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Proposal for hardware 'gpl'
I've received a proposal for a gpl-like license
to be applied to patentable items,
with a request to circulate it for comments.
This comes from Harvard Law School, so it ought to be
pretty watertight. There may also be other related licenses
under development.
Nice start to the New Year!
I'm posting it to the hardlicense discuss list. The
collector.hscs machine is behind a firewall (not run by
me) which has been messed up over Christmas; I believe
mail works ok, so the mailing list itself can carry on as usual,
but you won't be able to see this message or any replies in
the web-based archives for the next few days.
I've left the message with its original formatting - the usual
problems of unix systems/rtf not co-existing very happily.
The body is more readable than the start.
Happy new year to everyone
Graham
Forwarded message:
> From cabell@mama-tech.com Mon Jan 3 17:50:15 2000
> From: "Diane Cabell" <cabell@mama-tech.com>
> To: <graham@collector.hscs.wmin.ac.uk>
> Subject: GPL for hardware
> MIME-Version: 1.0
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> Mr. Seaman,
>
> I am enclosing a draft license prepared for use in the US by one of our
> students. It is a preliminary version, we are still reviewing it
> internally. You might wish to circulate it for comment. If you receive
> any thoughtful responses, we would appreciate hearing about them.
>
> Diane Cabell
> Berkman Center for Internet & Society
> Harvard Law School
>
>
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> BERKMAN CENTER PATENT-LEFT/ COPY-LEFT LICENSE}
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> \fs20\lang1033\langfe1033\cgrid\langnp1033\langfenp1033 {THE BERKMAN =
> CENTER PATENT-LEFT/ COPY-LEFT LICENSE
> \par DRAFT-DRAFT-DRAFT 99-12-10
> \par=20
> \par 1. Definitions
> \par 1.1. \'93Covered Code\'94 means the Original Code, Modifications, =
> and any combination of Original Code and Modifications.
> \par 1.2. \'93Independently Created Code\'94 means any source or object =
> code that is independently created by a third party or You that is a =
> Licensed Product and is not substantially similar to or a derivative =
> work of the Covered Code.
> \par 1.3. \'93Intellectual Property Rights\'94 means all intellectual =
> property r
> ights (other than patent and trademark rights) belonging to the Licensor =
> regarding the Original Code, including but not limited to copyrights. =
> Intellectual Property Rights does not include patent rights to the =
> Licensed Patent or trademark rights to use of
> the terms [\'93Berkman Center\'94, \'93Harvard\'94, or \'93Harvard Law =
> School.\'94]
> \par 1.4. "Licensor" means [the Berkman Center for Internet & Society =
> at The Harvard Law School]
> \par 1.5. "Licensed Patent" means U.S. Patent No. [] issued on [], =
> assigned to Licensor, and entitled [" "]. The Licensed Patent shall =
> include all divisionals, continuations, continuations-in-part, =
> re-examinations, and reissues thereof.
> \par 1.6. "Licensed Product" means any item, which in the absence of =
> this License would infringe at least one claim of the=20
> Licenced Patent. The Licensed Product includes, but is not limited to, =
> modified and unmodfied versions of the Original Code accompanying this =
> patent. The Licensed Product also includes any Independently Created =
> Code that would infringe at least one claim
> of the Licensed Patent \endash even if such code does not use any =
> portion of the Covered Code.
> \par 1.7. \'93Modifications\'94 means any addition to, deletion from, =
> or change to the substance or structure of Covered Code or any =
> improvement made to the Licensed Product. Fo
> r improvements made to the Licensed Product, Modification shall include =
> without limitation patent claims that you now own or hereafter acquire =
> that cover the subject matter of your Modifications to the Covered Code. =
> When code is released in a series of f
> iles, a Modification is: (a) any addition to or delection from the =
> contents of a file containing Covered Code and/or (b) any new file that =
> contains any part of the Covered Code.
> \par 1.8. \'93Original Code\'94 means the (a) the Source Code of a =
> program or other work=20
> as originally made available by the Licensor under this License [] and =
> (b) the object code compiled from such Source Code and originally made =
> available by Licensor under this License.
