On Wed, Oct 08, 2025 at 10:36:02PM +0200, Simon Josefsson wrote: > All, > > Did we discuss this license? > > https://github.com/EthicalSource/contributor_covenant/blob/release/LICENSE.md > https://firstdonoharm.dev/version/3/0/core.txt > > Quoting the core variant below for ease of review. It looks challenging > from a DFSG-perspective to me. >
Hi, DEFINITELY non-DFSG > The licenser builder on https://firstdonoharm.dev/build/ that will > create custom opinionated variants of the license seems even more > interesting. > > /Simon > > HIPPOCRATIC LICENSE > > Version 3.0, October 2021 > > https://firstdonoharm.dev/version/3/0/core.txt > > TERMS AND CONDITIONS > > TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR USE, COPY, MODIFICATION, PREPARATION OF DERIVATIVE > WORK, REPRODUCTION, AND DISTRIBUTION: > > 1. DEFINITIONS: > > This section defines certain terms used throughout this license agreement. > > 1.1. “License” means the terms and conditions, as stated herein, for use, > copy, > modification, preparation of derivative work, reproduction, and distribution > of > Software (as defined below). > > 1.2. “Licensor” means the copyright and/or patent owner or entity authorized > by > the copyright and/or patent owner that is granting the License. > > 1.3. “Licensee” means the individual or entity exercising permissions granted > by > this License, including the use, copy, modification, preparation of derivative > work, reproduction, and distribution of Software (as defined below). > > 1.4. “Software” means any copyrighted work, including but not limited to > software code, authored by Licensor and made available under this License. > > 1.5. “Supply Chain” means the sequence of processes involved in the production > and/or distribution of a commodity, good, or service offered by the Licensee. > > 1.6. “Supply Chain Impacted Party” or “Supply Chain Impacted Parties” means > any > person(s) directly impacted by any of Licensee’s Supply Chain, including the > practices of all persons or entities within the Supply Chain prior to a good > or > service reaching the Licensee. > The next section is very Anglophone lawyerese. > 1.7. “Duty of Care” is defined by its use in tort law, delict law, and/or > similar bodies of law closely related to tort and/or delict law, including > without limitation, a requirement to act with the watchfulness, attention, > caution, and prudence that a reasonable person in the same or similar > circumstances would use towards any Supply Chain Impacted Party. > This is impossible to define watchfulness, attention and it is requiring the person accepting this to behave in a certain way. > 1.8. “Worker” is defined to include any and all permanent, temporary, and > agency > workers, as well as piece-rate, salaried, hourly paid, legal young (minors), > part-time, night, and migrant workers. > > 2. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY GRANTS: > > This section identifies intellectual property rights granted to a Licensee. > > 2.1. Grant of Copyright License: Subject to the terms and conditions of this > License, Licensor hereby grants to Licensee a worldwide, non-exclusive, > no-charge, royalty-free copyright license to use, copy, modify, prepare > derivative work, reproduce, or distribute the Software, Licensor authored > modified software, or other work derived from the Software. > > 2.2. Grant of Patent License: Subject to the terms and conditions of this > License, Licensor hereby grants Licensee a worldwide, non-exclusive, > no-charge, > royalty-free patent license to make, have made, use, offer to sell, sell, > import, and otherwise transfer Software. > > 3. ETHICAL STANDARDS: > > This section lists conditions the Licensee must comply with in order to have > rights under this License. > > The rights granted to the Licensee by this License are expressly made subject > to > the Licensee’s ongoing compliance with the following conditions: > > * 3.1. The Licensee SHALL NOT, whether directly or indirectly, through agents > or assigns: > This demands perfect behaviour and rational buying. Indirectly - what happens if your pension fund invests in something inappropriately ... > * 3.1.1. Infringe upon any person’s right to life or security of person, > engage in extrajudicial killings, or commit murder, without lawful cause > (See Article 3, United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights; > Article 6, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights) > > * 3.1.2. Hold any person in slavery, servitude, or forced labor (See > Article > 4, United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights; Article 8, > International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights); > > * 3.1.3. Contribute to the institution of slavery, slave trading, forced > labor, or unlawful child labor (See Article 4, United Nations Universal > Declaration of Human Rights; Article 8, International Covenant on Civil > and > Political Rights); > > * 3.1.4. Torture or subject any person to cruel, inhumane, or degrading > treatment or punishment (See Article 5, United Nations Universal > Declaration of Human Rights; Article 7, International Covenant on Civil > and > Political Rights); > > * 3.1.5. Discriminate on the basis of sex, gender, sexual orientation, > race, > ethnicity, nationality, religion, caste, age, medical disability or > impairment, and/or any other like circumstances (See Article 7, United > Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights; Article 2, International > Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; Article 26, > International > Covenant on Civil and Political Rights); > > * 3.1.6. Prevent any person from exercising his/her/their right to seek an > effective remedy by a competent court or national tribunal (including > domestic judicial systems, international courts, arbitration bodies, and > other adjudicating bodies) for actions violating the fundamental rights > granted to him/her/them by applicable constitutions, applicable