[License-review] Request for Approval: Unicode License v3; Request for "Retirement": Unicode Inc License Agreement-Data Files and Software

Wed Nov 29 10:15:57 UTC 2023

The license is on the website:
https://opensource.org/license/unicode-license-v3/ (does anybody know if
there is an SPDX id for it? I couldn't find one)

The previous version has been marked superseded
https://opensource.org/license/unicode-inc-license-agreement-data-files-and-software/

On Wed, Nov 29, 2023 at 3:38 AM Pamela Chestek <
pamela.chestek at opensource.org> wrote:

> All,
>
> The Unicode License v3 was approved as an OSI Certified License in the
> Special Purpose category of licenses at its Board meeting on November
> 17, 2023. The previous version of the license will be marked as superseded.
>
> Pamela Chestek
> Chair, License Committee
> Open Source Initiative
>
>
> On 11/12/2023 3:46 PM, Pamela Chestek wrote:
> > Below is the recommendation of the License Committee for the Unicode
> > License v3. I expect a vote on the license at the next Board meeting.
> >
> > Pamela Chestek
> > Chair, License Committee
> > Open Source Initiative
> >
> > License: Unicode License v3 (Exhibit A)
> > Submitted: August 23, 2023,
> >
> http://lists.opensource.org/pipermail/license-review_lists.opensource.org/2023-August/005404.html
> >
> > Decision date: due no later than the first Board meeting after October
> > 23, 2023
> >
> > License Review Committee Recommendation:
> >
> > Resolved that it is the opinion of the OSI that the Unicode License be
> > approved as an Open Source Initiative Certified license in the Special
> > Purpose category of licenses.
> >
> > The previous version of the license, Unicode, Inc. License Agreement –
> > Data Files and Software, available at
> >
> https://opensource.org/license/unicode-inc-license-agreement-data-files-and-software/,
>
> > will be marked as superseded.
> >
> > Rationale Document
> >
> > Notes: This is a revision of the OSI-approved “Unicode, Inc. License
> > Agreement – Data Files and Software,” a permissive license. The
> > license submitter summarized the changes as follows:
> >
> > 1. The “Copyright and Permission Notice” has been moved to the top of
> > the license, to make clear that the “Notice to User” must be
> > reproduced with any distribution of software or data licensed under
> > the license, per the permission section.
> > 2. The copyright notice has been genericized so as to not be specific
> > to the Unicode Consortium or the recited years (which themselves are
> > out of date).
> > 3. The “All rights reserved” statement has been removed, as it is no
> > longer required under Berne and is also misleading given the
> > permissive nature of the license.
> > 4. The references to links to Unicode’s website have been removed, to
> > genericize the license and also make the license not dependent upon an
> > external source for its defined terms (and also prevent defined terms
> > from leading to dead links or modified links that could be altered in
> > a way contrary to the OSD).
> > 5. The recitation of “Unicode” data files and “Unicode” software has
> > been removed to genericize the license for use by entities other than
> > Unicode.
> > 6. The defined terms “Data Files” and “Software” have been genericized
> > to apply to any data files or software to which the license is applied.
> >
> > None of the changes affect the rights granted. No one objected to
> > approval of the license. The licensor also asked that the previous
> > version of the license be marked as superseded.
> >
> > Exhibit A
> >
> > UNICODE LICENSE V3
> >
> > COPYRIGHT AND PERMISSION NOTICE
> >
> > Copyright © <YEAR(S)> <COPYRIGHT HOLDER>
> >
> > NOTICE TO USER: Carefully read the following legal agreement. BY
> > DOWNLOADING, INSTALLING, COPYING OR OTHERWISE USING DATA FILES, AND/OR
> > SOFTWARE, YOU UNEQUIVOCALLY ACCEPT, AND AGREE TO BE BOUND BY, ALL OF
> > THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS AGREEMENT. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE, DO
> > NOT DOWNLOAD, INSTALL, COPY, DISTRIBUTE OR USE THE DATA FILES OR
> > SOFTWARE.
> >
> > Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining
> > a copy of data files and any associated documentation (the "Data
> > Files") or software and any associated documentation (the "Software")
> > to deal in the Data Files or Software without restriction, including
> > without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish,
> > distribute, and/or sell copies of the Data Files or Software, and to
