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1.36 tb 17: <font color="#0000ff"><i>Open</i></font><font color="#000084">BSD</font></a>
18: <font color="#e00000">Copyright Policy</font>
19: </h2>
20: <hr>
1.12 deraadt 21: <p>
22:
1.31 naddy 23: <h3><font color="#e00000">Goal</font></h3><p>
1.1 grr 24:
25: Copyright law is complex, OpenBSD policy is simple - OpenBSD strives to
1.29 schwarze 26: provide code that can be freely used, copied, modified, and distributed
27: by anyone and for any purpose. This maintains the spirit of the original
28: Berkeley Software Distribution. The preferred wording of a license to be
29: applied to new code can be found in the
1.32 nick 30: <a href="http://cvsweb.openbsd.org/cgi-bin/cvsweb/src/share/misc/license.template?rev=HEAD">license template</a>.
1.1 grr 31: <p>
1.12 deraadt 32:
1.3 grr 33: OpenBSD can exist as it does today because of the example set by the
34: Computer Systems Research Group at Berkeley and the battles which they
1.29 schwarze 35: and others fought to create a Unix source distribution un-encumbered
36: by proprietary code and commercial licensing.
1.3 grr 37: <p>
1.12 deraadt 38:
1.11 millert 39: The ability of a <strong>freely redistributable</strong> "Berkeley" Unix
1.3 grr 40: to move forward on a competitive basis with other operating systems depends
41: on the willingness of the various development groups to exchange code amongst
42: themselves and with other projects.
1.4 deraadt 43: Understanding the legal issues surrounding copyright is fundamental to
1.3 grr 44: the ability to exchange and re-distribute code, while honoring the spirit of
45: the copyright and concept of attribution is fundamental to promoting the
46: cooperation of the people involved.
47: <p>
1.12 deraadt 48:
1.31 naddy 49: <h3><font color="#e00000">The Berkeley Copyright</font></h3><p>
1.12 deraadt 50:
1.29 schwarze 51: The original Berkeley copyright poses no restrictions on private or commercial
1.1 grr 52: use of the software and imposes only simple and uniform requirements
53: for maintaining copyright notices in redistributed versions and
54: crediting the originator of the material <strong>only</strong> in
55: advertising.
56: <p>
1.13 deraadt 57: For instance:
58: <p>
59: <pre>
60: * Copyright (c) 1982, 1986, 1990, 1991, 1993
61: * The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
62: *
63: * Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
64: * modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions
65: * are met:
66: * 1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright
67: * notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
68: * 2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright
69: * notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the
70: * documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
71: * 3. All advertising materials mentioning features or use of this software
72: * must display the following acknowledgement:
73: * This product includes software developed by the University of
74: * California, Berkeley and its contributors.
75: * 4. Neither the name of the University nor the names of its contributors
76: * may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software
77: * without specific prior written permission.
78: *
79: * THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE REGENTS AND CONTRIBUTORS ``AS IS'' AND
80: * ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE
81: * IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE
82: * ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE REGENTS OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE
83: * FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL
84: * DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS
85: * OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION)
86: * HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT
87: * LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY
88: * OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF
89: * SUCH DAMAGE.
90: *
91: </pre>
92: <p>
1.19 millert 93: Berkeley rescinded the 3rd term (the advertising term) on 22 July 1999.
94: Verbatim copies of the Berkeley license in the OpenBSD tree have that
95: term removed. In addition, many 3rd-party BSD-style licenses consist
96: solely of the first two terms.
1.13 deraadt 97: <p>
1.3 grr 98: Because the OpenBSD copyright imposes no conditions beyond those
99: imposed by the Berkeley copyright, OpenBSD can hope to share the same
100: wide distribution and applicability as the Berkeley distributions.
1.19 millert 101: It follows however, that OpenBSD cannot include material which
1.3 grr 102: includes copyrights which are more restrictive than the Berkeley
103: copyright, or must relegate this material to a secondary status,
104: i.e. OpenBSD as a whole is freely redistributable, but some optional
105: components may not be.
106: <p>
1.12 deraadt 107:
1.31 naddy 108: <h3><font color="#e00000">Copyright Law</font></h3><p>
1.1 grr 109: While the overall subject of copyright law is far beyond the scope of
1.2 grr 110: this document, some basics are in order. Under the current copyright law,
1.1 grr 111: copyrights are implicit in the creation of a new work and reside with
1.29 schwarze 112: the creator. In general the copyright applies
1.1 grr 113: only to the new work, not the material the work was derived from, nor
114: those portions of the derivative material included in the new work.
115: <p>
1.12 deraadt 116:
1.1 grr 117: Copyright law admits to three general categories of works:
118: <dl>
1.14 jufi 119: <dt>Original Work
1.1 grr 120: <dd>A new work that is not derived from an existing work.
