1. Everyone is free to copy and distribute the official specification
for an open standard under an open source license.
Simon Josefsson wrote:
I would include "modify" in this clause, or clarify exactly which
license you are talking about (e.g., GNU Free Documentation License).
Bill Sommerfeld wrote:
IMHO, if "modify" is allowed, the license must require that modified
versions are clearly distinguished from the official spec and thereby
not-the-standard-you-were-looking-for.
Thank you for this suggestion. I'm fine with adding the word "modify" if
that will clarify these Open Standards Principles. The words "under an open
source license" later in that sentence includes all the rights conveyed by
an open source license, such as the right to modify and distribute copies of
the specification, but saying it explicitly here makes good sense.
All open source licenses permit modification. IETF should also decide
whether to distribute its specifications under the GPL, OSL, SISSL or other
open source license that includes reciprocity, or under an academic license
that permits proprietary modifications of the specifications themselves.
Please note that the open source copyright license described in Principle 1
that applies to the specification itself may not be sufficient for you to
make, use or sell your modified, non-conforming versions. That is because
the affirmative patent licenses described in Principles 2 and 3 may be
limited in scope to "embodiments of an open standard." You may need to
obtain additional patent licenses from other companies in order to implement
non-standard functions in your software.
Almost all patent owners insist upon such field of use limitations in their
patent licenses for standards. Take a look at the patent statements filed
with the IETF and other standards organizations and you'll see this over and
over from most major companies. Open source can live with this; we already
agreed to do so in W3C.
/Larry
Lawrence Rosen
Rosenlaw & Einschlag, technology law offices (www.rosenlaw.com)
3001 King Ranch Road, Ukiah, CA 95482
707-485-1242 * fax: 707-485-1243
email: lrosen(_at_)rosenlaw(_dot_)com
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