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The Free World Licence V1 (Plain Text) Here is Version 1 of the Free World Licence. The text below consists of plain text wrapped to 60 characters wide, and is the official "canonical" form of the licence. This form is suitable for copying into text files, email messages, web pages and programs. There is also an annotated version of the licence which provides a commentary on each clause.
-----(Start Of The Free World Licence)-----
THE FREE WORLD LICENCE V1
=========================
Version : 1.
Date : 12 August 2000.
Author : Ross N. Williams (ross@ross.net).
Web : http://www.freeworldlicence.org/
Copyright : Copyright (c) Ross N. Williams 2000.
All rights reserved.
Licence : You are permitted to copy, distribute, and use
verbatim copies of this licence document, but
you may not modify it. However, you may copy
and modify clauses of this licence for use in
your own licence of a different name.
Branding : The author requests that the term
"Free World Licence" be used only to refer to
verbatim copies of this licence.
Warning : This licence does not constitute legal advice
by Ross N. Williams or any other party, and
accordingly it is not intended to be, nor
should it be relied upon as, a substitute for
legal or other professional advice. If you use
this Licence, you do so at your own risk.
Note : Because this licence permits use on free
platforms only, it does not satisfy the
requirements for use of the term "open source"
as it is informally defined on the web site
www.opensource.org. In order to avoid confusion,
this licence should not be referred to as an
"open source" licence and software released
under this licence should not be referred to
as "open source".
Thanks : Parts of this licence are based on parts of the
GNU GPL, with permission. Thanks also to Adrian
Tembel for insightful legal debugging, and to
Dan Shearer and Marc Leeuwen for helpful
comments.
Abstract
--------
This is a free-software licence that provides all the
conventional free-software freedoms, but restricts them to
free platforms only (the "Free World"). This licence, which
may be used by anyone, is suitable for commercial software
vendors who want to contribute to the free software
community and experiment with free-software business models
without destroying their existing commercial-platform
licensing revenue stream. It may also be suitable for
free-software developers who do not want their software to
enhance the functionality of non-free platforms.
Form Of Invocation
------------------
The suggested form of invocation of this licence in your
source code is:
Copyright (c) [YourName] [Year]. All rights reserved.
To the extent permitted by law, all liability is
excluded, including contractual, tort and other forms.
You are permitted to copy and distribute this module
on Free Platforms only, subject to the terms and
conditions of the Free World Licence V1 which can
be found at the website www.freeworldlicence.org.
[YourName] is the Original Licensor and can be
contacted at:
[Your name] ([Your email address])
[Your web address]
[Your postal address]
If you are releasing a complete program, the suggested form
of notice that the program should display to its user is:
Copyright (c) [YourName] [Year]. All rights reserved.
To the extent permitted by law, all liability is
excluded, including contractual, tort and other forms.
This program may be run on Free Platforms only.
By running this program twice, you agree to the terms
and conditions of The Free World Licence V1
(www.freeworldlicence.org).
Definitions
-----------
1.1 CONTRACT: The terms "Licence" and "Contract" are used
interchangeably to refer to this document and the
relationship it defines.
1.2 EXECUTABLE: A work, or derived work, capable of being
executed on a Platform without further translation.
1.3 FIRMWARE: Firmware is defined to be any software
residing in computer chips (not mass storage devices) of one
megabyte or less that is undamaged when the computer is
disconnected from its power supply and which cannot be
replaced or altered without having to disconnect the
computer from its power supply, open the computer, and
manually perform a physical hardware modification.
1.4 FREE PLATFORM: A Free Platform is defined to be any
Platform whose software component satisfies all of the
following conditions technically, legally, and free of
charge for all entities:
a. complete Executables can be downloaded from the internet;
b. complete Source Code can be downloaded from the internet;
c. the software may be used for any purpose;
d. the software may be modified, and modified versions used;
e. modifications and modified versions may be publicly
shared under the same terms;
f. these freedoms apply to both Executables and Source Code;
g. these freedoms are granted irreversibly for the
particular version of the Platform in question; the
Platform's licence must not contain termination clauses
triggered by anything other than the wish of the licensee
or formally defined breaches of the licence's conditions
relating directly to the intellectual property of the
Platform software.
