Mitchell Baker wrote:
> Ben Bucksch wrote:
>
>> Bjorn Reese wrote:
>>
>> ><quote>
>> > 13. MULTIPLE-LICENSED CODE.
>> > Initial Developer may designate portions of the Covered Code as
>> > 'Multiple-Licensed'. 'Multiple-Licensed' means that the
>> Initial
>> > Developer permits you to utilize portions of the Covered
>> Code under
>> > Your choice of the NPL or the alternative licenses, if any,
>> specified
>> > by the Initial Developer in the file described in Exhibit A.
>> ></quote>
>> >
>> Uh, if I interptret it your way, it basically means that the Inital
>> Developer can do with the code, including all contributions, whatever he
>> wants.
>>
>> Was that intended???
>>
> No, this was not the intent. The intent was that the Initial
> Developer of a piece of code could decide (for example) that s/he
> wanted people to be able to use that code under either the MPL or
> License X. The Initial Developer would add language to the header
> files naming the MPL and License X. If you then make a
> Modification, the Initial Developer can use your Modification under
> either the terms of the MPl or the terms of License X, but not under
> any other terms.
But the MPL unfortunately does not specify, *when* the Intital Developer
allows the alternative license. If, as Bjorn suggests, the Initial
Developer can do that at any time, this has the effect of what I
outlined, since License X is also arbitary. It is not even restricted
that it's always the same License X. As an Initial Developer, I could
sell the code to my customer A under license X, to customer B under
license Y etc., even though the code is under the stock MPL 1.1 and I
didn't ask the contributors about licenses X or Y.
I assumed that the alternative license has to be specified at the same
time as the MPL begins to apply to a document and that it is virtually
unchangeable after that (unless all contributors agree, of course).
In any case, I find Bjorn's move questionable, considering that he
didn't ask contributors for permission and how many people here objected
the move to change the license (to MPL/GPL in our case).
