The primary focus of OSI should be to determine whether a license
adheres to the Open Source Definition (OSD), thereby classifying it as
Open Source or not.
Concerns regarding the enforceability of a license, especially across
different jurisdictions, should not be a determinant in the approval or
rejection of a license. Enforceability can vary significantly across
different regions due to the diverse legal landscapes, making it a less
consistent metric for license review. The issue lies in the fact that
enforceability is largely subjective and lacks an independent, quick
reproducible testing framework.
Should OSI decide to extend its responsibilities, a possible approach
could be to introduce a categorization system for licenses,
distinguishing between recommended and discouraged licenses.
In this scenario, one criterion for discouragement could be the
perceived unenforceability of a license in certain territories.
This additional layer of evaluation could provide clearer guidance to
the community, while keeping the core license review process focused and
objective.
In the event that OSI disagrees with this perspective, the requirement
for enforceability (in which countries?) should be explicitly outlined
in the review criteria to ensure transparency and clear understanding
within the open source community. Conversely, if OSI concurs that
enforceability should not be a criteria, this stance should also be
clearly articulated in the review guidelines to avoid any ambiguity.
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