For Approval: HAL, Hermes Attribution License (revisited)

[Staff di Filosofiateoretica.it]

Thank you for your suggests, 


we have a problem with OSL because it seems not to consider totally the 
content of the products developed: our software (and so many others) will be 
distributed with a principal core but the system engine will have a great 
variety of  distribution, depending by their final application (a software 
to create and develop metrical poetry texts is so much different from 
another one able to educate in language learning, and so on
). We don’t want 
to release only the core, because the study of a whole system (including 
some “derivative works”, a kind of “software plugins” ) it’s easier and much 
more organic. In different OSL grants a lot of rights, of course, but for is 
not the best license to protect the intellectual works of certain kind of  
author. In our software (and we think in so many others) we have to grant 
difference kind of rights, especially when we consider the redistribution of 
the product under the same terms of original License. 

For example we have to consider three different kind of “author”:
1-an original one: write his own text and consider only his own work
2-a mediated author: someone who puts an original text (like texts of Plato, 
Nietzsche, McLuhan,
) according with the permission of the terms law
3-a derived author: write a text using a lot of  external source, “mixing” 
his thought with the meaning of  the sentences used
We think OSL is a complete license, but we try to create one more 
specifically. 

We introduce also a “Charging Fees” concept based on moral duty that OSL 
don’t consider (we have revisited our last version of H.A.L. License 
according to the precious suggestions of your mailing-list answer). We don’t 
want money for the core of the system (it’s opensource, of course), but we 
hope to create a “money feedback” when a developer is proudly of original 
licensor software and  want to share a little bit of the contributes 
obtained for the performed work. 

we append the text of the revisited license in this email 

Thank you. 


Hermes_Net Staff 

 

 

 


 ---------- Messaggio inoltrato ----------
From: "Staff di Filosofiateoretica.it" <info at filosofiateoretica.it>
To: license-discuss at opensource.org
Subject: For Approval: HAL, Hermes Attribution License
Date: Fri, 07 Nov 2003 13:58:25 +0100
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit 

We need a new kind of license different from previously released, similar to 
the GPL open source license but able to protect and to grant directly 
intellectual rights and fees whenever the fees will come from professional 
(we think “commercial”) use of the products bounded with the license.
These are the principal differences between our license and the others just 
approved from OSI: 

Fees:
 - We speak of  “open source” when our intents are to offer everyone the 
possibility to study, to applicate and to upgrade the source code of the 
software (the License refers in this case to Hermes_Net web platform), but 
we want also to grant everyone for the right economical profits whenever an 
application based on the core of the platform will be used for any not-free 
use (we think there are so many ways to use Hermes with money profits, like 
E-Learning, collective research, case studies, “vortal”, and content 
management used in professional structure (portal, newspaper, industries, 
private or public school,
). We don’t want to have control of any kind of 
fees based on modification, personalization or adaptation of the code. In 
this case we want just a feedback of the work developed, to understand and 
offering in open source mode the eventual significative upgrade of the 
product or important related plugin. 

Intellectual right:
 -We want to protect and grant the intellectual right of the author directly. 
Hermes is a powerful software able to create a kind of hypermedia/hypertext 
from a original document. This document belong to its author and could be 
also under copyright license (we speak about classical text for example, or 
about poetry, mathematical issue, newspaper articles and so on
). So, if we 
have an original production which will envolves in a different way creating 
a sub-web-network of collective derived production then we will consider 
these productions as author-based “copyrighted” work too, whose grants are 
the same of the original text. Everytime is used a text that violates the 
intellectual rights of author the responsability is only of the 
administrator (single or team) of the platform. Otherwise whenever a text is 
created and offends anyone, or is immoral, or could be dangerously for its 
content, only the author is to be considered responsible for his own work. 

We think there are no problems with others open source licenses, so the 
software could interacts with other products under the same license or with 
the standard OSI approved licenses. Our license is like GPL except for the 
questions of fees and intellectual grants. Every software could interact 
with our product we have find no limitation since the date of the 
publication. 

Best regards 

Hermes Staff 

-------------- next part --------------


Hermes Attribution License (H.A.L.)



BY EXERCISING ANY RIGHTS TO THE WORK PROVIDED HERE, YOU ACCEPT AND AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THE TERMS OF THIS LICENSE. THE LICENSOR GRANTS YOU THE RIGHTS CONTAINED HERE IN CONSIDERATION OF YOUR ACCEPTANCE OF SUCH TERMS AND CONDITIONS. 




1. Definitions

1. "Collective Work" means a work, such as a periodical issue, anthology or encyclopedia, in which the Work in its entirety in unmodified form, along with a number of other contributions, constituting separate and independent works in themselves, are assembled into a collective whole. A work that constitutes a Collective Work will not be considered a Derivative Work (as defined below) for the purposes of this License.

