[License-review] For Approval: Open Logistics License v1.2

[Pamela Chestek]

On 12/11/2022 7:08 PM, Bradley M. Kuhn wrote:
> Pamela Chestek wrote:
>> Someone recently persuaded me that a choice of law provision is beneficial
>> to the extent it provides certainty. Without it, you have no idea what law
>> might apply and therefore no way to evaluate the risk.
> Choice of law clauses have always tempted FOSS license drafters.  Good FOSS
> license drafters resist the temptation — knowing that it'll cause more
> trouble than help.  It's actually a shame (IMO) that OSI considers any
> “choice of law” clause acceptable at all in FOSS licenses.
How?
>
> Thorsten Glaser wrote:
>>> However, in
>>> general business with end users, consumer protection normally
>>> says that the law to be used is that of the end user, if it’s
>>> not B2B anyway. Isn’t this kinda the same with the licences?
>>> Whom does OSI wish to protect more, considering both sides may
>>> be either private individuals or big companies…
> A “choice of law” clause is frankly an unbelievably easy way to disrupt
> egalitarian FOSS license enforcement around the world, be it by consumers
> or anyone else.  Original licensors and/or license drafters shouldn't have
> that kind of power in the FOSS community.  It's a pity the FOSS licensing
> community didn't start saying earlier that choice of law was a non-starter.
> We'd have been saved from the disaster of Oracle's CDDL, among other
> bad licenses.
How?

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