Exception: The incorporation of non-free device drivers, and
other directly hardware-related software does not in itself
cause a Platform to be classified as non-free.
The following is an informal categorization of some existing
Platforms. This categorization is subordinate to the
definition above:
Free : GNU/Linux (often called just "Linux"), FreeBSD,
NetBSD, OpenBSD, GNU/HURD, FreeDOS, MINIX.
Non-Free : MS-DOS, Windows95, Windows98, WindowsNT,
Windows2000, MacOS, AIX, IRIX, Tru64 Unix,
SunOS, Solaris, OpenVMS, HP-UX, BSD/OS, Plan 9,
VMware and other non-free software that emulates
hardware and/or emulates free platforms.
See also PLATFORM. Note: Many of these platform names are
trademarks of their respective owners.
1.5 LICENCE: The terms "Licence" and "Contract" are used
interchangeably to refer to this document and the
relationship it defines.
1.6 LICENSOR: Licensor is the entity that is granting a
licence under this Licence. The Licensor will usually also
be the copyright holder. The Licensor may also be the
Original Licensor.
1.7 LICENSEE: Licensee is the entity that is being granted a
licence under this Licence.
1.8 MODULE: A component of a computer program, and the unit
of licensing under this Licence. A module's source code
consists of a single source file, or a small cluster of very
closely related source files (e.g. in C, module.h and
module.c). "The Module" means the module that is the subject
of this licence, and includes any derivative work under
copyright law: that is to say, a work containing the Module
or a portion of it, either verbatim or with modifications
and/or translated into another language. Hereinafter,
translation (including compilation) is included without
limitation in the term "modification". An executable or
object code module is a derivative work of each Module from
which it was derived.
1.9 NOTICE: A message within a Module, or associated with a
Module or Program containing the Module.
1.10 ORIGINAL LICENSOR: The entity that first
created/released the Module under this Licence. This is
usually the copyright holder. If several entities contribute
modifications to a Module, then each entity holds copyright
over its modification, and licenses those modifications to
the public under this Licence. All of those entities are
Licensors of the Module, but only the original
creator/releaser is the Original Licensor.
1.11 OFFICIAL: Something is Official if it is provided or
endorsed by the Original Licensor.
1.12 PLATFORM: A collection of hardware, software and
interfaces that together constitute a software execution
environment. For the purposes of this Licence, the software
component of a Platform is defined to be the minimum set of
software required to enable the execution of the Module (or
the derived work containing the Module) and does not include
Firmware as defined above. See also FREE PLATFORM.
1.13 PROGRAM: A collection of one or more Modules that
together constitute an operational piece of software that
can be run on at least one Platform.
1.14 SOURCE CODE: The source code for a work means the
preferred form of the work for making modifications to it.
For an executable work, complete source code means all the
source code for all modules it contains, plus any associated
interface definition files, plus the scripts used to control
compilation and installation of the executable. However, as
a special exception, the source code distributed need not
include anything that is normally distributed (in either
source or binary form) with the major components (compiler,
kernel, and so on) of the Platform on which the executable
runs, unless that component itself accompanies the
executable.
1.15 THIRD PARTY WORK: A work that can reasonably be
considered independent and separate to the Module.
1.16 YOU: The Licensee.
Framing
-------
2.1 CONTRACT: This Licence is a legal contract between you
and the Original Licensor (and possibly between you and
other contributing Licensors too). As you are not obliged to
accept this Contract without becoming aware of its existence
and then indicating your agreement to it, you are free to
receive and store a copy of the Module on your computer for
an undefined grace period. However, in the absence of some
other licensing agreement with Original Licensor, this
Licence forms the only basis for your continued use of the
Module, and by performing any of the following actions, you
indicate your formal acceptance of this Licence and you
enter into a contract with Original Licensor (and possibly
with other contributing Licensors too):
(a) Executing the Module, or any Program incorporating the
Module, more than once (see clause 4.9);
(b) Modifying the Module or creating a derived work of the
Module;
(c) Passively or actively copying or distributing the
Module;
(d) Failing to delete the Module from your computer within
three days of becoming specifically aware of the
Module's presence on your computer and its coverage by
this Licence.