2. "Derivative Work" means a work based upon the Work or upon the Work and other pre-existing works, such as a translation, musical arrangement, dramatization, fictionalization, motion picture version, sound recording, art reproduction, abridgment, condensation, modification or any other form in which the Work may be recast, transformed, or adapted, except that a work that constitutes a Collective Work will not be considered a Derivative Work for the purpose of this License. 

3. "Licensor" and "Contributor" mean the individual or entity that offer the Work under the terms of this License.

4. "Original Author" means the individual or entity who created the Work. 

5. "Work" means the copyrightable work of authorship offered under the terms of this License.

6. "Contribution" means in the case of each Contributor: 
a. changes to the Program
b. additions to the Program;

7. "Content" means intellectual product original or derived.

8. "You" means an individual or entity exercising rights under this License who has not previously violated the terms of this License with respect to the Work, or who has received express permission from the Licensor to exercise rights under this License despite a previous violation. 



2. Fair Use Rights

Nothing in this license is intended to reduce, limit, or restrict any rights arising from fair use, first sale or other limitations on the exclusive rights of the copyright owner under copyright law or other applicable laws. 



3. License Grant

Subject to the terms and conditions of this License, Licensor hereby grants You a worldwide, non-exclusive, perpetual (for the duration of the applicable copyright) license to exercise the rights in the Work as stated below: 

3.A - Product Grant

a) to reproduce the Work, to incorporate the Work into one or more Collective Works, and to reproduce the Work as incorporated in the Collective Works; 

b) to create and reproduce Derivative Works; 

c) to distribute copies or phonorecords of, display publicly, perform publicly, and perform publicly by means of a digital audio transmission the Work including as incorporated in Collective Works; 

d) to distribute copies or phonorecords of, display publicly, perform publicly, and perform publicly by means of a digital audio transmission Derivative Works.

The above rights may be exercised in all media and formats whether now known or hereafter devised. The above rights include the right to make such modifications as are technically necessary to exercise the rights in other media and formats. All rights not expressly granted by Licensor are hereby reserved and need explicit permission. 



 3.B - Grant of intellectual right

a) Subject to the terms of this Agreement, each Contributor hereby grants Recipient a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free copyright license to reproduce, prepare derivative works of, publicly display, publicly perform, distribute and sublicense the Contribution of such Contributor, if any, and such derivative works, in source code and object code form.

b) Subject to the terms of this Agreement, each Contributor hereby grants Recipient a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free patent license under Licensed Patents to make, use, sell, offer to sell, import and otherwise transfer the Contribution of such Contributor, if any, in source code and object code form. This patent license shall apply to the combination of the Contribution and the Program if, at the time the Contribution is added by the Contributor, such addition of the Contribution causes such combination to be covered by the Licensed Patents. The patent license shall not apply to any other combinations which include the Contribution. No hardware per se is licensed hereunder. 
c) Recipient understands that although each Contributor grants the licenses to its Contributions set forth herein, no assurances are provided by any Contributor that the Program does not infringe the patent or other intellectual property rights of any other entity. Each Contributor disclaims any liability to Recipient for claims brought by any other entity based on infringement of intellectual property rights or otherwise. As a condition to exercising the rights and licenses granted hereunder, each Recipient hereby assumes sole responsibility to secure any other intellectual property rights needed, if any. For example, if a third party patent license is required to allow Recipient to distribute the Program, it is Recipient's responsibility to acquire that license before distributing the Program.

d) Each Contributor represents that to its knowledge it has sufficient copyright rights in its Contribution, if any, to grant the copyright license set forth in this Agreement.

e) Every kind of Content is intended as integrant part of the software and belongs to its own structure, otherwise it may not change the rights and the terms of the License.



3.C - "Freely Available" 

means that no fee is charged for the item itself, though there may be fees involved in handling the item. It also means that recipients of the item may redistribute it under the same conditions they received it.

When we speak of free software, we are referring to freedom, not price. Our License is designed to make sure that you have the freedom to distribute copies of free software, that you receive source code or can get it if you want it, that you can change the software in new free programs respecting the terms of the current license and that you know you can do these things. 
The distribution of the source code of this software is intended for personal or corporative study purpose, or for personal use. Corporative use (like Academic study) is not permitted without prior explicit permission.
Every kind of use not documented in the present license is considered like "corporative use" and need explicit written permission.



3.D -  "Charging Fees"

You may charge a reasonable copying fee for any distribution of this Package. You may charge any fee you choose for support of this Package. 
The new distributors/resellers/developers have the moral duty to redistribute any kind of fees derived from distribution, selling or professional use of the product with a free donation (according with the role of the original core, and not with their derivative works) to the original licensor.
The distribution of the fees is regulated in according between the original author and the new licensor before the redistribution of the work.







3.E - Contribution and "Derivative Work"

By apporting any kind of contribute like translation, condensation, modification of source code or modification of the intellectual content, and by exercising any rights to the derived work you accept and agree to the terms and the conditions of this license.


