[License-review] For Approval: Open Logistics License

[Eric Schultz]

Andreas,

Thanks for submitting this!

I'm no lawyer but I'm a little uncomfortable with the wording for the
disclaimer of liability around which words the "and" and "or" apply to.

For example does it mean:

1. (intent and gross negligence) OR (causing personal injury), or
2. (intent) and (gross negligence or causing personal injury)

While we should definitely avoid any harm to our users, 1 seems like it's
creating a pretty high risk to developers. After all, in some cases it's
nearly impossible to avoid all possible injuries to all persons everywhere.
Depending on the design of the software, it may be dangerous to some subset
of users while perfectly safe to other users.

One thought I have is that, in cases of potential liability, I am under the
impression that certain punishments apply if someone intends to cause the
injury or exhibited gross negligence. So does it make sense to have an
"and" there?

My thinking is it would make more sense to rewrite the clause to mean:
(intent OR gross negligence) AND (causing personal injury). After all, if
you exhibit intent and gross negligence but don't cause any injury, as I
understand it, there would be no civil liability because there would be no
injured party. Then again, I'm not a lawyer and I'm based in the US so I'm
applying my very limited knowledge to that.

Eric

On Thu, Apr 14, 2022 at 6:37 AM Andreas Nettsträter <
andreas.nettstraeter at openlogisticsfoundation.org> wrote:

> Dear License Review Team,
>
> I would like to propose the Open Logistics License for an approval.
>
> You can find the plain text copy of the license in the attachment and the
> requested additional information in the following.
>
> Rationale:
> This new license is intended to represent the rights and obligations of an
> established license, such as Apache v2, while respecting the differences
> between US and European law. The changes were mainly done in the paragraphs
> regarding warranty and liability.
>
> Distinguish:
> The Open Logistics License is based on Apache v2, but has been modified to
> comply more with European law.
>
> Legal review:
> The entire process of discussing and drafting the license was accompanied
> by BHO Legal, a German law firm specialized in IT law. Adjustments were
> made to specifically adapt the rules on the patent license, warranty, and
> liability to European law. The adjustments are intended to strengthen the
> acceptance of the license by European companies and minimize (perhaps only
> perceived) risks. The license was subsequently reviewed and approved by
> several in-house lawyers of larger European companies. Further details and
> justifications for the individual changes can be provided on request.
>
> Proliferation category:
> The decision on one specific category is quite hard. The license is
> compatible with Apache2, but was adapted to some specific European rules.
> The license will be used by a larger group of companies in the frame of
> open source development for logistics and supply chain management, but is,
> of course, not limited to this purpose. Therefore, the license can be seen
> as a special purpose license.
>
> I'm happy to deliver more information, if needed.
>
> Regards from Germany
> Andreas
>
> --
> Andreas Nettsträter
> Open Logistics Foundation
>
> _______________________________________________
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-- 
Eric Schultz, Developer and FOSS Advocate
wwahammy.com
eric at wwahammy.com
@wwahammy
Pronouns: He/his/him
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