laws, or > by > this License (See Article 8, United Nations Universal Declaration of > Human > Rights; Articles 9 and 14, International Covenant on Civil and Political > Rights); > > * 3.1.7. Subject any person to arbitrary arrest, detention, or exile (See > Article 9, United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights; Article > 9, > International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights); > > * 3.1.8. Subject any person to arbitrary interference with a person’s > privacy, family, home, or correspondence without the express written > consent of the person (See Article 12, United Nations Universal > Declaration > of Human Rights; Article 17, International Covenant on Civil and > Political > Rights); > > * 3.1.9. Arbitrarily deprive any person of his/her/their property (See > Article 17, United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights); > > * 3.1.10. Forcibly remove indigenous peoples from their lands or > territories > or take any action with the aim or effect of dispossessing indigenous > peoples from their lands, territories, or resources, including without > limitation the intellectual property or traditional knowledge of > indigenous > peoples, without the free, prior, and informed consent of indigenous > peoples concerned (See Articles 8 and 10, United Nations Declaration on > the > Rights of Indigenous Peoples); > > * 3.1.11. Interfere with Workers’ free exercise of the right to organize > and > associate (See Article 20, United Nations Universal Declaration of Human > Rights; C087 - Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to > Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), International Labour Organization; > Article 8, International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural > Rights); > and > > * 3.1.12. Harm the environment in a manner inconsistent with local, state, > national, or international law. > > * 3.2. The Licensee SHALL: > > * 3.2.1. Provide equal pay for equal work where the performance of such > work > requires equal skill, effort, and responsibility, and which are performed > under similar working conditions, except where such payment is made > pursuant to: > > * 3.2.1.1. A seniority system; > > * 3.2.1.2. A merit system; > > * 3.2.1.3. A system which measures earnings by quantity or quality of > production; or > > * 3.2.1.4. A differential based on any other factor other than sex, > gender, > sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, caste, age, > medical disability or impairment, and/or any other like circumstances > (See 29 U.S.C.A. § 206(d)(1); Article 23, United Nations Universal > Declaration of Human Rights; Article 7, International Covenant on > Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; Article 26, International > Covenant > on Civil and Political Rights); and > > * 3.2.2. Allow for reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic > holidays with pay (See Article 24, United Nations Universal Declaration > of > Human Rights; Article 7, International Covenant on Economic, Social and > Cultural Rights). > > 4. SUPPLY CHAIN IMPACTED PARTIES: > > This section identifies additional individuals or entities that a Licensee > could > harm as a result of violating the Ethical Standards section, the condition > that > the Licensee must voluntarily accept a Duty of Care for those individuals or > entities, and the right to a private right of action that those individuals or > entities possess as a result of violations of the Ethical Standards section. > must voluntarily ... this section should be void for uncertainty :) > 4.1. In addition to the above Ethical Standards, Licensee voluntarily accepts > a > Duty of Care for Supply Chain Impacted Parties of this License, including > individuals and communities impacted by violations of the Ethical Standards. > The > Duty of Care is breached when a provision within the Ethical Standards section > is violated by a Licensee, one of its successors or assigns, or by an > individual > or entity that exists within the Supply Chain prior to a good or service > reaching the Licensee. > > 4.2. Breaches of the Duty of Care, as stated within this section, shall > create a > private right of action, allowing any Supply Chain Impacted Party harmed by > the > Licensee to take legal action against the Licensee in accordance with > applicable > negligence laws, whether they be in tort law, delict law, and/or similar > bodies > of law closely related to tort and/or delict law, regardless if Licensee is > directly responsible for the harms suffered by a Supply Chain Impacted Party. > Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to include acts committed by > individuals outside of the scope of his/her/their employment. > > 5. NOTICE: This section explains when a Licensee must notify others of the > License. > > 5.1. Distribution of Notice: Licensee must ensure that everyone who receives a > copy of or uses any part of Software from Licensee, with or without changes, > also receives the License and the copyright notice included with Software (and > if included by the Licensor, patent, trademark, and attribution notice). > Licensee must ensure that License is prominently displayed so that any > individual or entity seeking to download, copy, use, or otherwise receive any > part of Software from Licensee is notified of this License and its terms and > conditions. Licensee must cause any modified versions of the Software to carry > prominent notices stating that Licensee changed the Software. > > 5.2. Modified Software: Licensee is free to create modifications of the > Software > and distribute only the modified portion created by Licensee, however, any > derivative work stemming from the Software or its code must be distributed > pursuant to this License, including this Notice provision. > > 5.3. Recipients as Licensees: Any individual or entity that uses, copies, > modifies, reproduces, distributes, or prepares derivative work based upon the > Software, all