2.2 SUBJECT OF LICENCE: This Licence applies to any Module,
or other work, that contains a notice placed by the work's
copyright holder (or entity authorized by the copyright
holder) saying that it may be distributed under the terms of
this Licence. If no licence version number is provided in
the notice, the version of this Licence is applicable that
was most current at the time the Module was first released
under this Licence.
2.3 CONSIDERATION: In exchange for this Licence, you agree
to accept the terms and conditions of this Licence,
including agreement to license to Original Licensor any
bugfixes and minor modifications that you release, as
described in clause 5.8.
2.4 SCOPE: This Licence covers only the activities of
copying, executing, distributing, and modifying (creating
derived works) the Module. All other activities are outside
its scope. Module output is covered only if its contents
constitute a work based on the Module (independent of having
been made by running the Module). Whether that is true
depends on what the Module does.
2.5 LICENCE, NOT SALE: The Module is licensed, not sold, to
you for use only under the terms and conditions of this
Contract, and Licensor reserves all rights not expressly
granted to you. This Contract does not grant you any rights
to copyright, patents, trade secrets, trade names,
trademarks (whether registered or unregistered), or any
other rights, franchises, or licences (apart from the
express licence granted by this Contract) in respect of the
Module, or collection of Modules similarly licensed.
2.6 WARRANT OF RIGHTS: Original Licensor warrants that it
has sufficient copyright rights to the Module to license it
to you under this Licence. However, due to the uncertainty
associated with other forms of intellectual property,
Original Licensor does not warrant that it has sufficient
patent or other rights, apart from copyright, to license the
Module.
Own Use
-------
3.1 PLATFORM RESTRICTION ON EXECUTION: You may execute the
Module on any Free Platform. You may not execute the Module
on any non-Free Platform.
3.2 PLATFORM RESTRICTION ON DERIVED WORKS: You may not
generate, copy, distribute or endorse object code or an
executable that incorporates the Module and which can run on
one or more non-Free Platforms, unless the object code or
executable was generated on a Free Platform, can run
unmodified on at least one Free Platform, and has
interoperability as a natural consequence of the
relationship between the architectures of the Free and
non-Free Platforms rather than as the result of an
engineering effort (e.g. using two bodies of code in the
same executable) designed to circumvent this clause.
Distribution
------------
4.1 COPYING OF SOURCE: You may copy and distribute copies of
the Module's source code, in any medium, provided that you
conspicuously and appropriately publish (or retain) on each
copy an appropriate copyright notice and disclaimer of
warranty; keep intact all the notices that refer to this
Licence and to the absence of any warranty; and give any
other recipients of the Module a copy of this Licence along
with the Module (or collection of Modules similarly
licensed). You must also adhere to the other terms and
conditions of this Contract.
4.2 COPYING OF EXECUTABLES: You may copy and distribute
copies of object code and executables (that incorporate the
Module) for Free Platforms only, providing that you include
a copy of this Licence, and that you either include the
source code for the Module or instructions on how to
download a publicly available copy of the source code for
the Module (or Program or collection of modules containing
the Module) from the internet free of charge and provided
under this Licence. You must also adhere to the other terms
and conditions of this Contract.
4.3 CHARGING FOR DISTRIBUTION: You may charge a fee for the
physical act of transferring a copy of the Module.
4.4 CHARGING FOR WARRANTY PROTECTION: You may offer warranty
protection on the Module in exchange for a fee.
4.5 ORIGINAL LICENSOR CONTACT INFO: Original Licensor must
provide, along with any notice indicating that this Licence
applies, appropriate contact information so as to enable
Licensees to send Original Licensor changes and to contact
Original Licensor about issues relating to this Licence.
Original Licensor should provide at least its name, postal
address, email address, and website address.
