[SciPy-Dev] TOMS licensing

[Joshua Wilson]

Hey all,

Recently in https://github.com/scipy/scipy/issues/2851 we got permission to
use an algorithm from ACM TOMS--something I didn't know was possible for
things published before 2013 when they stopped requiring authors to
transfer their copyright to the ACM. Looking here:

http://authors.acm.org/main.html

I see three options for ACM author rights:

"""

Authors have the option to choose the level of rights management they
prefer. ACM offers three different options for authors to manage the
publication rights to their work.

(1) Authors who want ACM to manage the rights and permissions associated
with their work, which  includes defending against improper use by third
parties, can use ACM’s traditional copyright transfer agreement.
(2) Authors who prefer to retain copyright of their work can sign an
exclusive licensing agreement, which gives ACM the right but not the
obligation to defend the work against improper use by third parties.
(3) Authors who wish to retain all rights to their work can choose ACM's
author-pays option, which allows for perpetual open access through the ACM
Digital Library. Authors choosing the author-pays option can give ACM
non-exclusive permission to publish, sign ACM's exclusive licensing
agreement or sign ACM's traditional copyright transfer agreement. Those
choosing to grant ACM a non-exclusive permission to publish may also choose
to display a Creative Commons License on their works.

"""

In terms of us being able to use TOMS stuff, option (1) is no good and
option (3) is good. But I can't figure out (2)--the "exclusive license"
seems to suggest that authors are prohibited from re-licensing so it's no
good? Can anyone clarify?

I'm interested because there are a couple of other TOMS algorithms for
special functions (850 and 914) that it would be very nice to not have to
implement ourselves if the authors give us permission to use them.

- Apologies for the dry email,
Josh
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