Firstly, it would be much better if they used an existing,
well-understood free license rather than reinventing the legal wheel.
Secondly, I was under the impression that all US Government works are
supposed to be public domain, under what circumstances is this license
used?
Third, I quote the full license below for the archives:
NASA OPEN SOURCE AGREEMENT VERSION 1.3
THIS OPEN SOURCE AGREEMENT (“AGREEMENT”) DEFINES THE RIGHTS OF
USE, REPRODUCTION, DISTRIBUTION, MODIFICATION AND REDISTRIBUTION
OF CERTAIN COMPUTER SOFTWARE ORIGINALLY RELEASED BY THE UNITED
STATES GOVERNMENT AS REPRESENTED BY THE GOVERNMENT AGENCY
LISTED BELOW ("GOVERNMENT AGENCY"). THE UNITED STATES
GOVERNMENT, AS REPRESENTED BY GOVERNMENT AGENCY, IS AN
INTENDED THIRD-PARTY BENEFICIARY OF ALL SUBSEQUENT DISTRIBUTIONS
OR REDISTRIBUTIONS OF THE SUBJECT SOFTWARE. ANYONE WHO USES,
REPRODUCES, DISTRIBUTES, MODIFIES OR REDISTRIBUTES THE SUBJECT
SOFTWARE, AS DEFINED HEREIN, OR ANY PART THEREOF, IS, BY THAT
ACTION, ACCEPTING IN FULL THE RESPONSIBILITIES AND OBLIGATIONS
CONTAINED IN THIS AGREEMENT.
Government Agency: _____________________________________
Government Agency Original Software Designation: ______________
Government Agency Original Software Title: ____________________
User Registration Requested. Please Visit http://__________________
Government Agency Point of Contact for Original Software: ___________________
________________________________________________
1. DEFINITIONS
A. “Contributor” means Government Agency, as the developer of
the Original Software,
and any entity that makes a Modification.
B. “Covered Patents” mean patent claims licensable by a
Contributor that are necessarily
infringed by the use or sale of its Modification alone or when
combined with the Subject
Software.
C. “Display” means the showing of a copy of the Subject
Software, either directly or by
means of an image, or any other device.
D. “Distribution” means conveyance or transfer of the Subject
Software, regardless of
means, to another.
E. “Larger Work” means computer software that combines Subject
Software, or portions
thereof, with software separate from the Subject Software that is not
governed by the terms of
this Agreement.
F. “Modification” means any alteration of, including addition
to or deletion from, the
substance or structure of either the Original Software or Subject
Software, and includes
derivative works, as that term is defined in the Copyright Statute, 17
USC 101. However, the
act of including Subject Software as part of a Larger Work does not in
and of itself constitute a
Modification.
G. “Original Software” means the computer software first
released under this Agreement
by Government Agency with Government Agency designation ______________
and entitled
_____________________________________________, including source code,
object code
and accompanying documentation, if any.
H. “Recipient” means anyone who acquires the Subject Software
under this Agreement,
including all Contributors.
I. “Redistribution” means Distribution of the Subject Software
after a Modification has
been made.
J. “Reproduction” means the making of a counterpart, image or
copy of the Subject
Software.
K. “Sale” means the exchange of the Subject Software for money or
equivalent value.
L. “Subject Software” means the Original Software, Modifications,
or any respective parts
thereof.
M. “Use” means the application or employment of the Subject
Software for any purpose.
2. GRANT OF RIGHTS
A. Under Non-Patent Rights: Subject to the terms and conditions
of this Agreement, each
Contributor, with respect to its own contribution to the Subject
Software, hereby grants to each
Recipient a non-exclusive, world-wide, royalty-free license to engage
in the following activities
pertaining to the Subject Software:
1. Use
2. Distribution
3. Reproduction
4. Modification
5. Redistribution
6. Display
B. Under Patent Rights: Subject to the terms and conditions of
this Agreement, each
Contributor, with respect to its own contribution to the Subject
Software, hereby grants to each
Recipient under Covered Patents a non-exclusive, world-wide,
royalty-free license to engage in
the following activities pertaining to the Subject Software:
1. Use
2. Distribution
3. Reproduction
4. Sale
5. Offer for Sale
C. The rights granted under Paragraph B. also apply to the
combination of a Contributor’s
Modification and the Subject Software if, at the time the Modification
is added by the
Contributor, the addition of such Modification causes the combination
to be covered by the
Covered Patents. It does not apply to any other combinations that
include a Modification.