4.6 INTEGRATION: Where you distribute a Third Party Work as
part of a whole that contains the Module, the distribution
of the whole must be on the terms of this Licence, whose
permissions for other Licensees extend to the entire whole,
and thus to each and every part regardless of who wrote it.
However, this restriction does not apply to such Third Party
Works when they are distributed as separate works.
4.7 AGGREGATION: Mere aggregation of another work not based
on the Module with the Module on a volume of a storage or
distribution medium does not bring the other work under the
scope of this Licence.
4.8 REPRESENTATION OF RIGHTS: In interacting with a third
party in relation to the Module under this Contract, you may
not explicitly or implicitly represent that they have more
or less rights than are provided to them under this Licence.
For example, you may not imply, when distributing the
Module, that the Module is conventionally-commercial
software (implication of less rights), and you may not imply
that the Module is public domain (implication of more
rights). Similarly, you may not imply that the Module may
legally be run on a non-free Platform (e.g. by distributing
it under the implicit or explicit representation that it is
for use on one or more non-free Platforms).
4.9 STARTUP NOTICES: If a work based on the Module is
distributed as part of a whole that has an interactive
interface, then that interface must display (in a startup
notice, "about" box, or similar) a notice that includes:
(a) an appropriate copyright notice;
(b) a notice that there is no warranty (or else, saying
that you provide a warranty);
(c) a notice that the software is covered by this Licence;
(d) a notice telling the user how to view a copy of this
licence; and
(e) a notice that by running the software twice, the user
is explicitly agreeing to this Licence (see clause 2.1).
If the work does not have an interactive interface (e.g.
traditionally "silent" Unix utilities) then you must
configure the distribution so as to ensure that the user is
made aware of these notices before the user runs the program
for the second time.
4.10 INTEGRITY: If, as a consequence of a court judgment or
allegation of patent infringement or for any other reason
(not limited to patent issues), conditions are imposed on
you (whether by court order, agreement or otherwise) that
contradict the conditions of this Licence, they do not
excuse you from the conditions of this Licence. If you
cannot distribute so as to satisfy simultaneously your
obligations under this Licence and any other pertinent
obligations, then as a consequence you may not distribute
the Module at all. For example, if a patent licence would
not permit royalty-free redistribution of the Module by all
those who receive copies directly or indirectly through you,
then the only way you could satisfy both it and this Licence
would be to refrain entirely from distribution of the
Module.
4.11 ACKNOWLEDGMENT: The end-user documentation included
with any distribution of this software must include the
following acknowledgement:
"This product includes software developed by
Original-Licensor (Original-Licensor's-Web-Address)."
where you should substitute the Original Licensor's name and
web address as appropriate. Alternately, this acknowledgment
may appear in the software itself, if and wherever such
third-party acknowledgments normally appear.
Modification
------------
5.1 GRANT OF MODIFICATION: You may modify your copy or
copies of the Module or any portion of it, thus forming a
work based on the Module, and copy and distribute such
modifications or work in accordance with clauses 4.1 and
4.2, providing that you conform to all the other terms and
conditions of this Contract.
5.2 LICENCE ENFORCEMENT: You must not remove or disable
parts of the Module that notify, support or enforce the
terms and conditions of this Licence.
5.3 NOTICE PERMANENCE: You may not remove any notice of
proprietary rights (e.g. notices of copyright, patent,
trademark, trade name), or any other legal or other notice,
from the Module.
5.4 MODIFICATION NOTICES: If you modify the Module, you must
cause the modified files to carry prominent notices,
providing, for each change, your name, the date of the
change, your email address, and a brief summary of each
change.
5.5 PROGRAM MODIFICATION NOTICES: If Original Licensor
released the Module as part of a Program, and the Module has
been modified since it was released by Original Licensor,
and the Program has an interactive interface, then that
interface must display (in a startup notice, "about" box, or
similar) a notice stating that the Program has been modified
since its Official release, a statement that an official
version is available, and sufficient online contact
information (e.g. official web address) for obtaining the
Official version, as provided by Original Licensor.
