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spdx / license-list-XML

This is the repository for the master files that comprise the SPDX License List
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New license request: Not-Copyrightable [SPDX-Online-Tools] #2294

Open richardfontana opened 8 months ago

richardfontana commented 8 months ago

1. License Name: Not Copyrightable 2. Short identifier: Not-Copyrightable 3. License Author or steward: Richard Fontana 4. Comments: This license is basically an assertion that the content it is associated with is believed to be not copyrightable and thus comparable to a maximally broad permissive FOSS license in terms of what the recipient is assumed to be permitted to do. It is in use now in at least two Fedora packages, is expected to be in use in at least a few more, and also covers part of Fedora documentation source code. 5. License Request Url: http://tools.spdx.org/app/license_requests/328 6. URL(s): https://gitlab.com/fedora/legal/fedora-license-data/-/blob/main/data/LicenseRef-Not-Copyrightable.toml?ref_type=heads 7. OSI Status: Not Submitted 8. Example Projects: https://src.fedoraproject.org/rpms/color-filesystem/blob/rawhide/f/color-filesystem.spec, https://gitlab.com/fedora/legal/fedora-license-data/-/blob/main/LICENSES/LicenseRef-Not-Copyrightable.txt?ref_type=heads, https://gitlab.com/fedora/legal/fedora-legal-docs/-/blob/main/LICENSES/LicenseRef-Not-Copyrightable.txt?ref_type=heads

richardfontana commented 8 months ago

It's possible that SPDX would consider this not to meet the inclusion guidelines because this is not a license in a strict sense.

jlovejoy commented 7 months ago

@richardfontana - I think this probably warrants a longer discussion and so I'm marking it for the next release, but let's make sure to discuss on an upcoming meeting after the 3.23 release

karsten-klein commented 6 months ago

ScanCode reference id: public-domain matched id: public-domain

{metæffekt} Universe canonical name: Public Domain short name: Public-Domain

swinslow commented 5 months ago

To be discussed further as part of broader "public domain" discussion.

Discussed on 2024-03-28 legal team call; some questions about whether in other languages (e.g. German) "Not-Copyrightable" might not convey intent here. Maybe Not-Copyright-Eligible?

Pandapip1 commented 4 months ago

+1 for adding this under the name Not-Copyright-Eligible. For my REUSE projects, I've had to stick to CC0-1.0 for files I believe to be, well, not copyright eligible. This is obviously non-ideal.

richardfontana commented 4 months ago

No objection to "Not-Copyright-Eligible". @Pandapip1 interestingly this came out of a desire to make the Fedora legal repos REUSE-conformant.

bsdimp commented 4 months ago

I rather like this, both the concept and the name. There's several files I'd love to attach this to. I'm not too bothered by having to do different things for 'files that are just data, with no creative expression, so no copyright protection attaches' and 'boring stuff I just want to disclaim my copyright to the highest degree possible w/o worring if my public domain declaration is sufficient legally'

Pandapip1 commented 4 months ago

I propose the following amended license text:

THIS WORK IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL TH AUTHORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF, OR IN CONNECTION WITH THIS WORK OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THIS WORK.

The author(s) believe that this work is not eligible for copyright protection. However, to the extent that copyright applies, the author(s) have dedicated all copyright and related and neighboring rights to this work to the public domain worldwide, to the extent possible under law.

If this dedication to the public domain is not legally effective in any jurisdiction, then to the extent copyright applies, the following license terms shall apply:

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this work and associated documentation files (the "Work"), to deal in the Work without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Work, and to permit persons to whom the Work is furnished to do so.
jlovejoy commented 4 months ago

would we want to attach specific text? I'm still pondering how this would work...

Let's schedule for discussion on an upcoming call, perhaps the June 13th call?

Pandapip1 commented 4 months ago

would we want to attach specific text?

I'd say so. It would make sense for the authors of a non-copyright-eligible work to still include a warranty disclaimer.

richardfontana commented 4 months ago

This issue is about a real "license" (not really a license) that is being used. Modifications to that license, however well intended, should be outside the scope of this issue. The name of the license is an SPDX concept so that is fair game.

@Pandapip1 I thumbs-down'ed your comment for that reason. The purpose of these issues is not to change existing license texts.

Pandapip1 commented 4 months ago

This issue is about a real "license" (not really a license) that is being used. Modifications to that license, however well intended, should be outside the scope of this issue. The name of the license is an SPDX concept so that is fair game.

Fair enough. I'll open a new request once I use that license I made.