121: <dt>Derivative Work
122: <dd>Work that is derived from, includes or amends existing works.
123: <dt>Compilations
124: <dd>A work that is a compilation of existing new and derivative works.
125: </dl>
1.12 deraadt 126: <p>
127:
1.1 grr 128: The fundamental concept is that there is primacy of the copyright, that
1.10 espie 129: is a copyright of a derivative work does not affect the rights held by
1.1 grr 130: the owner of the copyright of the original work, rather only the part
131: added. Likewise the copyright of a compilation does not affect the rights
132: of the owner of the included works, only the compilation as an entity.
133: <p>
1.12 deraadt 134:
1.1 grr 135: It is vitally important to understand that copyrights are broad protections
1.3 grr 136: as defined by national and international copyright law. The "copyright
137: notices" usually included in source files are not copyrights, but rather
138: notices that a party asserts that they hold copyright to the material or
1.5 todd 139: to part of the material. Typically these notices are associated with
1.3 grr 140: license terms which grant permissions subject to copyright law and with
141: disclaimers that state the position of the copyright holder/distributor
142: with respect to liability surrounding use of the material.
1.12 deraadt 143: <p>
144:
1.29 schwarze 145: By international law, specifically the Berne Convention for the
146: Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, part of the author's
147: copyright, the so-called moral rights, are inalienable. This
148: includes the author's right "to claim authorship of the work and
149: to object to any distortion, mutilation or other modification of,
150: or other derogatory action in relation to, the said work, which
151: would be prejudicial to his honor or reputation". In some countries,
152: the law reserves additional inalienable moral rights to the author.
153: On the other hand, the author is free to transfer other parts
154: of his copyright, the so-called economic rights, in particular the
155: rights to use, copy, modify, distribute, and license the work.
156: <p>
157:
1.31 naddy 158: <h3><font color="#e00000">Permissions - the flip side</font></h3><p>
1.12 deraadt 159:
1.1 grr 160: Because copyrights arise from the creation of a work, rather than through
1.3 grr 161: a registration process, there needs to be a practical way to extend
1.16 jufi 162: permission to use a work beyond what might be allowed by "fair use"
1.1 grr 163: provisions of the copyright laws.
1.12 deraadt 164: <p>
165:
1.1 grr 166: This permission typically takes the form of a "release" or "license"
167: included in the work, which grants the additional uses beyond those
168: granted by copyright law, usually subject to a variety of conditions.
1.3 grr 169: At one extreme sits "public domain" where the originator asserts that
170: he imposes no restrictions on use of the material, at the other
171: restrictive clauses that actually grant no additional rights or impose
172: restrictive, discriminatory or impractical conditions on use of the work.
1.1 grr 173: <p>
1.29 schwarze 174:
175: Note that a license is not to be confused with a copyright transfer.
1.31 naddy 176: While a transfer would give the new copyright holder <em>exclusive</em>
1.29 schwarze 177: rights to use the code and take these rights away from the author,
178: a license typically grants <em>additional</em> people non-exclusive
179: rights to use the code, while the authors retain all their rights.
180: <p>
181:
182: The above observations regarding moral rights imply that putting
183: code under an ISC or two-clause BSD license essentially makes the
184: code as free as it can possibly get. Modifying the wording of these
185: licenses can only result in one of the three following effects:
186: <ul>
187: <li>making the code less free by adding additional restrictions
188: regarding its use, copying, modification or distribution;
189: <li>or effectively not changing anything by merely changing the wording,
190: but not changing anything substantial regarding the legal content;
191: <li>or making the license illegal by attempting to deprive the
192: authors of rights they cannot legally give away.
193: </ul><p>
1.12 deraadt 194:
1.3 grr 195: Again, an important point to note is that the release and conditions can
1.1 grr 196: only apply to the portion of the work that was originated by the copyright
1.31 naddy 197: holder—the holder of a copyright on a derivative work can neither
1.3 grr 198: grant additional permissions for use of the original work, nor impose more
199: restrictive conditions for use of that work.
1.1 grr 200: <p>
1.12 deraadt 201:
1.3 grr 202: Because copyright arises from the creation of a work and not the text
203: or a registration process, removing or altering a copyright notice or
1.10 espie 204: associated release terms has no bearing on the existence of the copyright,
1.20 jmc 205: rather all that is accomplished is to cast doubt upon whatever rights the
206: person making the modifications had to use the material in the first place.
207: Likewise, adding terms and conditions in conflict with the original terms
208: and conditions does not supersede them, rather it casts doubts on the rights
209: of the person making the amendments to use the material and creates confusion
210: as to whether anyone can use the amended version or derivatives thereof.
