[License-review] For Approval: The Cryptographic Autonomy License

[Scott Peterson]

I arrive late to this discussion. I am sorry. I should have paid attention
earlier.

I have just realized that this license asserts that:
"... making aspects of the Software, including any interfaces used for
access to or manipulation of User Data, directly or indirectly available to
the public"
is an exclusive right of an owner of copyright in the text of software.

If the authors of software who choose to use this license could available
themselves of this sort of exclusive right without impacting anyone else,
then, fine, whatever. But, they can't. The rights under copyright are (for
better or for worse) granted without any action needed on the part of the
owner to claim such rights. If this right is a part of the exclusive rights
of a copyright holder, then it would apply to existing software -- not just
to those who would like a certain type of licensing arrangement.

Think of all of the software that is functioning all around us -- software
that was built and does what it does every day without the expectation of
this twist on an exclusive right of public performance.

In my view, we do not need a new exclusive right for software; we have
enough already.

Of course, a license cannot create a new exclusive right. However, it can
create a base on which others might build FUD.

Let's reduce, rather than increase, FUD about rights relating to software.

Whatever the other merits of the license as a whole, I hope that it is
revised to eliminate the implication that interoperation of software
implicates an exclusive performance right.

-- Scott
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