> > > What are the ramifications of releasing software with a statement > > > of what type of license the software can be used under, instead of > > > explicit terms and conditions?
On Sat, 25 Nov 2000, Raul Miller wrote: > > The big question would be: did the author really mean what was said? On Mon, Nov 27, 2000 at 04:36:01PM -0700, Bruce Sass wrote: > I don't see how that would be relevant; if the words do not convey the > author's intent then the author should have been more careful with > what words were used. I mean, you have to work with what you have, > anything else is fantasy, right. Ok, I'll try to rephrase that. The big question is: what would a court say about what the author intended, given some nonspecific phasing such as what you've proposed. > > > e.g., If a package is release with the following license statement > > > (or whatever conveys the same intent, which I hope is clear): > > > > > > This software can be used by individuals and corporations under > > > the terms and conditions of any license that conforms to the > > > Debian Free Software Guidelines. > > > > Any license? For example, public domain software meets DFSG. > > That is correct. In that case, the software is essentially in the public domain. You can do anything with public domain software, including rereleasing it under any non-DFSG license. Which leads back to the first question: would a court agree that this is what the author specified? > > > can one then go on to say... > > > > > > Redistribution of this software, or any work derived from it, > > > must contain this license statement. > > > > I think this statement would be ambiguous. > > In what way? > (keep in mind that both statements should be read as `the gist of it') > If anything, I expected the last statement to be seen as potentially > conflicting with a DFSG compliant license. One reason it's ambiguous because once you release something into the public domain you loose control over it and further re-releases no longer have the restriction that the license statment must be included. Thanks, -- Raul
