Microsoft Public License DFSG compatibility
Hello, I was going to package some software that has portions licensed under the Microsoft Public License. Is it copatible with the DFSG? A quick search yielded no results. Below is the full text of the license. Thanks, -- Ben Westover This license governs use of the accompanying software. If you use the software, you accept this license. If you do not accept the license, do not use the software. 1. Definitions The terms "reproduce," "reproduction," "derivative works," and "distribution" have the same meaning here as under U.S. copyright law. A "contribution" is the original software, or any additions or changes to the software. A "contributor" is any person that distributes its contribution under this license. "Licensed patents" are a contributor's patent claims that read directly on its contribution. 2. Grant of Rights (A) Copyright Grant- Subject to the terms of this license, including the license conditions and limitations in section 3, each contributor grants you a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free copyright license to reproduce its contribution, prepare derivative works of its contribution, and distribute its contribution or any derivative works that you create. (B) Patent Grant- Subject to the terms of this license, including the license conditions and limitations in section 3, each contributor grants you a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license under its licensed patents to make, have made, use, sell, offer for sale, import, and/or otherwise dispose of its contribution in the software or derivative works of the contribution in the software. 3. Conditions and Limitations (A) No Trademark License- This license does not grant you rights to use any contributors' name, logo, or trademarks. (B) If you bring a patent claim against any contributor over patents that you claim are infringed by the software, your patent license from such contributor to the software ends automatically. (C) If you distribute any portion of the software, you must retain all copyright, patent, trademark, and attribution notices that are present in the software. (D) If you distribute any portion of the software in source code form, you may do so only under this license by including a complete copy of this license with your distribution. If you distribute any portion of the software in compiled or object code form, you may only do so under a license that complies with this license. (E) The software is licensed "as-is." You bear the risk of using it. The contributors give no express warranties, guarantees or conditions. You may have additional consumer rights under your local laws which this license cannot change. To the extent permitted under your local laws, the contributors exclude the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement. OpenPGP_signature Description: OpenPGP digital signature
Re: Is the APSL 2.0 DFSG-compliant?
Hi Walter, On August 5, 2022 1:03:18 AM EDT, Walter Landry wrote: >As someone who participated in that original exchange in 2004, APSL 2.0 >still looks impossible to follow. If Debian suddenly goes off-line, >Debian is not in compliance with the license. How exactly does Debian "go off-line", with so many mirrors and other forms of redundancy? >For all of the other >licenses, offering the source at the same time is sufficient. For APSL >2.0, Debian has to keep the source archive up for at least 12 months >since it last published a modification. Doesn't the GPL2 mandate three years of distribution for non-personal modifications? -- Ben Westover signature.asc Description: PGP signature
Re: Is the APSL 2.0 DFSG-compliant?
Hello, On 8/4/22 8:30 PM, Paul Wise wrote: > What would have changed since the 2004 review of APSL 2.0? Here's a quote from that 2020 challenge of the APSL-1.2 being considered non-free in 2001: > For the APSL-1.2, it seems that the only clause that makes the > license non-DFSG-compliant is this one: > >> (c) You must make Source Code of all Your Deployed Modifications >> publicly available under the terms of this License, including >> the license grants set forth in Section 3 below, for as long as >> you Deploy the Covered Code or twelve (12) months from the date >> of initial Deployment, whichever is longer. You should >> preferably distribute the Source Code of Your Deployed >> Modifications electronically (e.g. download from a web site); > > It was claimed in [6] that this clause makes the APSL-1.2 > non-DFSG-compliant as it's not possible for Debian to keep every > single modification around for at least 12 months. > > This claim may have been valid in 2001, but I think it does not hold > up for 2020 since source code to packaging in Debian is usually > maintained in Salsa or Github and therefore keeping all modifications > available for 12 months and longer, plus there is Debian Snapshots [7] > which keeps a older versions of a package around as well - including > source code. Things like this make me question whether the 2004 decision to consider the APSL 2.0 non-DFSG-compliant is still valid in 2022. In fact, after reading through the thread [1] the wiki references making the APSL 2.0 incompatible with the DFSG, I'm not so sure it does that. IANAL, but from what I could understand it seemed that there was a good argument that the alleged non-DFSG clauses actually *did* comply with the DFSG, and that argument wasn't fully refuted. The wiki references one other thread, but that thread is specifically about the APSL 1.2, which the APSL 2.0 fixes the issues of according to the FSF. That thread was finished about two years before the APSL 2.0 came into existence. I just want to reopen the issue of whether or not the APSL 2.0, not 1.2, is DFSG-compliant, reviewing it fully instead of relying on a questionable decision made in 2001/4. Thanks, -- Ben Westover [1]: https://lists.debian.org/debian-legal/2004/06/msg00573.html OpenPGP_signature Description: OpenPGP digital signature
Re: Is the APSL 2.0 DFSG-compliant?