1.1 grr 211: <p>
1.12 deraadt 212:
1.1 grr 213: Finally, releases are generally binding on the material that they
214: are distributed with. This means that if the originator of a work distributes
215: that work with a release granting certain permissions, those permissions
216: apply as stated, without discrimination, to all persons legitimately
217: possessing a copy of the work. That means that having granted a permission,
218: the copyright holder can not retroactively say that an individual or class
219: of individuals are no longer granted those permissions. Likewise should
220: the copyright holder decide to "go commercial" he can not revoke permissions
221: already granted for the use of the work as distributed, though he may impose
222: more restrictive permissions in his future distributions of that work.
223: <p>
1.12 deraadt 224:
1.31 naddy 225: <h3><font color="#e00000">Specific Cases</font></h3><p>
1.12 deraadt 226:
1.1 grr 227: This section attempts to summarize the position of OpenBSD relative to
228: some commonly encountered copyrights.
1.12 deraadt 229: <p>
230:
1.1 grr 231: <dl>
232: <dt>Berkeley<dd><p>
233: The Berkeley copyright is the model for the OpenBSD copyright. It retains
234: the rights of the copyright holder, while imposing minimal conditions on
235: the use of the copyrighted material. Material with Berkeley copyrights,
1.3 grr 236: or copyrights closely adhering to the Berkeley model can generally be
237: included in OpenBSD.
1.12 deraadt 238: <p>
239:
1.1 grr 240: <dt>AT&T<dd><p>
1.19 millert 241: As part of its settlement with AT&T, Berkeley included an
242: AT&T copyright notice on some of the files in 4.4BSD lite and lite2.
243: The terms of this license are identical to the standard Berkeley license.
244: <p>
245: Additionally, OpenBSD includes some other AT&T code with non-restrictive
246: copyrights, such as the reference implementation of
247: <a href="http://cm.bell-labs.com/cm/cs/who/bwk/awk.tar.gz">awk</a>.
248: <p>
249:
250: <dt>Caldera<dd><p>
1.28 schwarze 251: The original Unix code (AT&T versions 1 through 7 UNIX, including 32V)
252: was freed by Caldera, Inc. on 23 January 2002 and is now available under a
1.19 millert 253: <a href="http://www.tuhs.org/Archive/Caldera-license.pdf">4-term BSD-style license</a>.
1.28 schwarze 254: As a result, it would theoretically be possible to incorporate original
1.31 naddy 255: Unix code into OpenBSD. However, that code is now so old that it does not
1.28 schwarze 256: satisfy today's interface and quality standards.
1.12 deraadt 257: <p>
258:
1.1 grr 259: <dt>DEC, Sun, other manufacturers/software houses.<dd><p>
260: In general OpenBSD does not include material copyrighted by manufacturers
261: or software houses. Material may be included where the copyright owner has
262: granted general permission for reuse without conditions, with terms similar
263: to the Berkeley copyright, or where the material is the product of an
1.8 d 264: employee and the employer's copyright notice effectively releases any
1.1 grr 265: rights they might have to the work.
1.12 deraadt 266: <p>
267:
1.1 grr 268: <dt>Carnegie-Mellon (CMU, Mach)<dd><p>
269: The Carnegie-Mellon copyright is similar to the Berkeley copyright, except
270: that it requests that derivative works be made available to Carnegie-Mellon.
271: Because this is only a request and not a condition, such material can still
272: be included in OpenBSD. It should be noted that existing versions of Mach
273: are still subject to AT&T copyrights, which prevents the general
274: distribution of Mach sources.
1.12 deraadt 275: <p>
276:
1.11 millert 277: <dt>Apache<dd><p>
1.28 schwarze 278: The original Apache license was similar to the Berkeley license,
279: but source code published under version 2 of the Apache license is
280: subject to additional restrictions and cannot be included into OpenBSD.
1.12 deraadt 281: <p>
282:
1.19 millert 283: <dt>ISC<dd><p>
284: The ISC copyright is functionally equivalent to a two-term BSD
285: copyright with language removed that is made unnecessary by the
286: Berne convention. This is the preferred license for new code
1.30 schwarze 287: incorporated into OpenBSD. A sample license is available in the file
1.32 nick 288: <a href="http://cvsweb.openbsd.org/cgi-bin/cvsweb/src/share/misc/license.template?rev=HEAD">/usr/share/misc/license.template</a>.
1.19 millert 289: <p>
290:
1.3 grr 291: <dt>GNU General Public License, GPL, LGPL, copyleft, etc.<dd><p>
1.1 grr 292: The GNU Public License and licenses modeled on it impose the restriction
293: that source code must be distributed or made available for all works that
1.3 grr 294: are derivatives of the GNU copyrighted code.
