HazardJ
commented
8 years ago We have an example now, at: http://www.commonaccord.org/index.php?action=source&file=/GH/FutureCommerce/ULOM/Bryan/Demo/04_Acme_Robinson_License_v01.md
This is now fully converted to the TLDR format of outline populated with text. Draws from a common idea of license provisions, and populates the outline with subsections and actual text. The one real challenge - Misc. In the Docracy document it was separated into Misc, Assign, Notice. Bringing them together into a single section turned out to be easy.
mdangear
With the #fchack team from #UMKC - @bryangw1 and @zmon -we have been working on a Universal License Object Model (ULOM). (For same project, @zmon is creating an interface for data entry. https://github.com/UMKC-Law/cmacc-ui.)
The idea is to treat all license agreements as fruit (actually, leaves) of a common tree. To build an agreement from the trunk up, branch it for things like patent, copyright, TM, database, know-how, space (a ticket to a show or use of a desk at an incubator is often a "license"), use of personal information (!), etc.
We do the branching via section headings. The trunk of all contract agreements can include the back matter (Term, Limit, Dispute, Remedy, Misc). With a bit of shoehorning, we can think of that as TL;DR, appropriate to each context. TLDRMD becomes Term, Limit, Dispute, Remedy, Misc, Def. (There can be variations, of course, and arguments for including Notice as a separate heading instead of it being in Misc, and so on. But it's a mnemonic.) This is the back matter (TDLR.Secs).
In front of that we add sections for the business part of a license. Grant, SubLic, Comp, Conf, etc. Exact names are not fixed, just a starting point for iteration. They will vary according to the subject matter of the license (patent, copyright), the business purpose, the jurisdiction, etc.
The subsections are further branching, handled the same way (a subbranch is to a branch as a branch is to the trunk). Twigs, etc.
The actual text forms the leaves. Here is a trunk for an outline-based tree of agreement - Law/Out/.
Because the CommonAccord data model is a Euler "graph" (think of a map with lots of routes to each place), people can repurpose branches and twigs to their own purpose without interfering. (Squirrels hop from branch to branch, drivers use different routes.) They will make their agreements by referencing a point on the tree (if the tree already has what they want) or by referencing a couple of points (mashup) or by adding a branch, twig or leaf.
Eventually, the tree will cover a lot of ground, providing legal shelter and jumping off places. By starting with the sections, we can sketch out a large part of the tree, even if it will originally have only a few twigs and leaves. A springtime promise of shade to come.
Peace.