Still no new license -- but draft text available

[Pat McCann]

joneshenry at my-deja.com writes:

> In article <LNBBLJKPBEHFEDALKOLCMELAHAAA.tim_one at email.msn.com>,
>   "Tim Peters" <tim_one at email.msn.com> wrote:
> 
> > [Huge amounts snipped.]

> Can Guido van Rossum at least say whether he was so authorized?  If he
> can't say, can anyone tell me what is the evidence that CNRI authorized
> that license?

Very good question, but an answer is probably not needed.  More below.
> 
> > I'm not sure a readable license is legal <wink>.
> 
> I totally disagree.  Look at the Python 1.6b1 license which was
> negotiated recently with what you have implied to be large input
> from lawyers.  This license I think should be readable by anyone
> with a high school education.

I'm sure he meant "understandable".  And if you think you understand ANY 
license, you don't understand law.  BTW, I wan't (Tim was) referring to
the license; I was referring to the source code.  One definition of
"open" not used much around here is "readable by the public", regardless
of the amount of restrictions.

> As I have been repeatedly saying, I think the questions simply
> boil down to asking directly two relevant copyright holders,
> CNRI and the Free Software Foundation, and to not blithely assume
> that "silence gives assent".

Of course, courts often find that silence DOES give assent.  If CNRI's
Python code has been distributed for several years and people have
been assuming that the CWI license applies (people presumably know
that CNRI shares the copyright with CWI, but that doesn't much 
matter except for who's name will be on the court papers) then courts
will probably find that CNRI was negligent and thereby were granting
an implied license to use the software.  They well knew what Guido was
doing or should have.  I'm quite sure this would not be a big problem,
but it would be a moderate problem if it got one into court at all.
But Tim assures us (with appropriate disclaimers) that CNRI probably
won't, for several reasons, be suing anyone.  Consult a lawyer. IANAL.