1.28 schwarze 295:
1.3 grr 296: <p>
1.28 schwarze 297: While this may superficially look like a noble strategy, it is a
298: condition that is typically unacceptable for commercial use of software.
299: So in practice, it usually ends up hindering free sharing and reuse
300: of code and ideas rather than encouraging it.
301: As a consequence, no additional software bound by the GPL terms
302: will be considered for inclusion into the OpenBSD base system.
1.12 deraadt 303:
1.3 grr 304: <p>
1.28 schwarze 305: For historical reasons, the OpenBSD base system still includes the
306: following GPL-licensed components: the GNU compiler collection (GCC)
1.33 nick 307: with supporting binutils and libraries, GNU CVS, GNU texinfo,
308: the mkhybrid file system creation tool, and the
1.28 schwarze 309: readline library. Replacement by equivalent, more freely licensed
310: tools is a long-term desideratum.
1.3 grr 311: <p>
1.12 deraadt 312:
1.1 grr 313: <dt>NetBSD<dd><p>
1.5 todd 314: Much of OpenBSD is originally based on and evolved from NetBSD, since some
1.3 grr 315: of the OpenBSD developers were involved in the NetBSD project. The general
316: NetBSD license terms are compatible with the Berkeley license and permit
317: such use. Material subject <strong>only</strong> to the general NetBSD
318: license can generally be included in OpenBSD.
319: <p>
1.12 deraadt 320:
1.11 millert 321: In the past, NetBSD has included material copyrighted by individuals
322: who have imposed license conditions beyond that of the general
323: NetBSD license, but granted the NetBSD Foundation license to
324: distribute the material. Such material can not be included in
325: OpenBSD as long as the conditions imposed are at odds with the
326: OpenBSD license terms or releases from those terms are offered on
327: a discriminatory basis.
1.12 deraadt 328: <p>
329:
1.1 grr 330: <dt>FreeBSD<dd><p>
1.3 grr 331: Most of FreeBSD is also based on Berkeley licensed material or includes
1.2 grr 332: copyright notices based on the Berkeley model. Such material can be
1.3 grr 333: included in OpenBSD, while those parts that are subject to GPL or
334: various individual copyright terms that are at odds with the OpenBSD license
335: can not be included in OpenBSD.
1.12 deraadt 336: <p>
337:
1.1 grr 338: <dt>Linux<dd><p>
339: Most of Linux is subject to GPL style licensing terms and therefore
1.2 grr 340: can not be included in OpenBSD. Individual components may be eligible,
1.1 grr 341: subject to the terms of the originator's copyright notices. Note that
1.8 d 342: Linux "distributions" may also be subject to additional copyright claims
1.1 grr 343: of the distributing organization, either as a compilation or on material
1.3 grr 344: included that is not part of the Linux core.
1.12 deraadt 345: <p>
346:
1.28 schwarze 347: <dt>X.Org<dd><p>
348: The X.Org Foundation maintains and distributes the X Window System
349: under a modified MIT license, which is quite similar to the BSD
350: license and additionally allows sublicensing. Under the name of
351: Xenocara, the OpenBSD base system includes an improved and actively
352: maintained version of the X.Org code.
1.12 deraadt 353: <p>
354:
1.1 grr 355: <dt>Shareware, Charityware, Freeware, etc.<dd><p>
356: Most "shareware" copyright notices impose conditions for redistribution,
357: use or visibility that are at conflict with the OpenBSD project goals.
358: Review on a case-by-case basis is required as to whether the wording
1.2 grr 359: of the conditions is acceptable in terms of conditions being requested vs.
1.1 grr 360: demanded and whether the spirit of the conditions is compatible with
1.2 grr 361: goals of the OpenBSD project.
1.12 deraadt 362: <p>
363:
1.1 grr 364: <dt>Public Domain<dd><p>
1.31 naddy 365: While material that is truly entered into the "public domain" can be
1.1 grr 366: included in OpenBSD, review is required on a case by case basis.
1.3 grr 367: Frequently the "public domain" assertion is made by someone who does
1.31 naddy 368: not really hold all rights under copyright law to grant that status or
1.1 grr 369: there are a variety of conditions imposed on use. For a work to be
1.31 naddy 370: truly in the "public domain" all rights are abandoned and the material
1.3 grr 371: is offered without restrictions.
1.12 deraadt 372: <p>
1.28 schwarze 373:
374: In some jurisdictions, it is doubtful whether voluntarily placing
375: one's own work into the public domain is legally possible.
376: For that reason, to make any substantial body of code free,
377: it is preferable to state the copyright and put it under an ISC
378: or BSD license instead of attempting to release it into the public
379: domain.
1.12 deraadt 380:
381: </dl>
1.1 grr 382:
383: </body>
384: </html>
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