127 lines
6.1 KiB
Text
127 lines
6.1 KiB
Text
BSD Protection License
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February 2002 Preamble
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--------
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The Berkeley Software Distribution ("BSD") license has proven very effective
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over the years at allowing for a wide spread of work throughout both commercial
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and non-commercial products. For programmers whose primary intention is to
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improve the general quality of available software, it is arguable that there
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is no better license than the BSD license, as it permits improvements to be
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used wherever they will help, without idealogical or metallic constraint.
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This is of particular value to those who produce reference implementations
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of proposed standards: The case of TCP/IP clearly illustrates that freely
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and universally available implementations leads the rapid acceptance of standards
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-- often even being used instead of a de jure standard (eg, OSI network models).
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With the rapid proliferation of software licensed under the GNU General Public
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License, however, the continued success of this role is called into question.
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Given that the inclusion of a few lines of "GPL-tainted" work into a larger
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body of work will result in restricted distribution -- and given that further
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work will likely build upon the "tainted" portions, making them difficult
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to remove at a future date -- there are inevitable circumstances where authors
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would, in order to protect their goal of providing for the widespread usage
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of their work, wish to guard against such "GPL-taint".
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In addition, one can imagine that companies which operate by producing and
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selling (possibly closed-source) code would wish to protect themselves against
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the rise of a GPL-licensed competitor. While under existing licenses this
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would mean not releasing their code under any form of open license, if a license
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existed under which they could incorporate any improvements back into their
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own (commercial) products then they might be far more willing to provide for
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non-closed distribution.
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For the above reasons, we put forth this "BSD Protection License": A license
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designed to retain the freedom granted by the BSD license to use licensed
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works in a wide variety of settings, both non-commercial and commercial, while
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protecting the work from having future contributors restrict that freedom.
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The precise terms and conditions for copying, distribution, and modification
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follow.
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BSD PROTECTION LICENSE TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR COPYING, DISTRIBUTION, AND
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MODIFICATION ----------------------------------------------------------------
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0. Definitions.
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a) "Program", below, refers to any program or work distributed under the terms
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of this license.
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b) A "work based on the Program", below, refers to either the Program or any
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derivative work under copyright law.
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c) "Modification", below, refers to the act of creating derivative works.
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d) "You", below, refers to each licensee.
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1. Scope.
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This license governs the copying, distribution, and modification of the Program.
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Other activities are outside the scope of this license; The act of running
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the Program is not restricted, and the output from the Program is covered
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only if its contents constitute a work based on the Program.
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2. Verbatim copies.
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You may copy and distribute verbatim copies of the Program as you receive
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it, in any medium, provided that you conspicuously and appropriately publish
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on each copy an appropriate copyright notice; keep intact all the notices
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that refer to this License and to the absence of any warranty; and give any
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other recipients of the Program a copy of this License along with the Program.
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3. Modification and redistribution under closed license.
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You may modify your copy or copies of the Program, and distribute the resulting
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derivative works, provided that you meet the following conditions:
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a) The copyright notice and disclaimer on the Program must be reproduced and
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included in the source code, documentation, and/or other materials provided
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in a manner in which such notices are normally distributed.
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b) The derivative work must be clearly identified as such, in order that it
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may not be confused with the original work.
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c) The license under which the derivative work is distributed must expressly
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prohibit the distribution of further derivative works.
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4. Modification and redistribution under open license.
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You may modify your copy or copies of the Program, and distribute the resulting
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derivative works, provided that you meet the following conditions:
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a) The copyright notice and disclaimer on the Program must be reproduced and
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included in the source code, documentation, and/or other materials provided
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in a manner in which such notices are normally distributed.
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b) You must clearly indicate the nature and date of any changes made to the
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Program. The full details need not necessarily be included in the individual
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modified files, provided that each modified file is clearly marked as such
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and instructions are included on where the full details of the modifications
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may be found.
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c) You must cause any work that you distribute or publish, that in whole or
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in part contains or is derived from the Program or any part thereof, to be
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licensed as a whole at no charge to all third parties under the terms of this
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License.
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5. Implied acceptance.
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You may not copy or distribute the Program or any derivative works except
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as expressly provided under this license. Consequently, any such action will
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be taken as implied acceptance of the terms of this license.
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6. NO WARRANTY.
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THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING,
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BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS
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FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT HOLDER,
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OR ANY OTHER PARTY WHO MAY MODIFY AND/OR REDISTRIBUTE THE PROGRAM AS PERMITTED
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ABOVE, BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY,
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OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE PROGRAM
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(INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES;
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LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND
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ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT,
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EVEN IF SUCH HOLDER OR OTHER PARTY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF
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SUCH DAMAGES.
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