<<If the term was really "indefinite" (i.e., not defined), there might be a problem. But "perpetual" is an accepted grant of rights in a copyright license.
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Some decisions I read recently seemed to note that "indefinite" defined the end of the term, and if no FIXED duration was specified, then the contract was basically at will (just as if it were an indefinite term agreement in other jurisdictions, or an expired contract continued as a matter of good will). I presumed that was for a minority of jurisdictions.
I agree in some jurisdictions what you say is definitely true. I thought it was true for most. But I'm asking people for things in various jurisdictions. For instance, I found these quotes recently:
"Although it is well established that contracts of perpetual duration are terminable at will by the parties, a contract which nonetheless provides that it will terminate upon the occurrence of a specific event is not deemed perpetual in duration and is not terminable at will, but is terminable upon the occurrence of any of the conditions enunciated. Dawson v. W & H Voortman,Ltd., 853 F. Supp. 1038, 1042 (N.D. Ill. 1994); Ruca, No. 94-C-3635.
"The Court stated that '[i]n New Jersey a contract for a 'perpetual' duration is treated similar to a contract that has expired, but where the parties continue the relationship. As a general rule, if the parties to a contract continue dealing with each other after the expiration of its stated term, their dealings proceed on an at-will basis. ... Consequently, such a contract is terminable at any time, and for any reason, at the election of either side.'" Spa Time, Inc. v. Bally Total Fitness Corporation, 00-3669 (U.S. Dist. Ct. D. N.J. 2001), Unpublished; February 16, 2001
I am certain that even if such things were different from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, in some contracts you could just specify the controlling jurisdiction. However, in an open license like the OGL where jurisdictional specification is at best impractical, then the questions become:
1) do the jurisdictions differ on whether a perpetual contract can be broken "at will" instead of forever?
2) if they are, and if jurisdiction is impractical to specify in an open license, what's that mean for OGL termination in some jurisdictions?
I wanted to see if people knew this out of happenstance to save a lot of work for nothing, if there was a simpler answer.
I noted this oddness, in part, because of the Creative Commons contract usage of the phrase "perpetual (for the duration of the copyright)" which was the first time I'd seen anyone bother to clarify "perpetual". I then got in additional discussions on the subject, and somebody said they'd heard some jurisdictions allowed at will terminations of perpetual contracts.
