CPSC225/Notes/Open Source Initiative License

An open-source license is a copyright license for computer software that makes the source code available under terms that allow for modification and redistribution without having to pay the original author. Many of these license's include restrictions such as a requirement to preserve the name of the authors and the copyright statement within the code. One popular set of open source licenses are those approved by the Open Source Initiative (OSI) based on their Open Source Definition (OSD). If you distribute your software under one of these licenses, you are permitted to say that your software is "OSI Certified Open Source Software."

Open Source Definition
1. Free Redistribution
 * The license shall not restrict any party from selling or giving away the software as a component of an aggregate software distribution containing programs from several different sources. The license shall not require a royalty or other fee for such sale.

2. Source Code
 * The program must include source code, and must allow distribution in source code as well as compiled form. Where some form of a product is not distributed with source code, there must be a well-publicized means of obtaining the source code for no more than a reasonable reproduction cost–preferably, downloading via the Internet without charge. The source code must be the preferred form in which a programmer would modify the program. Deliberately obfuscated source code is not allowed. Intermediate forms such as the output of a preprocessor or translator are not allowed.

3. Derived Works
 * The license must allow modifications and derived works, and must allow them to be distributed under the same terms as the license of the original software.

4. Integrity of The Author's Source Code
 * The license may restrict source-code from being distributed in modified form only if the license allows the distribution of "patch files" with the source code for the purpose of modifying the program at build time. The license must explicitly permit distribution of software built from modified source code. The license may require derived works to carry a different name or version number from the original software.

5. No Discrimination Against Persons or Groups
 * The license must not discriminate against any person or group of persons.

6. No Discrimination Against Fields of Endeavor The license must not restrict anyone from making use of the program in a specific field of endeavor. For example, it may not restrict the program from being used in a business, or from being used for genetic research.

7. Distribution of License
 * The rights attached to the program must apply to all to whom the program is redistributed without the need for execution of an additional license by those parties.

8. License Must Not Be Specific to a Product
 * The rights attached to the program must not depend on the program's being part of a particular software distribution. If the program is extracted from that distribution and used or distributed within the terms of the program's license, all parties to whom the program is redistributed should have the same rights as those that are granted in conjunction with the original software distribution.

9. License Must Not Restrict Other Software
 * The license must not place restrictions on other software that is distributed along with the licensed software. For example, the license must not insist that all other programs distributed on the same medium must be open-source software.

10. License Must Be Technology-Neutral
 * No provision of the license may be predicated on any individual technology or style of interface.

Basic Terms and Conditions
1. The developer must choose a unique title for their license, different from any known titles of licenses.

2. The license should be provided to OSI in two formats: HTML and plain text. The HTML version needs to be on a web page and the OSI will convert it into the same style as existing approved licenses.

3. A legal analysis of the license as it complies with the terms of the Open Source Definition should be created. Each paragraph of the license should be followed by an explanation of how the paragraph interacts with each numbered term of the Open Source Definition. The analysis should come from a licensed practitioner of the law in the developers country. This analysis should then be emailed to license-approval at opensource.org. This document will remain confidential to the Open Source Initiative.

4. An email then needs to be prepared with three sections as described. The email needs to be sent to the license-discuss mailing list (license-discuss at opensource.org). The subject of your message should be "For Approval:" followed by the name of the license.
 * First define which existing OSI-approved license is most similar to your license. Explain why that license will not suffice for your needs. If your proposed license is derived from a license we have already approved, describe exactly what you have changed. This document is not part of the license; it is solely to help the license-discuss understand and review your license.
 * Explain how software distributed under your license can be used in conjunction with software distributed under other open source licenses. Which license do you think will take precedence for derivative or combined works? Is there any software license that is entirely incompatible with your proposed license?.
 * Include the plain text version of your license at the end of the email, either as an insertion or as an attachment.

5. If license-discuss mailing list members find that the license does not conform to the Open Source Definition, they will work with you to resolve the problems. Similarly, if we see a problem, we will work with you to resolve any problems uncovered in public comment.

6. As part of the process, the Open Source Institute may seek outside legal advice on license issues.

7. Once the institute is assured that the license conforms to the Open Source Definition, has received thorough discussion on license-discuss or by other reviewers, and there are no remaining issues that they believe is significant, they will notify the developer that the license has been approved, copy it their website, and add it to the approved list of licenses.

Use of OSI Certified Mark

 * If the software is being distributed in electronic form (not in tangible form), you must put the graphic notice or the full notice in a README file, or other similar file intended to be the first file that a human user would read.
 * If the software is being distributed in tangible form, you must do all of the following that are applicable:
 * If the software is distributed with any accompanying printed matter, you must place the graphic notice or the full notice in the printed matter.
 * If the software is distributed on removable information media such as diskettes, CD-ROM, cartridge tape, etc., on which it is physically possible to place at least the graphic notice or the shorter notice in a manner that can be read by the unaided human eye without impairing the functioning of the media, you must place either the graphic notice or the shorter notice on the media.
 * If the tangible object containing the software is distributed in a package that prevents the notice (if any) on the object from being read, you must place the graphic notice or the full notice on the outside of the package.