[License-review] Sublicensing

[Jim Wright]

The AFL also expressly provides for different terms, and other licenses with sublicense rights are often interpreted to permit it as well.  (Larry actually had a little to say about the usefulness of this in a paper on topic from way back when at http://rosenlaw.com/OSL3.0-explained.htm, at the very end.)  A sublicensor can offer different terms of their own to someone they grant a license to, provided that they include the original UPL notice, such that even if they offer a license under different, more restrictive terms (whether commercial or FOSS), the user is always notified of the original offering under the UPL from the original authors as well.  So in reality, they can just go fetch the original source code and go from there if it started out as an open source project under the UPL, just like they would under MIT or BSD.  And in any event, the ability to sublicense, including on other terms, is not unique to the UPL.

 Regards,
  Jim


On Sep 15, 2014, at 6:16 PM, Engel Nyst <engel.nyst at gmail.com> wrote:

> I'm not sure how to understand plainly 'sublicense' in an open license.
> However UPL says more:
> 
>> permission is hereby granted, free of charge and under any and all
>> copyright rights in this software [...] without restriction,
>> including without limitation the rights to make, use, sell, offer
>> for sale, import, export, have made, have sold, copy, create
>> derivative works of (provided that this does not license additional
>> patent claims beyond those covering the unmodified Software and
>> Larger Works), display, perform, distribute, and sublicense the
>> Software and the Larger Work(s) on either these or other terms.
> 
> Note "on either these or other terms". Let's say A develops software,
> and licenses it under the UPL. A distributes it on their website, which
> has the following Terms of Use:
> 
>> By using the services provided by this website, you agree you are not
>> allowed to copy, modify and distribute the material made available on
>> this website, including without limitation any documentation,
>> software or data.
> 
> In my reading, these are 'other terms' which per UPL, cancel the rights
> granted previously by UPL.
> 
> Am I allowed to copy, modify and distribute the software?
> 
> What if B distributes A's software on an identical site, does the
> answer change?
> 
> 
> -- 
>  "Excuse me, Professor Lessig, may I ask you to sign this CLA, so we can
> *legally* have your permission to remix and distribute your CC-licensed
> works?"
>  ~ Permission culture, take two.