D. The rights granted in Paragraphs A. and B. allow the Recipient
to sublicense those
same rights. Such sublicense must be under the same terms and
conditions of this Agreement.
3. OBLIGATIONS OF RECIPIENT
A. Distribution or Redistribution of the Subject Software must be
made under this
Agreement except for additions covered under paragraph 3H.
1. Whenever a Recipient distributes or redistributes the Subject
Software, a copy of this
Agreement must be included with each copy of the Subject Software; and
2. If Recipient distributes or redistributes the Subject Software
in any form other than
source code, Recipient must also make the source code freely
available, and must provide with
each copy of the Subject Software information on how to obtain the
source code in a
reasonable manner on or through a medium customarily used for software exchange.
B. Each Recipient must ensure that the following copyright notice
appears prominently in
the Subject Software:
[Government Agency will insert the applicable
copyright notice in each
agreement accompanying the initial distribution of
original software and remove
this bracketed language.]
[The following copyright notice will be used if created
by a contractor pursuant to
Government Agency contract and rights obtained from
creator by assignment.
Government Agency will insert the year and its Agency
designation and remove the
bracketed language.] Copyright {YEAR} United States
Government as represented
by ______
_________________________. All Rights Reserved.
[The following copyright notice will be used if
created by civil servants only.
Government Agency will insert the year and its Agency
designation and remove the
bracketed language.] Copyright {YEAR} United States
Government as represented
by _____________
_____________________________. No copyright is claimed in
the United States
under Title 17, U.S.Code. All Other Rights Reserved.
C. Each Contributor must characterize its alteration of the
Subject Software as a
Modification and must identify itself as the originator of its
Modification in a manner that
reasonably allows subsequent Recipients to identify the originator of
the Modification. In
fulfillment of these requirements, Contributor must include a file
(e.g., a change log file) that
describes the alterations made and the date of the alterations,
identifies Contributor as originator
of the alterations, and consents to characterization of the
alterations as a Modification, for
example, by including a statement that the Modification is derived,
directly or indirectly, from
Original Software provided by Government Agency. Once consent is
granted, it may not
thereafter be revoked.
D. A Contributor may add its own copyright notice to the Subject
Software. Once a
copyright notice has been added to the Subject Software, a Recipient
may not remove it without
the express permission of the Contributor who added the notice.
E. A Recipient may not make any representation in the Subject
Software or in any
promotional, advertising or other material that may be construed as an
endorsement by
Government Agency or by any prior Recipient of any product or service
provided by
Recipient, or that may seek to obtain commercial advantage by the fact
of Government
Agency's or a prior Recipient’s participation in this Agreement.
F. In an effort to track usage and maintain accurate records of
the Subject Software, each
Recipient, upon receipt of the Subject Software, is requested to
register with Government
Agency by visiting the following website:
______________________________. Recipient’s
name and personal information shall be used for statistical purposes
only. Once a Recipient
makes a Modification available, it is requested that the Recipient
inform Government Agency at
the web site provided above how to access the Modification.
[Alternative paragraph for use when a web site
for release and monitoring
of subject software will not be supported by
releasing Government Agency]
In an effort to track usage and maintain accurate
records of the Subject
Software, each Recipient, upon receipt of the
Subject Software, is requested
to provide Government Agency, by e-mail to the
Government Agency Point
of Contact listed in clause 5.F., the following
information:
______________________________. Recipient’s name
and personal
information shall be used for statistical
purposes only. Once a Recipient
makes a Modification available, it is requested
that the Recipient inform
Government Agency, by e-mail to the Government
Agency Point of Contact
listed in clause 5.F., how to access the Modification.
G. Each Contributor represents that that its Modification is
believed to be Contributor’s
original creation and does not violate any existing agreements,
regulations, statutes or rules, and
further that Contributor has sufficient rights to grant the rights
conveyed by this Agreement.
H. A Recipient may choose to offer, and to charge a fee for,
warranty, support, indemnity
and/or liability obligations to one or more other Recipients of the
Subject Software. A
Recipient may do so, however, only on its own behalf and not on behalf
of Government
Agency or any other Recipient. Such a Recipient must make it
absolutely clear that any such
warranty, support, indemnity and/or liability obligation is offered by
that Recipient alone.
Further, such Recipient agrees to indemnify Government Agency and
every other Recipient for
any liability incurred by them as a result of warranty, support,
indemnity and/or liability offered
by such Recipient.
