Re: License query

On Thu, 29 Apr 2010 16:15:48 +0100, Ben Griffin <[email protected]>
wrote:
> Just had  legal over the license.
> 
> We were wondering how Open Market, Inc. envisage the following term as
> being enforcable:
> 
> "If modifications to this Software and Documentation have new licensing
> terms, the new terms must be clearly indicated on the first page of each
> file where they apply."  
> 
> Clearly if modifications to the software/documentation are copyrighted
by
> the new authors (remember that of course changing the license text
counts
> as modification)

Modifying the license text is not permitted by the BSD license, nor the
FastCGI license.  See here: "Open Market permits you to use, copy, modify,
distribute, and license this Software and the Documentation for any
purpose,
provided that existing copyright notices are retained in all copies and
that
this notice is included verbatim in any distributions."

> then Open Market, Inc. no longer has any right or claim
> regarding the way in which any terms are to be indicated, which rather
> nullifies the aforementioned term.

Your right to use, copy, modify, distribute, or license the FastCGI
software comes to you *only* through the license.  When you make changes,
you hold copyright on the changes, not the entire combined work.  If you
use, copy, modify, distribute, or license the combined work, the portions
on
which you do not hold copyright can only be used, copied, modified,
distributed, or licensed under the terms of the FastCGI license, which
require you to clearly indicate on the first page of each file on which
you
hold partial copyright that different license terms apply to portions of
that file.

It's more than a polite request, it's a legal requirement.

> Am I missing something?

Everyone makes mistakes, but you should reconsider which legal you have
over
the license.
-- 
 Matthew Weigel
 hacker, not a lawyer, but this is pretty basic
 unique & idempot . ent