5.6 NAMING EXECUTABLES AND DISTRIBUTION FILES: If Original
Licensor released the Module as part of a Program, and the
Module has been modified since it was released by Original
Licensor, then all modified executables and distribution
archive files must be given a different name from the
Official name. For example, if the Program is called
Gnomovision, then you could name your executable and
distribution file gnomovision-banana.exe and
gnomovision-banana.zip. The different name must not imply
that the variant is Official (e.g. "Gnomovision-Deluxe",
"Gnomovision-Pro" or "Gnomovision-V5"). This clause is
subordinate to the powers of trademarks wielded by Original
Licensor.
5.7 TRADEMARK: If Original Licensor released the Module,
under this Licence, as part of a complete Program, and the
Program's name is protected by trademark, Original Licensor
should issue a licence for use of the trademark, and you
must conform to its terms and conditions or rename your
variation of the Program.
5.8 MINOR MODIFICATION LICENSEBACK: If you apply a
self-contained modification that adds or modifies at most
twenty (possibly non-contiguous) lines of code in the
Module, or apply a simple systematic transformation
throughout the Module (e.g. correcting a systemic spelling
error), then upon releasing such modification, you
automatically grant to Original Licensor a non-exclusive
royalty-free unrestricted worldwide licence to distribute
and/or license the modification (and hence the modified
Module) under terms of the Original Licensor's choosing. The
purpose of this clause is to allow bugfixes and minor
enhancements to be incorporated into commercial releases of
the Module.
5.9 ALL-PLATFORM CONVERSION: If you apply a modification to
the Module, then upon releasing such modification you
automatically grant a public licence to the modification
under this Licence, and also under this Licence but with the
definition of "Free Platform" relaxed to include all
platforms. The purpose of this clause is to enable the
Original Licensor (at a later date) to relax the platform
restriction without having to obtain permission from each
contributor/Licensor. However, until the Original Licensor
releases the original Module under the relaxed licence, the
modified Module does not fall under the relaxed licence.
5.10 GNU CONVERSION: If you apply a modification to the
Module, then upon releasing such modification you
automatically grant a public licence to the modification
under all versions (including future versions) of the GNU
General Public Licence (as published by the Free Software
Foundation (www.fsf.org)). The purpose of this clause is to
enable the Original Licensor (at a later date) to convert
the Module's licensing over to a GNU GPL without having to
obtain GNU GPL permission from each contributor/Licensor.
However, until the Original Licensor releases the original
Module under a GNU GPL, the modified Module does not fall
under the GNU GPL.
5.11 IMMUTABILITY: You may not copy, modify, sublicense, or
distribute the Module except as expressly provided under
this Licence. Any attempt otherwise to copy, modify,
sublicense or distribute the Module is void, and will
automatically terminate your rights under this Licence.
However, parties who have received copies, or rights, from
you under this Licence will not have their licences
terminated so long as such parties remain in full
compliance.
5.12 TRANSITIVITY: You must cause any work (and each Module
in any work) that you distribute or publish, that in whole
or in part contains or is derived from the Module or any
part thereof, to be licensed at no charge to all third
parties under the terms of this Licence. Each time you
redistribute the Module, the recipient automatically
receives an offer from Original Licensor and all subsequent
Licensors to accept this Contract and thereby obtain the
right to execute, copy, distribute or modify the Module
subject to these terms and conditions. You may not impose
any further restrictions on the recipients' exercise of the
rights granted herein.
5.13 PATENTS OWNED BY LICENSOR: Where Licensor owns (or has
licensed) patents that relate to the Module, Licensor must
prominently and appropriately list in the Module's source
code and documentation (using the word "patent") formal
references to each patent. Failure to do this constitutes
(to the extent permitted by Licensor's powers in relation to
the patent) an implicit free public licence to use the
patent in the form of the Module and derived works of the
Module under this Licence.
5.14 PATENT GEOGRAPHICAL EXCLUSIONS: If the distribution
and/or use of the Module is restricted in certain countries
either by patents or by copyrighted interfaces, Licensor may
add an explicit geographical distribution limitation
excluding those countries, so that distribution is permitted
only in or among countries not thus excluded. In such case,
this Licence incorporates the limitation as if written in
the body of this Licence.
