[License-review] Berkeley Artistic License V5

Pamela Chestek pamela.chestek at opensource.org
Wed Jan 15 16:46:41 UTC 2025 

Dear License Review List:

Below is the recommendation of the License Review Committee that the 
Berkeley Artistic License V5 not be approved as an OSI-Approved license, 
to be voted on at the next Board meeting.

Best regards,

Pamela S. Chestek
Chair, Licensing Committee
Open Source Initiative

==========================

License: Berkeley Artistic License V5 (Exhibit A)
Submitted: October 5, 2024, 
https://lists.opensource.org/pipermail/license-review_lists.opensource.org/2024-October/005558.html
Decision date: due no later than the first Board meeting after December 
5, 2024

_License Review Committee Recommendation: _

Resolved that it is the opinion of the OSI that the Berkeley Artistic 
License V5 does not conform to the OSD and assure software freedom and 
the license is therefore not approved.

_Rationale Document_

Reasons for withholding approval: All comments on the license were 
negative, pointing out various interpretation problems with its 
drafting. The title was also criticized, since it is not a license 
associated with Berkeley or derived from the Artistic License, so the 
title is deceptive. Finally, the license submitter agreed that a 
revision was advisable, stating “Your concerns about paragraph two are 
valid but I believe that only requires an alteration of paragraph 1 or 
2”; however, the license submitter only solicited others to revise the 
license and did not submit an amended version of the license.

/Exhibit A/

The Berkeley Artistic License
I: Metadata

Project:(project name here)

Project Developer:(developer or team name here)

Original Project Name: (This and the following line may be deleted if 
not applicable,these are both used to ascribe an origin point)

Original Project Developer: (This and the previous line may be deleted 
if not applicable, these are both used to ascribe an origin point)

Contributors: (list of contributors and contributions separated by 
semicolons.)

II: Definitions

Standard Version: The project which is the basis for modified versions, 
also known as upstream.

Modified Versions: versions of the source code distributed by the 
project that have been modified, which can be distributed as 
executables, downstream.

The Software refers to the project, which is a collection of files 
distributed by the Project Developer, the "Standard Version", and 
derivatives of that collection of files created through modification of 
the source code, the "Modified Version".

III: License Terms

1. You may make and give away verbatim copies of the source form of the 
Standard Version of this Software without restriction, provided that you 
duplicate all of the original copyright notices, this license, and 
associated disclaimers.


2. You may apply bug fixes, portability fixes and other modifications 
from the Project Developer or other developers (including yourself) to 
enable this software to work with modern tools, new hardware, new 
operating systems, etc. A Software modified in such a way may still be 
considered the Standard Version.


3. You may otherwise modify your copy of this Software in any way, 
provided that your modifications use this same license or do not 
distribute the resulting code.


4. You may choose to add your name to the contributors list, to allow 
the Project Developer to credit you for your modifications in the 
Standard Version of the Software.


5. You may distribute your modified copy of this Software in executable 
form, provided that you make it clear that your distribution of this 
code is modified, provide a copy of this license, and provide a method 
to obtain both the source of the Standard Version and the source of your 
Modified Version. You must also modify your license to point to this 
project as the origin point, labeling your modified version as a the 
project, moving any prior origin point to be the primary contributor.


6. You may distribute this Software, with or without fee, provided that 
you do not advertise the Standard Version of this Software as a product 
of your own.


7. Neither the name of the project nor the name, username, handle, etc, 
of the project developer or contributors may be used to endorse or 
promote products derived from this software without specific prior 
written permission.


8. THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND THE AUTHOR DISCLAIMS ALL 
WARRANTIES WITH REGARD TO THIS SOFTWARE INCLUDING ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES 
OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHOR BE LIABLE 
FOR ANY SPECIAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR ANY 
DAMAGES WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS, WHETHER 
IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER TORTIOUS ACTION, ARISING 
OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE.

On 10/5/2024 3:43 AM, Lucy Brown via License-review wrote:
> This is a submission of Berkeley Artistic License v5.
> This is a “New” License that was made as a means of creating a more 
> legible, correct, and up to date variation of Artistic License V1, 
> that has been conformed to my personal interpretation of the BSD, 
> (Berkeley), style. It differs from BSD-4 and Artistic v2 in that it is 
> not re-licensable and it is copyleft rather than permissive. It 
> differs from GPL in that it's short, Clear, and accessible and it 
> contains Metadata to credit developers within the license.
>
> This license has the following features: Copyleft;
> No Attribution by default;
> Contributors listed in the license itself.
>
> The license template follows:
>
> The Berkeley Artistic License
> I: Metadata
> Project:(project name here)
> Project Developer:(developer or team name here)
> Original Project Name: (This and the following line may be deleted if 
> not applicable,these are both used to ascribe an origin point)
> Original Project Developer: (This and the previous line may be deleted 
> if not applicable, these are both used to ascribe an origin point)
> Contributors: (list of contributors and contributions separated by 
> semicolons.)
>
> II: Definitions
> Standard Version: The project which is the basis for modified 
> versions, also known as upstream.
> Modified Versions: versions of the source code distributed by the 
> project that have been modified, which can be distributed as 
> executables, downstream.
> The Software refers to the project, which is a collection of files 
> distributed by the Project Developer, the "Standard Version", and 
> derivatives of that collection of files created through modification 
> of the source code, the "Modified Version".
>
> III: License Terms
> 1. You may make and give away verbatim copies of the source form of 
> the Standard Version of this Software without restriction, provided 
> that you duplicate all of the original copyright notices, this 
> license, and associated disclaimers.
>
> 2. You may apply bug fixes, portability fixes and other modifications 
> from the Project Developer or other developers (including yourself) to 
> enable this software to work with modern tools, new hardware, new 
> operating systems, etc. A Software modified in such a way may still be 
> considered the Standard Version.
>
> 3. You may otherwise modify your copy of this Software in any way, 
> provided that your modifications use this same license or do not 
> distribute the resulting code.
>
> 4. You may choose to add your name to the contributors list, to allow 
> the Project Developer to credit you for your modifications in the 
> Standard Version of the Software.
>
> 5. You may distribute your modified copy of this Software in 
> executable form, provided that you make it clear that your 
> distribution of this code is modified, provide a copy of this license, 
> and provide a method to obtain both the source of the Standard Version 
> and the source of your Modified Version. You must also modify your 
> license to point to this project as the origin point, labeling your 
> modified version as a the project, moving any prior origin point to be 
> the primary contributor.
>
> 6. You may distribute this Software, with or without fee, provided 
> that you do not advertise the Standard Version of this Software as a 
> product of your own.
>
> 7. Neither the name of the project nor the name, username, handle, 
> etc, of the project developer or contributors may be used to endorse 
> or promote products derived from this software without specific prior 
> written permission.
>
> 8. THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND THE AUTHOR DISCLAIMS ALL 
> WARRANTIES WITH REGARD TO THIS SOFTWARE INCLUDING ALL IMPLIED 
> WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE 
> AUTHOR BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, OR CONSEQUENTIAL 
> DAMAGES OR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM LOSS OF USE, DATA OR 
> PROFITS, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER 
> TORTIOUS ACTION, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR 
> PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE.
>
> End of license template.
> You can also read the license template at the following link.
> https://raw.githubusercontent.com/anoraktrend/Berkeley-Artistic/refs/heads/main/The%20Berkeley%20Artistic%20license
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> The opinions expressed in this email are those of the sender and not necessarily those of the Open Source Initiative. Communication from the Open Source Initiative will be sent from an opensource.org email address.
>
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> License-review at lists.opensource.org
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