> > permit persons to whom the Data Files or Software are furnished to do
> > so, provided that either (a) this copyright and permission notice
> > appear with all copies of the Data Files or Software, or (b) this
> > copyright and permission notice appear in associated Documentation.
> >
> > THE DATA FILES AND SOFTWARE ARE PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF
> > ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE
> > WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND
> > NONINFRINGEMENT OF THIRD PARTY RIGHTS.
> >
> > IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT HOLDER OR HOLDERS INCLUDED IN THIS
> > NOTICE BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, OR ANY SPECIAL 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 THE DATA FILES OR SOFTWARE.
> >
> > Except as contained in this notice, the name of a copyright holder
> > shall not be used in advertising or otherwise to promote the sale, use
> > or other dealings in these Data Files or Software without prior written
> > authorization of the copyright holder.
> >
> >
> > On 8/23/2023 6:00 PM, McCoy Smith wrote:
> >> The following request is for both an approval of an updated version
> >> of an already-approved license, and a superseding of a
> >> currently-approved license.
> >>   I am submitting this request on behalf of the Unicode Consortium,
> >> the License Steward of both licenses, who I represent.
> >>   Summary: the Unicode Consortium is the License Steward of an
> >> existing OSI-approved license, the Unicode Inc. License Agreement –
> >> Data Files and Software:
> >>
> https://opensource.org/license/unicode-inc-license-agreement-data-files-and-software/
> >> A new version of that license has been created, to address certain
> >> suboptimal terms in the license, and to genercize it so that it may
> >> be used by entities other than the Unicode Consortium. The new
> >> version is being renamed the “Unicode License v3” to shorten the name
> >> and to address the fact that a slightly revised version of the
> >> OSI-approved text has been used since the approval of the text by
> >> OSI. The current text can be found here:
> >> https://www.unicode.org/license.txt (note that that copy is slightly
> >> different than the copy submitted for approval, in that it contains a
> >> Unicode copyright notice with relevant years; for the text submitted
> >> for approval by OSI, the copyright notice and years have been
> >> indicated as "fill in the blanks."). It is also currently being used
> >> in Unicode's Github repository, for example, here:
> >> https://github.com/unicode-org/cldr/blob/main/LICENSE
> >>
> >> The Unicode Consortium is seeking approval of the new license. At the
> >> same time, the Unicode Consortium is seeking superseding of the
> >> currently-approved license text on the OSI website. For sake of
> >> completeness, I have filled out both the “For Approval” information
> >> for the new license, and the “For Retirement” information for the old
> >> license (even though this is not a retirement but instead a
> >> supersedence: i.e., the new version is the preferable version of the
> >> license going forward, but any code using the old license remains
> >> under an OSI approved license).
> >>   For Approval
> >>   Rationale: The new license was created in order to address certain
> >> drafting ambiguities and implementation complexities in the
> >> currently-approved license with OSI. Namely, the following changes
> >> have been made (I have attached a marked up version of the license in
> >> LibreOffice and Adobe Acrobat so that the changes can be more easily
> >> seen):
> >> 1. The “Copyright and Permission Notice” has been moved to the top of
> >> the license, to make clear that the “Notice to User” must be
> >> reproduced with any distribution of software or data licensed under
> >> the license, per the permission section.
> >> 2. The copyright notice has been genericized so as to not be specific
> >> to the Unicode Consortium or the recited years (which themselves are
> >> out of date).
> >> 3. The “All rights reserved” statement has been removed, as it is no
> >> longer required under Berne and is also misleading given the
> >> permissive nature of the license.
> >> 4. The references to links to Unicode’s website have been removed, to
> >> genericize the license and also make the license not dependent upon
> >> an external source for its defined terms (and also prevent defined
> >> terms from leading to dead links or modified links that could be