I. A Recipient may create a Larger Work by combining Subject
Software with separate
software not governed by the terms of this agreement and distribute
the Larger Work as a
single product. In such case, the Recipient must make sure Subject
Software, or portions
thereof, included in the Larger Work is subject to this Agreement.
J. Notwithstanding any provisions contained herein, Recipient is
hereby put on notice that
export of any goods or technical data from the United States may
require some form of export
license from the U.S. Government. Failure to obtain necessary export
licenses may result in
criminal liability under U.S. laws. Government Agency neither
represents that a license shall
not be required nor that, if required, it shall be issued. Nothing
granted herein provides any
such export license.
4. DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES AND LIABILITIES; WAIVER AND
INDEMNIFICATION
A. No Warranty: THE SUBJECT SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED “AS IS” WITHOUT
ANY WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED, IMPLIED, OR
STATUTORY, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ANY WARRANTY THAT THE
SUBJECT SOFTWARE WILL CONFORM TO SPECIFICATIONS, ANY IMPLIED
WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE,
OR FREEDOM FROM INFRINGEMENT, ANY WARRANTY THAT THE SUBJECT
SOFTWARE WILL BE ERROR FREE, OR ANY WARRANTY THAT
DOCUMENTATION, IF PROVIDED, WILL CONFORM TO THE SUBJECT
SOFTWARE. THIS AGREEMENT DOES NOT, IN ANY MANNER, CONSTITUTE AN
ENDORSEMENT BY GOVERNMENT AGENCY OR ANY PRIOR RECIPIENT OF
ANY RESULTS, RESULTING DESIGNS, HARDWARE, SOFTWARE PRODUCTS OR
ANY OTHER APPLICATIONS RESULTING FROM USE OF THE SUBJECT
SOFTWARE. FURTHER, GOVERNMENT AGENCY DISCLAIMS ALL
WARRANTIES AND LIABILITIES REGARDING THIRD-PARTY SOFTWARE, IF
PRESENT IN THE ORIGINAL SOFTWARE, AND DISTRIBUTES IT “AS IS.”
B. Waiver and Indemnity: RECIPIENT AGREES TO WAIVE ANY AND ALL
CLAIMS AGAINST THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT, ITS CONTRACTORS
AND SUBCONTRACTORS, AS WELL AS ANY PRIOR RECIPIENT. IF RECIPIENT'S
USE OF THE SUBJECT SOFTWARE RESULTS IN ANY LIABILITIES, DEMANDS,
DAMAGES, EXPENSES OR LOSSES ARISING FROM SUCH USE, INCLUDING
ANY DAMAGES FROM PRODUCTS BASED ON, OR RESULTING FROM,
RECIPIENT'S USE OF THE SUBJECT SOFTWARE, RECIPIENT SHALL INDEMNIFY
AND HOLD HARMLESS THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT, ITS
CONTRACTORS AND SUBCONTRACTORS, AS WELL AS ANY PRIOR RECIPIENT,
TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW. RECIPIENT'S SOLE REMEDY FOR ANY
SUCH MATTER SHALL BE THE IMMEDIATE, UNILATERAL TERMINATION OF
THIS AGREEMENT.
5. GENERAL TERMS
A. Termination: This Agreement and the rights granted hereunder
will terminate
automatically if a Recipient fails to comply with these terms and
conditions, and fails to cure
such noncompliance within thirty (30) days of becoming aware of such
noncompliance. Upon
termination, a Recipient agrees to immediately cease use and
distribution of the Subject
Software. All sublicenses to the Subject Software properly granted by
the breaching Recipient
shall survive any such termination of this Agreement.
B. Severability: If any provision of this Agreement is invalid or
unenforceable under
applicable law, it shall not affect the validity or enforceability of
the remainder of the terms of
this Agreement.
C. Applicable Law: This Agreement shall be subject to United
States federal law only for
all purposes, including, but not limited to, determining the validity
of this Agreement, the
meaning of its provisions and the rights, obligations and remedies of
the parties.
D. Entire Understanding: This Agreement constitutes the entire
understanding and
agreement of the parties relating to release of the Subject Software
and may not be superseded,
modified or amended except by further written agreement duly executed
by the parties.
E. Binding Authority: By accepting and using the Subject Software
under this
Agreement, a Recipient affirms its authority to bind the Recipient to
all terms and conditions of
this Agreement and that that Recipient hereby agrees to all terms and
conditions herein.
F. Point of Contact: Any Recipient contact with Government Agency
is to be directed to
the designated representative as follows:
--
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pabs
http://wiki.debian.org/PaulWise
http://bonedaddy.net/pabs3/
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