CC'ing the mailing list with the reply... On 1 November 2012 22:23, Donald R Robertson III via RT <licens...@fsf.org> wrote: >> [carandraug+...@gmail.com - Sun Oct 28 15:48:26 2012]: >> >> Hi >> >> I'm the maintainer of the Octave-Forge project >> http://octave.sourceforge.net/ which is a loosely organized collection >> of functions for GNU Octave. Because of this, each file has its own >> license. I'm trying to organize this properly and facing a problem >> with the multiple BSD licenses. >> >> The FreeBSD license seems to exist in 2 forms, with and without a >> disclaimer about views and opinions expressed in the software. However >> the FSF list of licenses has both of them under the same name: >> >> http://www.gnu.org/licenses/license-list.html#FreeBSD links to >> http://directory.fsf.org/wiki?title=License:FreeBSD which displays the >> disclaimer >> http://www.gnu.org/licenses/license-list.html#FreeBSDDL links to >> http://www.freebsd.org/copyright/freebsd-doc-license.html which does >> not displays the disclaimer > > The BSDDL is very similar to the FreeBSD license, except that it is for > documentation instead of > software. It also omits the disclaimer found at the end of the FreeBSD > license. > >> >> I was reading about the subject and apparently, the OSI recognized >> both of them, calling the version without the disclaimer, simplified >> BSD license. In Octave Forge we do have some code under such license >> but are planning to adopt >> http://www.gnu.org/licenses/license-list.html#GPLCompatibleLicenses as >> the list of allowed licenses. I believe this license also belongs to >> list of GPL compatible, there's simply no FSF-given name for it. Could >> you please update the list and advise a name to avoid confusions? > > It is a bit confusing, but I think I understand what the issue is here. The > FreeBSD license is the two- > clause or 'simplified BSD' license, but then they also include an additional > disclaimer/notice at the > end of the license. The OSI doesn't seem to address that final disclaimer at > the end of the FreeBSD > license. In looking at their note on the approval of the 2-clause or > 'simplified BSD' license, they > state that it is the license of FreeBSD, > <http://opensource.org/licenses/BSD-3-Clause>. But the license > on FreeBSD does actually include the disclaimer at the end, while the OSI > provided copy of the 2-clause > <http://opensource.org/licenses/BSD-2-Clause> does not. The disclaimer does > not seem to appear anywhere > at OSI. > > I would guess that they omitted it because the disclaimer is more like a > notice, or just some > additional information for the user. It does not seem to be a condition of > the license. To me, it seems > that a license that has the disclaimer adds no additional burdens to the user > than a license that omits > it. In short, I am not sure that it is actually a separate license in the > practical sense. > > Thanks so much for your time, and please let me know if you have further > questions. > > -- > Sincerely, > > Donald R. Robertson, III, J.D. > Copyright & Licensing Associate > Free Software Foundation > 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor > Boston, MA 02110, USA > Phone +1-617-542-5942 > Fax +1-617-542-2652
Hi Donald thanks for you answer. I think my confusion came from reading the BSD license page on wikipedia <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BSD_license> which reads as if they are indeed two separate licenses: ``Other projects, such as NetBSD, use a similar 2-clause license, but without the additional disclaimer. This version has been vetted as an Open source license by the OSI as the "Simplified BSD License."'' We'll treat them all as FreeBSD licenses from now on. Thank you once more, Carnë Draug ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ LogMeIn Central: Instant, anywhere, Remote PC access and management. Stay in control, update software, and manage PCs from one command center Diagnose problems and improve visibility into emerging IT issues Automate, monitor and manage. Do more in less time with Central http://p.sf.net/sfu/logmein12331_d2d _______________________________________________ Octave-dev mailing list Octave-dev@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/octave-dev