5.15 INTERACTION WITH OTHER LICENCES: If you wish to
integrate parts of the Module with other modules whose
distribution conditions are different, contact the
Licensor(s) to ask for permission.
No Warranty Or Liability
------------------------
6.1 NO WARRANTY: BECAUSE THE MODULE IS LICENSED FREE OF
CHARGE, THERE IS NO WARRANTY FOR THE MODULE, TO THE EXTENT
PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW. EXCEPT WHEN OTHERWISE STATED
IN WRITING THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND/OR OTHER PARTIES
PROVIDE THE MODULE "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND,
EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO,
THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A
PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE QUALITY AND
PERFORMANCE OF THE MODULE IS WITH YOU. SHOULD THE MODULE
PROVE DEFECTIVE, YOU ASSUME THE COST OF ALL NECESSARY
SERVICING, REPAIR OR CORRECTION.
6.2 NO LIABILITY: IN NO EVENT UNLESS REQUIRED BY APPLICABLE
LAW OR AGREED TO IN WRITING WILL ANY COPYRIGHT HOLDER, OR
ANY OTHER PARTY WHO MAY MODIFY AND/OR REDISTRIBUTE THE
MODULE AS PERMITTED ABOVE, BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR DAMAGES,
INCLUDING ANY GENERAL, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL
DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE
MODULE (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OF DATA OR DATA
BEING RENDERED INACCURATE OR LOSSES SUSTAINED BY YOU OR
THIRD PARTIES OR A FAILURE OF THE MODULE TO OPERATE WITH ANY
OTHER MODULES), EVEN IF SUCH HOLDER OR OTHER PARTY HAS BEEN
ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
6.3 INDEMNITY: IF YOU BREACH ANY PART OF THIS CONTRACT, YOU
INDEMNIFY ORIGINAL LICENSOR (AND ALL SUBSEQUENT LICENSORS)
AGAINST ANY CLAIMS THAT ARISE AS A DIRECT OR INDIRECT
CONSEQUENCE OF SUCH BREACH.
Additional Legalities
---------------------
7.1 NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR THIRD PARTY COMPLIANCE: You are
not responsible for enforcing compliance by third parties to
this Licence.
7.2 SUGGESTIONS: By making a suggestion (in relation to the
Module, a derived work of the Module, or a Third Party
enclosing Work) to Original Licensor or its representatives,
you thereby grant Original Licensor permission to use that
suggestion, free of charge, in any way it chooses.
7.3 USE OF LICENSOR'S NAME: Neither the name of the Original
Licensor, nor the names of the Module's contributors may be
used to endorse or promote products derived from this
software without specific prior written permission.
7.4 TERMINATION: You may terminate this Licence at any time
by deleting all copies of the Module (and works derived from
the module) in your possession. However, such deletion does
not necessarily constitute a remedy for a prior breach. The
No Warranty, No Liability, and Indemnity clauses survive
termination. Termination does not extend to parties who have
received copies, or rights, from you under this Licence so
long as such parties remain in full compliance.
7.5 SEVERANCE: If any section of this Licence is held
invalid or unenforceable under any particular circumstance,
the balance of the section is intended to apply and the
section as a whole is intended to apply in other
circumstances.
7.6 ENTIRE AGREEMENT: This Contract contains the entire
agreement between the parties hereto with respect to the
specific licence granted under this Contract, and supersedes
all such prior agreements and/or understandings (oral or
written).
7.7 WAIVERS NOT PRECEDENT: Failure or delay by Licensor in
enforcing any right or provision hereof shall not be deemed
a waiver of such provision or right with respect to the
instance or any subsequent breach.
7.8 LEGAL SYSTEM: This Contract will be construed under the
laws of the state and country in which Licensor resides,
except for that body of law dealing with conflict of law;
Licensee consents to jurisdiction in the state and federal
courts located in the state and country in which Licensor
resides.
-----(End Of The Free World Licence)-----
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