[License-review] Submission for review of Mulan Public License，Version 2

[Wayne Thornton]

I can only imagine the extensive research that would go into writing a PPL and I don't think anyone is really up for that. But I do agree with you that including every verb relating to copyright and patent rights would cover those use cases. With regards to OSI approval, and the lack of a PPL, for the present license being discussed my opinion would be that the present license should conform to the Berne formulation of rights given as that formulation contains a series of provisions determining *minimum* protections granted and doesn't necessarily preclude additional international rights from attaching  (say, US rights and protections) if the person subject to the present license is present in those one of those countries. IMO, that would make the present license suitable for approval as an OSI-approved license subject to the other requirements (i.e. certified translation, etc) being met. That being said, I'm admittedly not a lawyer so my view could be very "off" from what is legally permissible in the body of international copyright law(s). 

-----Original Message-----
From: License-review <license-review-bounces at lists.opensource.org> On Behalf Of McCoy Smith
Sent: Wednesday, January 22, 2025 10:55 AM
To: license-review at lists.opensource.org
Subject: Re: [License-review] Submission for review of Mulan Public License，Version 2

IMHO if you want to write a "perfect" license grant you'd include all the verbs in Berne, and USA (C) law, and perhaps the EU (C) directive, and you'd do the same for patent rights as well (USA, EU, and TRIPs, although USA and TRIPS are essentially coextensive).

I'm not sure there is any license that does that, although I haven't tried to examine them all in that regard (although I've a mind to do a project exactly on that point).

And no, I'm not going to write and submit the PPL (perfect public license)

On 1/22/2025 9:36 AM, Wayne Thornton wrote:
> This is an interesting point that McCoy makes. Although admittedly not a lawyer myself, how can any international open source license be required to enumerate strictly US rights for approval by OSI? If a license is international in origin and nature, it most definitely should conform with the Berne formulation of copyright rights. Holding international licenses to a US copyright formulation would appear to me to be short-sighted and potentially problematic in the future. Although OSI is US-based, open source is a truly international affair. Would it not be best practice for OSI to require international open source licenses to conform to the Berne formulation as opposed to imposing potentially problematic US copyright formulations for approval of a license by OSI?
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: License-review <license-review-bounces at lists.opensource.org> On 
> Behalf Of Pamela Chestek
> Sent: Wednesday, January 22, 2025 10:02 AM
> To: license-review at lists.opensource.org
> Subject: Re: [License-review] Submission for review of Mulan Public 
> License，Version 2
>
>
> On 1/22/2025 7:57 AM, McCoy Smith wrote:
>> If new licenses ought to include the full panoply of copyright 
>> rights, and are to conform to international standards, shouldn't they 
>> instead use the full Berne formulation of copyright rights rather 
>> than the US formulation? In many cases they are articulated the same, 
>> or very similarly, but in others there are distinct differences.
> I think there's a difference between what is the better practice and what would be acceptable to be approved as an open source license. There are many approved licenses that enumerate US rights only.
>
> Pam (in my personal capacity)
>
> Pamela S. Chestek
> Chestek Legal
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