> >> altered in a way contrary to the OSD).
> >> 5. The recitation of “Unicode” data files and “Unicode” software has
> >> been removed to genericize the license for use by entities other than
> >> Unicode.
> >> 6. The defined terms “Data Files” and “Software” have been
> >> genericized to apply to any data files or software to which the
> >> license is applied.
> >>   Distinguish: Compare to and contrast with the most similar
> >> OSI-approved license(s)
> >> The most similar OSI-approved license is the predecessor Unicode
> >> Consortium, Inc. License Agreement – Data Files and Software. The
> >> manner in which the submitted license differs is set forth above and
> >> in the attached mark-up.
> >> Legal review: Describe any legal review the license has been through,
> >> and provide results of any legal analysis if available.
> >> The license has been reviewed by Unicode external counsel (me) as
> >> well as Unicode’s general counsel.
> >> Proliferation category: Recommend which license proliferation
> >> category is appropriate
> >> This license should be in the same category as its predecessor
> >> (“Special Purpose”), given that it addresses both software and data
> >> files.
> >>
> >> License Text:
> >> The license text requested to be approved is reproduced below (for
> >> those of you who to not wish to review, or do not receive the
> >> attachments).
> >>
> >>
> ========================================================================================================================================================
>
> >>
> >> UNICODE LICENSE V3
> >>
> >> COPYRIGHT AND PERMISSION NOTICE
> >>
> >> Copyright © <YEAR(S)> <COPYRIGHT HOLDER>
> >>
> >> NOTICE TO USER: Carefully read the following legal agreement. BY
> >> DOWNLOADING, INSTALLING, COPYING OR OTHERWISE USING DATA FILES,
> >> AND/OR SOFTWARE, YOU UNEQUIVOCALLY ACCEPT, AND AGREE TO BE BOUND BY,
> >> ALL OF THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS AGREEMENT. IF YOU DO NOT
> >> AGREE, DO NOT DOWNLOAD, INSTALL, COPY, DISTRIBUTE OR USE THE DATA
> >> FILES OR SOFTWARE.
> >>
> >> Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining
> >> a copy of data files and any associated documentation (the "Data
> >> Files") or software and any associated documentation (the "Software")
> >> to deal in the Data Files or Software without restriction, including
> >> without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish,
> >> distribute, and/or sell copies of the Data Files or Software, and to
> >> permit persons to whom the Data Files or Software are furnished to do
> >> so, provided that either (a) this copyright and permission notice
> >> appear with all copies of the Data Files or Software, or (b) this
> >> copyright and permission notice appear in associated Documentation.
> >>
> >> THE DATA FILES AND SOFTWARE ARE PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF
> >> ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE
> >> WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND
> >> NONINFRINGEMENT OF THIRD PARTY RIGHTS.
> >>
> >> IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT HOLDER OR HOLDERS INCLUDED IN THIS
> >> NOTICE BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, OR ANY SPECIAL 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 THE DATA FILES OR SOFTWARE.
> >>
> >> Except as contained in this notice, the name of a copyright holder
> >> shall not be used in advertising or otherwise to promote the sale,
> >> use or other dealings in these Data Files or Software without prior
> >> written
> >> authorization of the copyright holder.
> >>
> ===========================================================================================================================================================
> >>
> >> For Retirement
> >> Version: Specify exactly which version is being retired
> >> The current OSI-approved version, found here:
> >>
> https://opensource.org/license/unicode-inc-license-agreement-data-files-and-software/
> >> Successor: Identify successor license(s), if any.
> >> The new version of the license, submitted at the same time with the
> >> request for retirement/supersedence, above.
> >>
> >> _______________________________________________
> >> 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.
> >>
> >> License-review mailing list
> >> License-review at lists.opensource.org
> >>
> http://lists.opensource.org/mailman/listinfo/license-review_lists.opensource.org
> >>
> >
>
>
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