Hi everyone,
I'm a software developer at IBM, working on a project that we expect to
release as Open Source/Free Software. I voted for the GPL, but the higher
ups here at IBM have decided it should be released under a new
license called the "Common Public License". This license is basically the
IBM Public License with almost all references to IBM removed (IBM is still
the 'steward' of the license). See below for the actual license.
So, I am trying to get this license OSI and FSF approved. I figured this
would be a good forum to get comments before I send it to the OSI and FSF.
I'm assuming that since the IBM Public License is already OSI and FSF
approved (well, really only FSF evaluated) that there shouldn't be any
issues with this license.
The license is not yet available on any official IBM website, so I've
included it at the end of this email (if it's running off the right
side of your screen, sorry about the formatting...). For those who would
rather view an html version, I didn't want to include it in this email so
I've (temporarily!) put it on my home computer which is at:
http://www.root.cx/
or I can email an html version to anyone who wants it (or if my home
computer is down). As a reference for comparison, you can view the IBM
Public License at:
http://oss.software.ibm.com/developerworks/opensource/license10.html
Thanks!
--
Dan Streetman
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Common Public License - v 1.0
THE ACCOMPANYING PROGRAM IS PROVIDED UNDER THE TERMS OF THIS OPEN PUBLIC LICENSE
("AGREEMENT").
ANY USE, REPRODUCTION OR DISTRIBUTION OF THE PROGRAM CONSTITUTES RECIPIENT'S
ACCEPTANCE OF THIS AGREEMENT.
1. DEFINITIONS
"Contribution" means:
a) in the case of the initial Contributor, the initial code and documentation
distributed under this Agreement, and
b) in the case of each subsequent Contributor:
i) changes to the Program, and
ii) additions to the Program;
where such changes and/or additions to the Program originate from and are distributed
by that particular Contributor. A Contribution 'originates' from a Contributor if it
was added to the Program by such Contributor itself or anyone acting on such
Contributor's behalf. Contributions do not include additions to the Program which:
(i) are separate modules of software distributed in conjunction with the Program under
their own license agreement, and (ii) are not derivative works of the Program.
"Contributor" means any person or entity that distributes the Program.
"Licensed Patents " mean patent claims licensable by a Contributor which are
necessarily infringed by the use or sale of its Contribution alone or when combined
with the Program.
"Program" means the Contributions distributed in accordance with this Agreement.
"Recipient" means anyone who receives the Program under this Agreement, including all
Contributors.
2. GRANT OF RIGHTS
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.
3. REQUIREMENTS
A Contributor may choose to distribute the Program in object code form under its own
license agreement, provided that:
a) it complies with the terms and conditions of this Agreement; and
b) its license agreement:
i) effectively disclaims on behalf of all Contributors all warranties and
conditions, express and implied, including warranties or conditions of title and
non-infringement, and implied warranties or conditions of merchantability and fitness
for a particular purpose;
ii) effectively excludes on behalf of all Contributors all liability for damages,
including direct, indirect, special, incidental and consequential damages, such as
lost profits;
iii) states that any provisions which differ from this Agreement are offered by
that Contributor alone and not by any other party; and
iv) states that source code for the Program is available from such Contributor,
and informs licensees how to obtain it in a reasonable manner on or through a medium
customarily used for software exchange.
When the Program is made available in source code form:
a) it must be made available under this Agreement; and
b) a copy of this Agreement must be included with each copy of the Program.
Contributors may not remove or alter any copyright notices contained within the
Program.
Each Contributor must identify itself as the originator of its Contribution, if any,
in a manner that reasonably allows subsequent Recipients to identify the originator of
the Contribution.
4. COMMERCIAL DISTRIBUTION
Commercial distributors of software may accept certain responsibilities with respect
to end users, business partners and the like. While this license is intended to
facilitate the commercial use of the Program, the Contributor who includes the Program
in a commercial product offering should do so in a manner which does not create
potential liability for other Contributors. Therefore, if a Contributor includes the
Program in a commercial product offering, such Contributor ("Commercial Contributor")
hereby agrees to defend and indemnify every other Contributor ("Indemnified
Contributor") against any losses, damages and costs (collectively "Losses") arising
from claims, lawsuits and other legal actions brought by a third party against the
Indemnified Contributor to the extent caused by the acts or omissions of such
Commercial Contributor in connection with its distribution of the Program in a
commercial product offering. The obligations in this section do not apply to any
claims or Losses relating to any actual or alleged intellectual property infringement.
