Hello legal gurus: I have been trying to get the authors of BitTorrent to change their license (the BitTorrent Open Source License) in order to make it suitable for inclusion in Debian. The BitTorrent Open Source License has been discussed before on this list [1, 2]. It is my understanding that the only two sections which cause problems are Section 13 (choice-of-venue) and Section 4.b (keep source online for 6 months).
I am trying to make it easy for Bram et al. to change the license and would like to propose new language specifically for him to include. The offending sections of the old license are included here, and my proposed changed sections. Would making these changes make the license suitable? Section 13: ORIGINAL: 13. Miscellaneous. This License represents the complete agreement concerning the subject matter hereof. If any provision of this License is held to be unenforceable, such provision shall be reformed only to the extent necessary to make it enforceable. This License shall be governed by California law provisions (except to the extent applicable law, if any, provides otherwise), excluding its conflict-of-law provisions. You expressly agree that any litigation relating to this license shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the Federal Courts of the Northern District of California or the Superior Court of the County of Santa Clara, California (as appropriate), with venue lying in Santa Clara County, California, with the losing party responsible for costs including, without limitation, court costs and reasonable attorneys fees and expenses. The application of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods is expressly excluded. You and Licensor expressly waive any rights to a jury trial in any litigation concerning Licensed Product or this License. Any law or regulation that provides that the language of a contract shall be construed against the drafter shall not apply to this License. MODIFIED: 13. Miscellaneous. This License represents the complete agreement concerning the subject matter hereof. If any provision of this License is held to be unenforceable, such provision shall be reformed only to the extent necessary to make it enforceable. This License shall be governed by California law provisions (except to the extent applicable law, if any, provides otherwise), excluding its conflict-of-law provisions. You expressly agree that any litigation relating to this license shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the Federal Courts of the Northern District of California or the Superior Court of the County of Santa Clara, California (as appropriate), with the losing party responsible for costs including, without limitation, court costs and reasonable attorneys fees and expenses. The application of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods is expressly excluded. You and Licensor expressly waive any rights to a jury trial in any litigation concerning Licensed Product or this License. Any law or regulation that provides that the language of a contract shall be construed against the drafter shall not apply to this License. Section 4.b: ORIGINAL: b. Availability of Source Code. You must make available, under the terms of this License, the Source Code of the Licensed Product and any Modifications that you distribute, either on the same media as you distribute any executable or other form of the Licensed Product, or via a mechanism generally accepted in the software development community for the electronic transfer of data (an "Electronic Distribution Mechanism"). The Source Code for any version of Licensed Product or Modifications that you distribute must remain available for at least twelve (12) months after the date it initially became available, or at least six (6) months after a subsequent version of said Licensed Product or Modifications has been made available. You are responsible for ensuring that the Source Code version remains available even if the Electronic Distribution Mechanism is maintained by a third party. MODIFIED: b. Availability of Source Code. You must make available, under the terms of this License, the Source Code of the Licensed Product and any Modifications that you distribute, either on the same media as you distribute any executable or other form of the Licensed Product, or via a mechanism generally accepted in the software development community for the electronic transfer of data (an "Electronic Distribution Mechanism"). The Source Code for any version of Licensed Product or Modifications that you distribute must remain available for as long as any executable or other form of the Licensed Product is available. You are responsible for ensuring that the Source Code version remains available even if the Electronic Distribution Mechanism is maintained by a third party. 1. http://lists.debian.org/debian-legal/2005/03/msg00181.html 2. http://lists.debian.org/debian-legal/2005/03/msg00581.html -- Michael Janssen --- Jamuraa --- [EMAIL PROTECTED] --- [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
