Andrew M. St. Laurent - Understanding open source and free software licensing

[]

[]

distributing

[]

[]

[See also proprietary licenses]commercial softwareSection 1 (Definitions)contractscopyright lawcopyrights[See Commons Deed for the Attribution-;ShareAlike License][See Commons Deed for the Attribution-;ShareAlike License Version 2.0]

[]

[See software development using open source and free software licenses]

[]

enforcing licenses

[]

[See FSF]free software licenses[See legal impacts of open source and free software licensing]

[]

[See GPL][See LGPL]

[]

[]

[]

[]

[]

[See contracts]licenses[See Academic Free License][See Apache License][See BSD License][See classic proprietary licenses][See Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs License][See GPL][See LGPL][See MIT License][See MPL][See MIT License]Linux

[]

[See MPL]

[]

[]

[See drafting open source licenses]

[]

patents[See Artistic License (Perl][See also classic proprietary license]

[]

distribution

[]

[]

Community Membersprovisionssource code[See SCSL]

[]

[]

[]

[]

[]

[]

Reviews

Reader Reviews

Errata

Academic

Open Source and Free Software Licensing
By Andrew M. St. Laurent
Publisher	: O'Reilly
Pub Date	: August 2004
ISBN	: 0-596-00581-4
Pages	: 208

Licensing is a major part of what open source and freesoftware are all about, but it's still one of the mostcomplicated areas of law. Understanding OpenSource and Free Software Licensing explains yourlicensing options, how they compare and interoperate, andhow license choices affect project possibilities. If you'rean open source/free software developer, this book is anabsolute necessity.

CREATIVE COMMONS CORPORATION IS NOT A LAW FIRM AND DOES NOT PROVIDELEGAL SERVICES. DISTRIBUTION OF THIS LICENSE DOES NOT CREATE ANATTORNEY-CLIENT RELATIONSHIP. CREATIVE COMMONS PROVIDES THISINFORMATION ON AN "AS-IS" BASIS.CREATIVE COMMONS MAKES NO WARRANTIES REGARDING THE INFORMATIONPROVIDED, AND DISCLAIMS LIABILITY FOR DAMAGES RESULTING FROM ITS USE.

THE WORK (AS DEFINED BELOW) IS PROVIDED UNDER THE TERMS OF THISCREATIVE COMMONS PUBLIC LICENSE("CCPL" OR"LICENSE"). THE WORK IS PROTECTEDBY COPYRIGHT AND/OR OTHER APPLICABLE LAW. ANY USE OF THE WORK OTHERTHAN AS AUTHORIZED UNDER THIS LICENSE OR COPYRIGHT LAW IS PROHIBITED.

BY EXERCISING ANY RIGHTS TO THE WORK PROVIDED HERE, YOU ACCEPT ANDAGREE TO BE BOUND BY THE TERMS OF THIS LICENSE. THE LICENSOR GRANTSYOU THE RIGHTS CONTAINED HERE IN CONSIDERATION OF YOUR ACCEPTANCE OFSUCH TERMS AND CONDITIONS.

1. Definitions

a. " CollectiveWork " means a work, such as a periodicalissue, anthology or encyclopedia, in which the Work in its entiretyin unmodified form, along with a number of other contributions,constituting separate and independent works in themselves, areassembled into a collective whole. A work that constitutes aCollective Work will not be considered a Derivative Work (as definedbelow) for the purposes of this License.

b. " DerivativeWork " means a work based upon the Work orupon the Work and other pre-existing works, such as a translation,musical arrangement, dramatization, fictionalization, motion pictureversion, sound recording, art reproduction, abridgment, condensation,or any other form in which the Work may be recast, transformed, oradapted, except that a work that constitutes a Collective Work willnot be considered a Derivative Work for the purpose of this License.For the avoidance of doubt, where the Work is a musical compositionor sound recording, the synchronization of the Work in timed-relationwith a moving image ("synching")will be considered a Derivative Work for the purpose of this License.

c. " Licensor "means the individual or entity that offers the Work under the termsof this License.

d. " OriginalAuthor " means the individual or entitywho created the Work.

e. " Work " meansthe copyrightable work of authorship offered under the terms of thisLicense.

f. " You " meansan individual or entity exercising rights under this License who hasnot previously violated the terms of this License with respect to theWork, or who has received express permission from the Licensor toexercise rights under this License despite a previous violation.

2. Fair Use Rights .Nothing in this license is intended toreduce, limit, or restrict any rights arising from fair use, firstsale or other limitations on the exclusive rights of the copyrightowner under copyright law or other applicable laws.

3. License Grant . Subject to the terms and conditions ofthis License, Licensor hereby grants You a worldwide, royalty-free,non-exclusive, perpetual (for the duration of the applicablecopyright) license to exercise the rights in the Work as statedbelow:

a. to reproduce the Work, to incorporate the Work into one or moreCollective Works, and to reproduce the Work as incorporated in theCollective Works;

b. to distribute copies or phonorecords of, display publicly, performpublicly, and perform publicly by means of a digital audiotransmission the Work including as incorporated in Collective Works.

c. For the avoidance of doubt, where the work is a musical composition:

1. Performance Royalties Under BlanketLicenses . Licensor waives the exclusive right to collect,whether individually or via a performance rights society (e.g. ASCAP,BMI, SESAC), royalties for the public performance or public digitalperformance (e.g. webcast) of the Work.

2. Mechanical Rights and StatutoryRoyalties . Licensor waives the exclusive right to collect,whether individually or via a music rights society or designatedagent (e.g. Harry Fox Agency), royalties for any phonorecord Youcreate from the Work ("coverversion") and distribute, subject to the compulsorylicense created by 17 USC Section 115 of the US Copyright Act (or theequivalent in other jurisdictions).

d. Webcasting Rights and StatutoryRoyalties . For the avoidance of doubt, where the Work is asound recording, Licensor waives the exclusive right to collect,whether individually or via a performance-rights society (e.g.SoundExchange), royalties for the public digital performance (e.g.webcast) of the Work, subject to the compulsory license created by 17USC Section 114 of the US Copyright Act (or the equivalent in otherjurisdictions).

4. Restrictions . The license granted in Section3 above is expressly made subject to and limited by the followingrestrictions:

a. You may distribute, publicly display, publicly perform, or publiclydigitally perform the Work only under the terms of this License, andYou must include a copy of, or the Uniform Resource Identifier for,this License with every copy or phonorecord of the Work Youdistribute, publicly display, publicly perform, or publicly digitallyperform. You may not offer or impose any terms on the Work that alteror restrict the terms of this License or therecipients' exercise of the rights grantedhereunder. You may not sublicense the Work. You must keep intact allnotices that refer to this License and to the disclaimer ofwarranties. You may not distribute, publicly display, publiclyperform, or publicly digitally perform the Work with anytechnological measures that control access or use of the Work in amanner inconsistent with the terms of this License Agreement. Theabove applies to the Work as incorporated in a Collective Work, butthis does not require the Collective Work apart from the Work itselfto be made subject to the terms of this License. If You create aCollective Work, upon notice from any Licensor You must, to theextent practicable, remove from the Collective Work any reference tosuch Licensor or the Original Author, as requested.

Next page