Hello Paul, On 8/4/22 02:32, Paul Wise wrote: The wiki describes it as being non-free and cites two threads: https://wiki.debian.org/DFSGLicenses#Apple_Public_Source_License_.28APSL.29 https://lists.debian.org/msgid-search/20010928105424z@physics.utah.edu https://lists.debian.org/msgid-search/20040626225314.5da7f9da@firenze.linux.it There are recent challenges to it being non-free in these threads: https://lists.debian.org/msgid-search/d2119303-b470-9ebe-138e-1b57deb8c...@physik.fu-berlin.de https://lists.debian.org/msgid-search/eff03d85-7990-af04-caac-57b076cc9...@physik.fu-berlin.de Thanks for these links. My choices for precedent are a conversations from almost a decade ago or a modern challenge that talks about an earlier version of that license. The APSL 1.* is very different to the APSL 2.0, and many of the previous issues with 1.* are solved in 2.0 according to the FSF. Some have argued it's less strict than even the GPL-2. I've seen a lot of those earlier conversations, but I just wanted a modern review of the license to see if version 2.0 specifically of the license is seen as DFSG-compliant in 2022, not based on 2000s precedent. There are copies of the license in Debian main: https://codesearch.debian.net/search?q=APPLE+PUBLIC+SOURCE+LICENSE&literal=1 Interesting, the APSL 2.0 is seen in some relatively important packages like Chromium and QtWebEngine. Thanks for the info! -- Ben Westover OpenPGP_signature Description: OpenPGP digital signature
Re: Is the APSL 2.0 DFSG-compliant?
Hello Mihai, On 8/4/22 02:03, Mihai Moldovan wrote: According to https://wiki.debian.org/DFSGLicenses#Apple_Public_Source_License_.28APSL.29 , which also lists discussions/reasoning for version 1.0 (which is considered non-free) and your desired version 2.0, it is considered free, but DFSG-incompatible. Those are based on conversations that are almost a decade old, and some things have changed since then. I just wanted a re-review of the license in 2022 to see if the complaints from before still hold up today. Thanks, -- Ben Westover OpenPGP_signature Description: OpenPGP digital signature
Is the APSL 2.0 DFSG-compliant?
Hello,
I was wondering if the Apple Public Source License (version 2.0)
complies with the DFSG. The Free Software Foundation considers it to be
a free software license (https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/apsl.en.html),
but I just wanted to make sure it's compatible with the DFSG. Below is
the full text of the license.
Thanks,
--
Ben Westover
APPLE PUBLIC SOURCE LICENSE
Version 2.0 - August 6, 2003
Please read this License carefully before downloading this software.
By downloading or using this software, you are agreeing to be bound by
the terms of this License. If you do not or cannot agree to the terms
of this License, please do not download or use the software.
1. General; Definitions. This License applies to any program or other
work which Apple Computer, Inc. ("Apple") makes publicly available and
which contains a notice placed by Apple identifying such program or
work as "Original Code" and stating that it is subject to the terms of
this Apple Public Source License version 2.0 ("License"). As used in
this License:
1.1 "Applicable Patent Rights" mean: (a) in the case where Apple is
the grantor of rights, (i) claims of patents that are now or hereafter
acquired, owned by or assigned to Apple and (ii) that cover subject
matter contained in the Original Code, but only to the extent
necessary to use, reproduce and/or distribute the Original Code
without infringement; and (b) in the case where You are the grantor of
rights, (i) claims of patents that are now or hereafter acquired,
owned by or assigned to You and (ii) that cover subject matter in Your
Modifications, taken alone or in combination with Original Code.
1.2 "Contributor" means any person or entity that creates or
contributes to the creation of Modifications.
1.3 "Covered Code" means the Original Code, Modifications, the
combination of Original Code and any Modifications, and/or any
respective portions thereof.
1.4 "Externally Deploy" means: (a) to sublicense, distribute or
otherwise make Covered Code available, directly or indirectly, to
anyone other than You; and/or (b) to use Covered Code, alone or as
part of a Larger Work, in any way to provide a service, including but
not limited to delivery of content, through electronic communication
with a client other than You.
1.5 "Larger Work" means a work which combines Covered Code or portions
thereof with code not governed by the terms of this License.
1.6 "Modifications" mean any addition to, deletion from, and/or change
to, the substance and/or structure of the Original Code, any previous
Modifications, the combination of Original Code and any previous
Modifications, and/or any respective portions thereof. When code is
released as a series of files, a Modification is: (a) any addition to
or deletion from the contents of a file containing Covered Code;
and/or (b) any new file or other representation of computer program
statements that contains any part of Covered Code.
1.7 "Original Code" means (a) the Source Code of a program or other
work as originally made available by Apple under this License,
including the Source Code of any updates or upgrades to such programs
or works made available by Apple under this License, and that has been
expressly identified by Apple as such in the header file(s) of such
work; and (b) the object code compiled from such Source Code and
originally made available by Apple under this License.
1.8 "Source Code" means the human readable form of a program or other
work that is suitable for making modifications to it, including all
modules it contains, plus any associated interface definition files,
scripts used to control compilation and installation of an executable
(object code).
1.9 "You" or "Your" means an individual or a legal entity exercising
rights under this License. For legal entities, "You" or "Your"
includes any entity which controls, is controlled by, or is under
common control with, You, where "control" means (a) the power, direct
or indirect, to cause the direction or management of such entity,
whether by contract or otherwise, or (b) ownership of fifty percent
(50%) or more of the outstanding shares or beneficial ownership of
such entity.
2. Permitted Uses; Conditions & Restrictions. Subject to the terms
and conditions of this License, Apple hereby grants You, effective on
the date You accept this License and download the Original Code, a
world-wide, royalty-free, non-exclusive license, to the extent of
Apple's Applicable Patent Rights and copyrights covering the Original
Code, to do the following:
2.1 Unmodified Code. You may use, reproduce, display, perform,
internally distribute within Your organization, and Externally Deploy
verbatim, unmodified copies of the Original Code, for commercial or
non-commercial purposes, provided that in each instance:
(a) You must ret
