Here is a proposed summary of the QPL 1.0, based on the relevant threads on debian-legal. Suggestions are welcome, as well as statements of whether or not this DRAFT summary accurately represents your position.
Please note that until other debian-legal participants indicate their position on this DRAFT summary, it does not necessarily represent the debian-legal consensus. For this reason, I am sending this only to debian-legal, for further discussion. --- Begin DRAFT debian-legal summary of the QPL 1.0 --- The members of the debian-legal mailing list have examined the Q Public License (QPL), version 1.0, and determined that software licensed solely under this license is not Free Software according to the Debian Free Software Guidelines (DFSG). * Clause 6c requires modified versions that are not distributed to the public to be provided to the original developer on request. This requirement fails the "Desert Island" test and the "Dissident" test (see sections 9a, 9b, and 12o of the DFSG FAQ at http://people.debian.org/~bap/dfsg-faq.html). DFSG-free licenses must allow non-distributed or privately-distributed modifications, and cannot require distribution to anyone, except for requiring that source be distributed to those who receive a binary. * The license contains a "choice of venue" clause, which states that "Disputes shall be settled by Amsterdam City Court.". Since in many legal jurisdictions, a party that fails to appear and defend themselves in the courts of the given jurisdiction will automatically lose such a dispute, such "choice of venue" clauses place an undue burden on the recipient of the software in the face of any legal action (whether legitimate or not), and are therefore considered non-free. Such clauses also fail the "Tentacles of Evil" test (see section 9c of the DFSG FAQ at http://people.debian.org/~bap/dfsg-faq.html), since the original developer can bring many unfounded legal actions against distributors and force them to travel to a given location to defend themselves, which would effectively remove the right to distribute the software. For software currently licensed under the QPL 1.0 whose authors desire its inclusion in Debian, debian-legal recommends licensing that software under a Free Software license such as the GNU GPL, either in place of or as an alternative to the QPL 1.0. --- End DRAFT debian-legal summary of the QPL 1.0 --- - Josh Triplett
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