or part of the Software’s code, or a derivative work developed > by > using the Software, including a portion of its code, is a Licensee as defined > above and is subject to the terms and conditions of this License. > > 6. REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES: > > 6.1. Disclaimer of Warranty: TO THE FULL EXTENT ALLOWED BY LAW, THIS SOFTWARE > COMES “AS IS,” WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AND LICENSOR SHALL > NOT > BE LIABLE TO ANY PERSON OR ENTITY FOR ANY DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY ARISING > FROM, OUT OF, OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THIS LICENSE, UNDER ANY > LEGAL CLAIM. > > 6.2. Limitation of Liability: LICENSEE SHALL HOLD LICENSOR HARMLESS AGAINST > ANY > AND ALL CLAIMS, DEBTS, DUES, LIABILITIES, LIENS, CAUSES OF ACTION, DEMANDS, > OBLIGATIONS, DISPUTES, DAMAGES, LOSSES, EXPENSES, ATTORNEYS’ FEES, COSTS, > LIABILITIES, AND ALL OTHER CLAIMS OF EVERY KIND AND NATURE WHATSOEVER, WHETHER > KNOWN OR UNKNOWN, ANTICIPATED OR UNANTICIPATED, FORESEEN OR UNFORESEEN, > ACCRUED > OR UNACCRUED, DISCLOSED OR UNDISCLOSED, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO > LICENSEE’S > USE OF THE SOFTWARE. NOTHING IN THIS SECTION SHOULD BE INTERPRETED TO REQUIRE > LICENSEE TO INDEMNIFY LICENSOR, NOR REQUIRE LICENSOR TO INDEMNIFY LICENSEE. > > 7. TERMINATION > > 7.1. Violations of Ethical Standards or Breaching Duty of Care: If Licensee > violates the Ethical Standards section or Licensee, or any other person or > entity within the Supply Chain prior to a good or service reaching the > Licensee, > breaches its Duty of Care to Supply Chain Impacted Parties, Licensee must > remedy > the violation or harm caused by Licensee within 30 days of being notified of > the > violation or harm. If Licensee fails to remedy the violation or harm within 30 > days, all rights in the Software granted to Licensee by License will be null > and > void as between Licensor and Licensee. > > 7.2. Failure of Notice: If any person or entity notifies Licensee in writing > that Licensee has not complied with the Notice section of this License, > Licensee > can keep this License by taking all practical steps to comply within 30 days > after the notice of noncompliance. If Licensee does not do so, Licensee’s > License (and all rights licensed hereunder) will end immediately. > > 7.3. Judicial Findings: In the event Licensee is found by a civil, criminal, > administrative, or other court of competent jurisdiction, or some other > adjudicating body with legal authority, to have committed actions which are in > violation of the Ethical Standards or Supply Chain Impacted Party sections of > this License, all rights granted to Licensee by this License will terminate > immediately. > > 7.4. Patent Litigation: If Licensee institutes patent litigation against any > entity (including a cross-claim or counterclaim in a suit) alleging that the > Software, all or part of the Software’s code, or a derivative work developed > using the Software, including a portion of its code, constitutes direct or > contributory patent infringement, then any patent license, along with all > other > rights, granted to Licensee under this License will terminate as of the date > such litigation is filed. > > 7.5. Additional Remedies: Termination of the License by failing to remedy > harms > in no way prevents Licensor or Supply Chain Impacted Party from seeking > appropriate remedies at law or in equity. > > 8. MISCELLANEOUS: > > 8.1. Conditions: Sections 3, 4.1, 5.1, 5.2, 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, and 7.4 are > conditions of the rights granted to Licensee in the License. > > 8.2. Equitable Relief: Licensor and any Supply Chain Impacted Party shall be > entitled to equitable relief, including injunctive relief or specific > performance of the terms hereof, in addition to any other remedy to which they > are entitled at law or in equity. > > 8.3. Severability: If any term or provision of this License is determined to > be > invalid, illegal, or unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, any > such determination of invalidity, illegality, or unenforceability shall not > affect any other term or provision of this License or invalidate or render > unenforceable such term or provision in any other jurisdiction. If the > determination of invalidity, illegality, or unenforceability by a court of > competent jurisdiction pertains to the terms or provisions contained in the > Ethical Standards section of this License, all rights in the Software granted > to > Licensee shall be deemed null and void as between Licensor and Licensee. > > 8.4. Section Titles: Section titles are solely written for organizational > purposes and should not be used to interpret the language within each section. > > 8.5. Citations: Citations are solely written to provide context for the source > of the provisions in the Ethical Standards. > > 8.6. Section Summaries: Some sections have a brief italicized description > which > is provided for the sole purpose of briefly describing the section and should > not be used to interpret the terms of the License. > > 8.7. Entire License: This is the entire License between the Licensor and > Licensee with respect to the claims released herein and that the consideration > stated herein is the only consideration or compensation to be paid or > exchanged > between them for this License. This License cannot be modified or amended > except > in a writing signed by Licensor and Licensee. > > 8.8. Successors and Assigns: This License shall be binding upon and inure to > the > benefit of the Licensor’s and Licensee’s respective heirs, successors, and > assigns. Interesting - I can see someone who likes legal terminology and wants everyone to "do the right thing" - but this licence is unusable within Debian in my opionion. Not a qualifiedlawyer - but trained in law 40 years ago :) All best, as ever, Andy Cater, LL.B (Hons) ([email protected])
