Mail Archives: opendos/1997/09/24/01:56:36
> OK, bear in mind that the following reaction is my feeling on what I want
> from such a licence, it is not a criticism of what you or anyone else wants.
Ditto. I don't personally need all the restrictions of Pat's suggested
license (http://www.iop.com/~patv), but then again I want to keep the
requirement that derived works must be as free as the original (sources
and all open & free).
I'm sure we're going to get lots of different positions on the licence
question.
Caldera seems to have a problem with GPL - that it ties their hands too
much. I can understand that. Of course, this discussion doesn't have
to affect anything Caldera does - just new programs to run under
OpenDOS we might make.
I have two main goals:
(1) to come up with a licence for my own software that doesn't discourage others
from taking up my software and improving it in the way Linux benefits from
many developers around the world.
(2) to avoid the work I put into my software being used simply by
somebody sticking their own name on it and selling it (or any distribution
of my work that spoils my reputation because somebody has hacked my code
but end-users think it is all my stuff).
If somebody wants to sell my software I don't mind them making money
out of it but I'd want it to either be totally unchanged (so people can
see who wrote it, where to get the original or updates, and see how
much they were ripped off for the sale of free software), *or* I'd like
to arrange some deal (over updates, code quality and perhaps cash) with
the distributor or author of new software that is based on mine.
Since it is quite short, I've enclosed my hacked version of Pat's
licence for further discussion....
CONDITIONS
You are free to use this software provided you accept the warranty
disclaimer below. You are also free to distribute this software so
long as you EITHER distribute the software non-commercially (that means
for free, or including a small charge simply to recover distribution
costs), unmodified and without omission (that includes the file you are
reading!), OR obey the following conditions:
1. You may modify the software so long as you distribute the derived
works openly with the same conditions as the original software, and
include all the original embedded copyright notices along with this
list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
2. The name of the author(s) may not be used to endorse or promote
products derived from this software without their specific prior
written permission, and it must be clear to any user or buyer of the
derived works who the original author(s) are and what changes have
occurred.
3. You must obtain the permission of the author(s) before distributing
this software or derived works (including combining it with commercial
systems) commercially or depart in any way from the above conditions.
THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE AUTHOR(S) ``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 AUTHOR(S) 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. IF YOU USE IT IN NUCLEAR FACILITIES HAVE
A BACKUP COPY OF EARTH AVAILABLE IN CASE THIS ONE IS ACCIDENTALLY DESTROYED.
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Mark Aitchison, Physics & Astronomy \_ Phone : +64 3 3642-947 a.h. 3371-225
University of Canterbury, </ Fax : +64 3 3642-469 or 3642-999
Christchurch, New Zealand. /) E-mail: phys169 AT csc DOT canterbury DOT ac DOT nz
#include <disclaimer.std> (/' Callsign: ZL3TQE
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