[License-review] For approval: The Cryptographic Autonomy License (Beta 4)

[Josh Berkus]

On 12/6/19 7:48 AM, VanL wrote:
> On Fri, Dec 6, 2019 at 8:52 AM Nigel T <nigel.2048 at gmail.com
> <mailto:nigel.2048 at gmail.com>> wrote:
> 
>     3.2.a seems to imply to me that there is no patent grant when the
>     work is used as part of a combination or modification. 
> 
> 
> This is known as a combination carveout. Patent claims are covered for
> what is provided to you. If you modify the software in some way so that
> it infringes a patent *solely because of your modification or
> combination*, then your actions are not specifically licensed.
> 
> The rationale is clear: The licensor is only responsible for what they
> provide to other people, not those peoples' subsequent actions.
> Otherwise someone could include a single line from someone's software
> ("#include <stdio.h>") and claim that all the patents owned by that
> person were licensed.
> 

Yeah, we discussed this topic with the proposed Oracle downstream
license too.  It's an inevitable consequence of OSS license patent
grants; a patent grant cannot include carte blanche grants to any patent
affecting the software regardless of modifications, and no existing
license does.  So Van is 100% correct here.

-- 
Josh Berkus