[License-review] For approval: The Cryptographic Autonomy License (Beta 2)

[Pamela Chestek]

On 8/22/2019 4:49 PM, Lukas Atkinson wrote:
>  
>
>     There are other problems with practical use of the license. Open
>     Source software is intended for everyone to use, not just everyone
>     who can afford an attorney and a programming staff. It thus should
>     be the case that the "naive user", who simply runs Open Source
>     software and does not modify it, should /not /need to read and
>     understand the license, and certainly should not need a lawyer to
>     tell them how to run the program in a compliant manner.
>
>
> An end user is free to run the software for themselves or their
> affiliates without restriction, and will certainly not have to consult
> a lawyer for that. You are painting an overly dramatic picture here.
> In general, I also find the CAL to be more comprehensible for lay
> persons than e.g. the GPLv3.
>
> If anyone operates a service for other people to use, they already are
> subject to so many legal obligations in their respective jurisdiction
> that the CAL's provisions will really not matter that much.

As a complete duffer in software, this provision is troublesome to me.
It goes well beyond offering a service. This is the same example I used
on the last review of this license, so forgive me for repeating it.
Suppose I put up my homemade website and want a widget that displays my
Twitter feed. I look at my options among the various addons and
extensions and pick one that looks like it's just the ticket. Woe is me
if I picked one under the CAL. Having the widget on my website is not a
private use and so I have to make the source code available, plus
provide notices and attribution on my website for the widget. I suspect
anyone would be surprised that they had incurred such a burden.

Still speaking entirely personally.

Pam

Pamela S. Chestek
Chestek Legal
PO Box 2492
Raleigh, NC 27602
919-800-8033
pamela at chesteklegal.com
www.chesteklegal.com
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