> \par 1.9. \'93Source Code\'94 means the human readable form of a =
> program or other
> work that is suitable for making modifications to it, including all =
> modules that it contains, plus any associated interface definition files =
> and scripts used to control compilation and installation of an =
> executable
> \par 1.10. "You'' (or "Your") means an indi
> vidual or a legal entity exercising rights under, and complying with all =
> of the terms of, this License or a future version of this License issued =
> under [Section 8.2]. For legal entities, "You'' includes any entity =
> which controls, is controlled by, or is u
> n
> der common control with You. For purposes of this definition, "control'' =
> means (a) the power, direct or indirect, to cause the direction or =
> management of such entity, whether by contract or otherwise, or (b) =
> ownership of more than fifty percent (50%) of t
> he outstanding shares or beneficial ownership of such entity.
> \par=20
> \par 2. Grant
> \par 2.1. The Licensor grants You a worldwide, nonexclusive, royalty =
> free license under Licensor\rquote s Intellectual Property Rights (which =
> does not include Licensor\rquote s patent and trademark
> rights) to use, reproduce, modify, display, perform, sublicense, and =
> distribute the Original Code with or without Modifications, and/or as =
> part of a larger work.
> \par 2.2. The Licensor grants and agrees to grant You a nonexclusive, =
> royalty free license under=20
> the Licensed Patent to make, use, and import the Licensed Products =
> within the United States for the life of the Licensed Patent. The =
> Licensor only possesses patent rights with the United States; =
> consequently, this grant only covers Your activities within=20
> the United States.=20
> \par 2.2.1. The Licensor DOES NOT grant You the right to sell the =
> Licensed Product within the United States. You may however distribute =
> the Licensed Product to third parties provided that you comply with all =
> terms in Section [4]
> \par 2.3. You agree to waive any implied first sale rights for the =
> Covered Code and Licensed Product and any implied right to repair or =
> modify the Licensed Product and Covered Code. In return, Licensor =
> grants you the right to make any Modification to the=20
> Covered Code and modify the Licensed Product in any way so long as:
> \par (a) You do not infringe any intellectual property or =
> patent rights of a third party.
> \par (b) If You make any Modifications to the Covered Code =
> you must create a file that documents all of your Modifications. If you =
> distribute copies of Covered Code to third parties, you must include =
> this file in every copy.=20
> \par (c) You agree to only distribute Modifications and/or =
> Independently Created Code under the terms of this license, including =
> without limitation the distribution requirements in Section [4].
> \par=20
> \par 3. Your Obligations and Grants
> \par=20
> \par 3.1. You agree to hold Licensor harmless against all liabilities, =
> demands, damages, expenses, or losses arising (i) out of use by Yo
> u or your transferees of inventions licensed or information furnished =
> under this agreement or (ii) out of any use, manufacture, or any =
> disposition by You of products made by use of such inventions or =
> information.
> \par 3.2. You hereby grant Licensor a nonexclus
> ive, royalty-free license to make, use, reproduce, modify, and =
> distribute your Modifications under any intellectual property rights =
> that you might possess and any patent rights that you now own or =
> hereafter acquire which cover your Modifications to the Co
> v
> ered Code and/or Modifications to the Licensed Product. The terms of =
> your license to the Licensor shall be the same terms that are in this =
> License except that for Your license, You shall be the licensor, and the =
> Licensor shall be the licensee. (In other=20
> words, Your grantback license will use the exact same terms as this =
> license except that Section 1.4 will replace Licensor\rquote s name with =
> your name, Section 1.10 will replace Your name with Licensor\rquote=20
> s name, and Exhibit A will change appropriately to reflect your =
> intellectual property rights and/or patent rights to the =
> Modifications and improvements.)=20
> \par=20
> \par 4. Distribution Requirements
> \par=20
> \par 4.1. You agree not to sell the Covered Code and Licensed Product =
> to any third party. You may distribute the Covered=20
> Code and/or the Licensed Product to third parties, but you must =
> sublicense each third party under the terms of this License. The =
> sublicensed third party will gain the same rights that You have under =
> this License. You may not offer or impose any terms tha
> t alter, enlarge, or restrict the terms of this License in any way or =
> the sublicensed third party\rquote s rights hereunder, except that You =
> may offer the following:
> \par=20
> \par 4.1.1. You may offer and charge a fee for warranty, =
> support, indemnity, or liability obligations to one or more recipients =
> of Covered Code and/or the Licensed Product. However, You may do so only =
> on your own behalf \endash=20
> not on behalf of Licensor. You must make it clear that any warranty, =
> support, indemnity, or liability obligation is offered=20
> by you alone, and not by Licensor. You hereby agree to indemnify and =
> hold harmless the Licensor for any liability that Licensor incurs as a =
> result of any warranty, support, indemnity, or liability obligation that =
> you offer.
