/MIT-style permissive terms, and can be extended at will to add as
many additional restrictions as needed, such as in a commercial context
where it may be undesirable to have someone else take your source code,
build it, and legally sell the resulting fork for a cheaper price.
The implemented result is called the Modular Open-source Software
License (or MOSL for short), and the current draft can be found at this
location : http://theosperiment.wordpress.com/mosl/ .
This is a new license, which does not seem to meet a "special need" in
sense of being restricted to a specific use case. I have failed to find
another OSI-approved license which sets similar terms, so I don't think
it is redundant. I did not make it specific to me or someone else, and
it has no predecessors. As such, I would spontaneously put it in the
"Other/Miscellaneous licenses" category, for lack of a better choice.
Also, let me stress again that this is still a draft, which has not
received lawyer review yet. As such, any comments on the wording or the
legality of the various terms are very much welcome. If you can think of
a way I can express this in shorter terms, or notice any potential legal
loopholes, you are also very much welcome to discuss it too. More
generally, good luck with the review !
Best regards,
Hadrien Grasland
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