[License-review] Request for Approval of Universal Permissive License (UPL)

[John Cowan]

Lawrence Rosen scripsit:

> And when her system administrator reports her to the FOSS police,
> or more likely when Ameriprise sues her for some unrelated reason,
> we'll see and hear about it. What then?

We seem to be on different tracks.  Here's the whole hypo:

1) Bob issues code under a permissive license.

2) Alice takes that code and compiles it into her proprietary software,
as she is well entitled to do, and distributes the binary version to
Charlie and others.

3) Charlie extracts the binary bits corresponding to Bob's source code
and reuses them in *his* proprietary software.  Why he doesn't go
straight to Bob's source, I don't know -- Charlies are odd creatures.
Perhaps he lives on Debian Island, where there is no Internet but
CD-ROMs can be bought and sold via the annual ship.

4) Alice sues Charlie for infringement of parts of her copyrighted
software.

5) Charlie's defense is that Alice's compiled code is just Bob's source
code in a different medium, and he relies on Bob's license.

-- 
John Cowan          http://www.ccil.org/~cowan        cowan at ccil.org
The Imperials are decadent, 300 pound free-range chickens (except they have
teeth, arms instead of wings, and dinosaurlike tails).  --Elyse Grasso