> \par=20
> \par 4.1.1.1. You are not
> permitted to require any third party to accept and/or pay for any =
> warranty, support, indemnity, or liability obligation that you offer. =
> You must give all third parties the choice to accept your additional =
> obligations or to receive the Covered Code and L
> icensed Product (including Modifications that you have made and given to =
> other third parties) under the unmodified terms of this license.
> \par=20
> \par 4.2. You may not charge third parties for copies of the Covered =
> Code and Licensed Product. However if You incur c
> osts in distributing a copy of the Covered Code and/or Licensed Product =
> to a third party, You may charge a reasonable fee to recover Your =
> distribution costs.
> \par=20
> \par 4.3. You must duplicate the notice in Exhibit A in each file of =
> the Source Code. If due to t
> he structure of a particular Source Code file, it is not possible to =
> include a notice within, then You must include such notice in a location =
> (such as a relevant directory) where a user would be likely to look for =
> such a notice. You must duplicate this Li
> cense in any documentation for the Source Code in which you describe the =
> recipient\rquote s rights relating to the Covered Code.
> \par=20
> \par 4.4. You may create Modifications to the Covered Code and/or =
> create Independently Created Code to use solely internally. However i
> f you distribute Modifications and/or Independently Created Code to any =
> third party, then you must offer the same code to any third party who =
> requests said code provided that said third party agrees to the terms of =
> this License.
> \par=20
> \par 4.5. For any Covered C
> ode or Licensed Product that you distribute, You must make a version =
> available in Source Code form under the terms of this License for at =
> least three (3) years after the date it initially became available. If =
> you distribute the code in executable form onl
> y
> , you must include a conspicuous notice stating that the Source Code =
> version of the code is available under the terms of this License, and =
> include a description of how You have fulfilled the obligations of this =
> section and instructions by which the third=20
> party can obtain a Source Code version of the code.
> \par=20
> \par 5. DISLAIMER OF WARRANTIES
> \par=20
> \par 5.1. TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, LICENSOR DOES =
> NOT REPRESENT OR MAKE A WARRANTY OF ANY KIND THAT ANYTHING MADE, USED, =
> IMPORTED, OR DISTRIBUTED UNDER TH
> IS LICENSE WILL BE FREE FROM INFRINGMENT OF PATENTS OF THIRD PARTIES. IT =
> IS POSSIBLE THAT EITHER THE UNMODIFIED LICENSED PRODUCT AND/OR ANY =
> MODIFICATIONS YOU MAKE TO THE LICENSED PRODUCT WILL RESULT IN THE =
> INFRINGEMENT OF ONE OR MORE PATENTS OWNED BY THIR
> D PARTIES. IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILILTY TO ENSURE THAT YOU DO NOT INFRINGE =
> THE PATENTS OF THIRD PARTIES.
> \par=20
> \par 5.2. TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, THERE IS NO =
> WARRANTY FOR THE LICENSED PRODUCT. THE LICENSED PRODUCT IS PROVIDED TO =
> YOU "AS IS" WITHOU
> T WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT =
> LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A =
> PARTICULAR PURPOSE. YOU BEAR THE ENTIRE RISK FOR THE PERFORMANCE AND =
> QUALITY OF THE LICENSED PRODUCT
> \par=20
> \par 6. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
> \par=20
> \par 6.1. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES AND UNDER NO LEGAL THEORY, WHETHER =
> TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), CONTRACT, OR OTHERWISE, SHALL YOU, =
> LICENSOR, OR ANY DISTRIBUTOR OF COVERED CODE, OR ANY SUPPLIER OF ANY OF =
> SUCH PARTIES, BE LIABLE TO AN
> Y PERSON FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES =
> OF ANY KIND INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF GOODWILL, =
> WORK STOPPAGE, COMPUTER FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION, OR ANY AND ALL OTHER =
> COMMERCIAL DAMAGES OR LOSSES, EVEN IF SU
> C
> H PARTY SHALL HAVE BEEN INFORMED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. =
> THIS LIMITATION OF LIABILITY SHALL NOT APPLY TO LIABILITY FOR DEATH OR =
> PERSONAL INJURY RESULTING FROM SUCH PARTY'S NEGLIGENCE TO THE EXTENT =
> APPLICABLE LAW PROHIBITS SUCH LIMITATION. SOME
> JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF INCIDENTAL OR =
> CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THIS EXCLUSION AND LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY TO =
> YOU.
