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Diffstat (limited to 'content/learn')
| -rw-r--r-- | content/learn/licenses.md | 66 |
1 files changed, 33 insertions, 33 deletions
diff --git a/content/learn/licenses.md b/content/learn/licenses.md index d24a6c8..e470195 100644 --- a/content/learn/licenses.md +++ b/content/learn/licenses.md @@ -10,10 +10,10 @@ with many different trade-offs to suit each software project's unique situation. ## How a free software license works A free software license grants the necessary rights, perhaps subject to -some caveats (such as attribution requirements), to establish the four freedoms -for recipients of the software. Any software license can be a free software -license if it upholds the four freedoms, but in practice most projects pick from -one of a few licenses established for general use. +some caveats (e.g. attribution), to establish the four freedoms for recipients +of the software. Any software license can be a free software license if it +upholds the four freedoms, but in practice most projects pick from one of a few +licenses established for general use. Comments on specific general-purpose software licenses and how to choose between them for your own projects are addressed in @@ -81,35 +81,6 @@ Here's an example from the [MIT license]: > OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE > SOFTWARE. -### Use of trademarks and patents - -Software licenses generally deal with copyright-related rights, but commercial -software publishers often hold other kinds of intellectual property, namely -trademarks and patents. Free software licenses often incorporate clauses which -address the relationship between the software's copyright grant and other <abbr -title="Intellectual Property">IP</abbr>, for example agreeing that use of the -software does not infringe on the copyright holder's patents, or forbidding the -use of the copyright holder's trademarks. - -Here's an example from the [Apache 2.0 license]: - -> 3. **Grant of Patent License.** Subject to the terms and conditions of this -> License, each Contributor hereby grants to You a perpetual, worldwide, -> non-exclusive, no-charge, royalty-free, irrevocable (except as stated in -> this section) patent license to make, have made, use, offer to sell, sell, -> import, and otherwise transfer the Work, where such license applies only to -> those patent claims licensable by such Contributor that are necessarily -> infringed by their Contribution(s) alone or by combination of their -> Contribution(s) with the Work to which such Contribution(s) was submitted. -> If You institute patent litigation against any entity (including a -> cross-claim or counterclaim in a lawsuit) alleging that the Work or a -> Contribution incorporated within the Work constitutes direct or -> contributory patent infringement, then any patent licenses granted to You -> under this License for that Work shall terminate as of the date such -> litigation is filed. - -[Apache 2.0 license]: https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0.html - ### Copyleft Some licenses don't just *permit* you to share your improvements, but *require* @@ -146,3 +117,32 @@ subject to the license terms of both. Not all licenses have terms which are compatible with one another; in particular copyleft licenses tend to be less compatible with others. Software with incompatible licenses cannot be combined into one work. + +### Use of trademarks and patents + +Software licenses generally deal with copyright-related rights, but commercial +software publishers often hold other kinds of intellectual property, namely +trademarks and patents. Free software licenses often incorporate clauses which +address the relationship between the software's copyright grant and other <abbr +title="Intellectual Property">IP</abbr>, for example agreeing that use of the +software does not infringe on the copyright holder's patents, or forbidding the +use of the copyright holder's trademarks. + +Here's an example from the [Apache 2.0 license]: + +> 3. **Grant of Patent License.** Subject to the terms and conditions of this +> License, each Contributor hereby grants to You a perpetual, worldwide, +> non-exclusive, no-charge, royalty-free, irrevocable (except as stated in +> this section) patent license to make, have made, use, offer to sell, sell, +> import, and otherwise transfer the Work, where such license applies only to +> those patent claims licensable by such Contributor that are necessarily +> infringed by their Contribution(s) alone or by combination of their +> Contribution(s) with the Work to which such Contribution(s) was submitted. +> If You institute patent litigation against any entity (including a +> cross-claim or counterclaim in a lawsuit) alleging that the Work or a +> Contribution incorporated within the Work constitutes direct or +> contributory patent infringement, then any patent licenses granted to You +> under this License for that Work shall terminate as of the date such +> litigation is filed. + +[Apache 2.0 license]: https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0.html |