In order to qualify, an Indemnified Contributor must: a) promptly notify the
Commercial Contributor in writing of such claim, and b) allow the Commercial
Contributor to control, and cooperate with the Commercial Contributor in, the defense
and any related settlement negotiations. The Indemnified Contributor may participate
in any such claim at its own expense.
For example, a Contributor might include the Program in a commercial product offering,
Product X. That Contributor is then a Commercial Contributor. If that Commercial
Contributor then makes performance claims, or offers warranties related to Product X,
those performance claims and warranties are such Commercial Contributor's
responsibility alone. Under this section, the Commercial Contributor would have to
defend claims against the other Contributors related to those performance claims and
warranties, and if a court requires any other Contributor to pay any damages as a
result, the Commercial Contributor must pay those damages.
5. NO WARRANTY
EXCEPT AS EXPRESSLY SET FORTH IN THIS AGREEMENT, THE PROGRAM IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS"
BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED
INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF TITLE,
NON-INFRINGEMENT, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. Each Recipient
is solely responsible for determining the appropriateness of using and distributing
the Program and assumes all risks associated with its exercise of rights under this
Agreement, including but not limited to the risks and costs of program errors,
compliance with applicable laws, damage to or loss of data, programs or equipment, and
unavailability or interruption of operations.
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CONTRIBUTORS SHALL HAVE ANY LIABILITY FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL,
EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION LOST PROFITS),
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 OR
DISTRIBUTION OF THE PROGRAM OR THE EXERCISE OF ANY RIGHTS GRANTED HEREUNDER, EVEN IF
ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
7. GENERAL
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, and without further action by the parties hereto, such provision shall
be reformed to the minimum extent necessary to make such provision valid and
enforceable.
If Recipient institutes patent litigation against a Contributor with respect to a
patent applicable to software (including a cross-claim or counterclaim in a lawsuit),
then any patent licenses granted by that Contributor to such Recipient under this
Agreement shall terminate as of the date such litigation is filed. In addition, If
Recipient institutes patent litigation against any entity (including a cross-claim or
counterclaim in a lawsuit) alleging that the Program itself (excluding combinations of
the Program with other software or hardware) infringes such Recipient's patent(s),
then such Recipient's rights granted under Section 2(b) shall terminate as of the date
such litigation is filed.
All Recipient's rights under this Agreement shall terminate if it fails to comply with
any of the material terms or conditions of this Agreement and does not cure such
failure in a reasonable period of time after becoming aware of such noncompliance. If
all Recipient's rights under this Agreement terminate, Recipient agrees to cease use
and distribution of the Program as soon as reasonably practicable. However,
Recipient's obligations under this Agreement and any licenses granted by Recipient
relating to the Program shall continue and survive.
Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute copies of this Agreement, but in order to
avoid inconsistency the Agreement is copyrighted and may only be modified in the
following manner. The Agreement Steward reserves the right to publish new versions
(including revisions) of this Agreement from time to time. No one other than the
Agreement Steward has the right to modify this Agreement. IBM is the initial Agreement
Steward. IBM may assign the responsibility to serve as the Agreement Steward to a
suitable separate entity. Each new version of the Agreement will be given a
distinguishing version number. The Program (including Contributions) may always be
distributed subject to the version of the Agreement under which it was received. In
addition, after a new version of the Agreement is published, Contributor may elect to
distribute the Program (including its Contributions) under the new version. Except as
expressly stated in Sections 2(a) and 2(b) above, Recipient receives no rights or
licenses to the intellectual property of any Contributor under this Agreement, whether
expressly, by implication, estoppel or otherwise. All rights in the Program not
expressly granted under this Agreement are reserved.
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legal action under this Agreement more than one year after the cause of action arose.
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