My new anti-patent BSD-based license: necessary and effective? [closed]
- by paperjam
I am writing multimedia software in a domain that is rife with software patents. I want to open source my software but only for the benefit of those who don't play the patent game, that is enthusiasts, small companies, research projects, etc.
The idea is, if my code would infringe a software patent somewhere and a company pays to license that patent, they then lose the right to use and distribute my software.
Now I detest license proliferation as much as anyone but I can't find an existing OSI approved license that does this. The GPL comes close, but it only restricts distribution, not use. I want to stop someone using my software should they obtain a patent license to do so.
Does another license do this job?
Is the wording below unambiguous?
- I don't want a legal opinion, just whether it would be interpreted as I intend.
Copyright (c) <year>, <copyright holder>
All rights reserved.
Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:
[ three standard new-BSD conditions not shown here]
* No patents are licensed from any third party in respect of
redistribution or use of this software or its derivatives unless the
patent license is arranged to permit free use and distribution by all.
THIS SOFTWARE IS... [standard BSD disclaimer not shown here]