4. Restrictions

The license granted in Section 3 above is expressly made subject to and limited by the following restrictions: 

a) You may distribute, publicly display, publicly perform, or publicly digitally perform the Work only under the terms of this License, and You must include a copy of, or the Uniform Resource Identifier for, this License with every copy or phonorecord of the Work You distribute, publicly display, publicly perform, or publicly digitally perform. You may not offer or impose any terms on the Work that alter or restrict the terms of this License or the recipients' exercise of the rights granted hereunder. You may not sublicense the Work. You must keep intact all notices that refer to this License and to the disclaimer of warranties. You may not distribute, publicly display, publicly perform, or publicly digitally perform the Work with any technological measures that control access or use of the Work in a manner inconsistent with the terms of this License Agreement. The above applies to the Work as incorporated in a Collective Work, but this does not require the Collective Work apart from the Work itself to be made subject to the terms of this License. 

b) If you distribute, publicly display, publicly perform, or publicly digitally perform the Work or any Derivative Works or Collective Works, You must keep intact all copyright notices for the Work and give the Original Author credit reasonable to the medium or means You are utilizing by conveying the name (or pseudonym) of the Original Author if supplied; the title of the Work if supplied; in the case of a Derivative Work, a credit identifying the use of the Work in the Derivative Work (e.g., "French translation of the Work by Original Author," or "Screenplay based on original Work by Original Author"). Such credit may be implemented in any reasonable manner; provided, however, that in the case of a Derivative Work or Collective Work, at a minimum such credit will appear where any other comparable authorship credit appears and in a manner at least as prominent as such other comparable authorship credit. 

c) Every time you download the source code of the software to develope any kind of contribute you must check the registration form at http://lab.hermesnet.it/ (Sourceforge registered project at http://sourceforge.net/projects/hermesnetlab/) and fill it in when a subscription is required. The submission of you generalities and other informations are granted by the terms present in the form of subscription.








5. Representations, Warranties and Disclaimer

By offering the Work for public release under this License, Licensor represents and warrants that, to the best of Licensor's knowledge after reasonable inquiry.
Licensor has secured all rights in the Work necessary to grant the license rights hereunder and to permit the lawful exercise of the rights granted hereunder without You having any obligation to pay any royalties, compulsory license fees, residuals or any other payments.
The Work does not infringe the copyright, trademark, publicity rights, common law rights or any other right of any third party or constitute defamation, invasion of privacy or other tortious injury to any third party. 
EXCEPT AS EXPRESSLY STATED IN THIS LICENSE OR OTHERWISE AGREED IN WRITING OR REQUIRED BY APPLICABLE LAW, THE WORK IS LICENSED ON AN "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY WARRANTIES REGARDING THE CONTENTS OR ACCURACY OF THE WORK. 




6. Limitation on Liability

EXCEPT TO THE EXTENT REQUIRED BY APPLICABLE LAW, AND EXCEPT FOR DAMAGES ARISING FROM LIABILITY TO A THIRD PARTY RESULTING FROM BREACH OF THE WARRANTIES IN SECTION 5, IN NO EVENT WILL LICENSOR BE LIABLE TO YOU ON ANY LEGAL THEORY FOR ANY SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THIS LICENSE OR THE USE OF THE WORK, EVEN IF LICENSOR HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. 





7. Termination 

a) This License and the rights granted hereunder will terminate automatically upon any breach by You of the terms of this License. Individuals or entities who have received Derivative Works or Collective Works from You under this License, however, will not have their licenses terminated provided such individuals or entities remain in full compliance with those licenses. Sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 will survive any termination of this License. 

b) Subject to the above terms and conditions, the license granted here is perpetual (for the duration of the applicable copyright in the Work). Notwithstanding the above, Licensor reserves the right to release the Work under different license terms or to stop distributing the Work at any time; provided, however that any such election will not serve to withdraw this License (or any other license that has been, or is required to be, granted under the terms of this License), and this License will continue in full force and effect unless terminated as stated above. 









8. Miscellaneous 

a) Each time You distribute or publicly digitally perform the Work or a Collective Work, the Licensor offers to the recipient a license to the Work on the same terms and conditions as the license granted to You under this License. 

b) Each time You distribute or publicly digitally perform a Derivative Work, Licensor offers to the recipient a license to the original Work on the same terms and conditions as the license granted to You under this License. 

c) If any provision of this License is invalid or unenforceable under applicable law, it shall not affect the validity or enforceability of the remainder of the terms of this License, and without further action by the parties to this agreement, such provision shall be reformed to the minimum extent necessary to make such provision valid and enforceable. 

d) No term or provision of this License shall be deemed waived and no breach consented to unless such waiver or consent shall be in writing and signed by the party to be charged with such waiver or consent. 

e) This License constitutes the entire agreement between the parties with respect to the Work licensed here. There are no understandings, agreements or representations with respect to the Work not specified here. Licensor shall not be bound by any additional provisions that may appear in any communication from You. This License may not be modified without the mutual explicit agreement of the Licensor and You. 



THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT OWNER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.