> \par=20
> \par 7. Termination
> \par=20
> \par 7.1. This License will terminate automatically if You fail to =
> comply with the terms herein and fail to cure such breach within 30 days =
> of becoming aware of the breach.
> \par=20
> \par 7.2. If any portion of, or functionality of the Covered Code =
> becomes subject to a claim of infringement of a third party\rquote s =
> intellectual property right, the Licens
> or may at its option: (a) attempt to procure the rights necessary for =
> Licensor and You to continue to use the affected Covered Code, (b) =
> modify the Covered Code so that it no longer infringes, or (c) suspend =
> some or all rights granted to You under this Li
> cense to the extent necessary to avoid infringing the third party\rquote =
> s intellectual property and/or patent rights.
> \par=20
> \par 7.3. If You initiate an intellectual property infringement =
> claim or patent infringement claim against Licensor (other than an =
> action solely
> seeking declaratory judgment), and if after sixty (60) days you have =
> not either withdrawn your litigations claims or settled the matter with =
> Licensor, then all rights granted to you under Sections 2.1, 2.2, 2.21, =
> and 2.3 shall immediately terminate.
>
> \par=20
> \par 7
> .4. In the event of termination, all sublicenses that You have properly =
> granted to third parties shall survive the termination of this License. =
> Upon termination, you must immediately stop all manufacture, use, =
> distribution, and sublicensing of the Licen
> s
> ed Product and stop all use, reproduction, modification, sublicensing, =
> and distribution of the Covered Code. Provisions which, by their =
> nature, should remain in effect beyond the termination of this License =
> shall survive, including without limitation Se
> ctions 3.1, 3.2, 5.1, 5.2, 6.1, and 7.4.
> \par=20
> \par 8. Miscellaneous
> \par=20
> \par 8.1. Licensor is under no obligation to bring or prosecute an =
> action for infringment by third parties of the Licensed Patent.
> \par=20
> \par 8.2. This License represents the complete agreement concerning =
> the subject matter herein. The Berkman Center for Internet & Society at =
> The Harvard Law School (\'93The Berkman Center\'94
> ) may from time to time publish new or revised versions of [The Berkman =
> Center Patent-Left/Copy-Left License]. Each version will be=20
> given a distinguishing version number. You may continue to use the =
> Covered Code and Licensed Product under the version of the License that =
> you first accepted, or at your option, you may choose to use the Covered =
> Code and Licensed Product under a subseque
> nt version of the License.
> \par=20
> \par 8.3. If any provision of this License is held to be =
> unenforceable, such provision shall be reformed only to the extent =
> necessary to make it enforceable. This License shall be governed by =
> [Massachusetts] law (except to the ext
> ent applicable law, if any, provides otherwise, excluding its =
> conflict-of-law provisions.
> \par=20
> \par =20
> \par=20
> \par EXHIBIT A
> \par=20
> \par Copyright \'a9 1999 The Berkman Center for Internet & Society at =
> The Harvard Law School
> \par=20
> \par [Patent Pending]
> \par=20
> \par This program is free software. You may redistribute it and/or =
> modify it under the terms of The Berkman Center Patent-Left/Copy-Left =
> License. You can find a copy of the license at http://[URL]. Please =
> read the license before using this program.
> \par=20
> \par This program is distributed WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY, EITHER EXPRESS OR =
> IMPLIED. THE BERKMAN CENTER DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WITHOUT =
> LIMITATION ANY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR =
> PURPOSE, OR NONINFRINGEMENT.
> \par=20
> \par }}
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