Step-by-step comparison of Mozilla 1.1 and OPL 1.0 (EPL 1.1)

Introduction

This document is indented to be a step-by-step illustration of the modification of the Mozilla Public License (MPL) 1.1 to the new Open Public License (OPL) 1.0 on which EPL 1.1 is based. Please note this illustration explains the substantive differences and is not, at this time, intended to be a comprehensive list of all the style differences.

Step #1 Creation of a Compound License

OPL section 6.4 is added and section 11 is modified.

OPL 6.4. Required Addendum
This license is a union of the following two parts that should be found as text files in the same place (directory), in the order of preeminence:

[1] An addendum of this document.

[2] The contents of this file OPL_1_0.TXT, stating the general licensing policy of the software.

In case of conflicting dispositions in the parts of this license, the terms of the lower- numbered part will always be superseded by the terms of the higher numbered part.

OPL 11. MISCELLANEOUS.

This section was intentionally left blank. The contents of this section are found in the corresponding addendum described above.

Rationale: The intent of the drafters of the OPL was to create the first truly International Open Source Public License. The license had to be flexible enough to accommodate developers and substantial enough to gain corporate support. This compound license format allows for each developer to incorporate the unique requirements of their countries' legal system while providing a common base for the open source community to build on.

Step #2 Modification of the Initial Developer Grant

MPL section 2.1. The Initial Developer Grant.

The Initial Developer hereby grants You a world-wide, royalty-free, non-exclusive license, subject to third party intellectual property claims:

(a) under intellectual property rights (other than patent or trademark) Licensable by Initial Developer to use, reproduce, modify, display, perform, sublicense and distribute the Original Code (or portions thereof) with or without Modifications, and/or as part of a Larger Work; and

(b) under Patents Claims infringed by the making, using or selling of Original Code, to make, have made, use, practice, sell, and offer for sale, and/or otherwise dispose of the Original Code (or portions thereof).

(c) the licenses granted in this Section 2.1(a) and (b) are effective on the date Initial Developer first distributes Original Code under the terms of this License.

(d) Notwithstanding Section 2.1(b) above, no patent license is granted: 1) for code that You delete from the Original Code; 2) separate from the Original Code; or 3) for infringements caused by: i) the modification of the Original Code or ii) the combination of the Original Code with other software or devices.

OPL section 2.1. The Initial Developer Grant.

The Initial Developer hereby grants You a worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive license, subject to third party intellectual property claims:

(a) under intellectual property rights (other than patent or trademark) to use, reproduce, modify, display, perform, sublicense and distribute the Original Code (or portions thereof) with or without Modifications, or as part of a Larger Work; and

(b) under patents now or hereafter owned or controlled by Initial Developer, to make, have made, use and sell ("offer to sell and import'') the Original Code (or portions thereof), but solely to the extent that any such patent is reasonably necessary to enable You to Utilize the Original Code (or portions thereof) and not to any greater extent that may be necessary to Utilize further Modifications or combinations.

Rationale: Subsection (b) was modified and sections (c) & (d) were deleted in order to grant a more expansive use to a user, while retaining the majority of the Initial Developers patent rights. The term sublicense has been intentionally left out of section (b) since the use of the patents by their nature is not restricted to their application to a given application. The source code by its very nature is used for one application.

Step #3 Modification of the Contributor Grant

MPL 2.2. Contributor Grant.

Subject to third party intellectual property claims, each Contributor hereby grants You a world- wide, royalty-free, non-exclusive license

(a) under intellectual property rights (other than patent or trademark) Licensable by Contributor, to use, reproduce, modify, display, perform, sublicense and distribute the Modifications created by such Contributor (or portions thereof) either on an unmodified basis, with other Modifications, as Covered Code and/or as part of a Larger Work; and

(b) under Patent Claims infringed by the making, using, or selling of Modifications made by that Contributor either alone and/or in combination with its Contributor Version (or portions of such combination), to make, use, sell, offer for sale, have made, and/or otherwise dispose of: 1) Modifications made by that Contributor (or portions thereof); and 2) the combination of Modifications made by that Contributor with its Contributor Version (or portions of such combination).

(c) the licenses granted in Sections 2.2(a) and 2.2(b) are effective on the date Contributor first makes Commercial Use of the Covered Code.

(d) Notwithstanding Section 2.2(b) above, no patent license is granted: 1) for any code that Contributor has deleted from the Contributor Version; 2) separate from the Contributor Version; 3) for infringements caused by: i) third party modifications of Contributor Version or ii) the combination of Modifications made by that Contributor with other software (except as part of the Contributor Version) or other devices; or 4) under Patent Claims infringed by Covered Code in the absence of Modifications made by that Contributor.

OPL section 2.2 Contributor Grant

Each Contributor hereby grants You a worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive license, subject to third party intellectual property claims:

(a) under intellectual property rights (other than patent or trademark) to use, reproduce, modify, display, perform, sublicense and distribute the Modifications created by such Contributor (or portions thereof) either on an unmodified basis, with other Modifications, as Covered Code or as part of a Larger Work; and

(b) under patents now or hereafter owned or controlled by Contributor, to make, have made, use and sell ("offer to sell and import'') the Contributor Version (or portions thereof), but solely to the extent that any such patent is reasonably necessary to enable You to Utilize the Contributor Version (or portions thereof), and not to any greater extent that may be necessary to Utilize further Modifications or combinations.

Rationale: The main goal in modifying this section was to require Contributors to license back their modifications and at the same time remove the redundant nature of MPL section (c). The rationale discussed in Step #1 above is applicable to these changes as well.

Step #4 Modification of Availability of Source Code

MPL section 3.2 Availability of Source Code

Any Modification which You create or to which You contribute must be made available in Source Code form under the terms of this License either on the same media as an Executable version or via an accepted Electronic Distribution Mechanism to anyone to whom you made an Executable version available; and if made available via Electronic Distribution Mechanism, must remain available for at least twelve (12) months after the date it initially became available, or at least six (6) months after a subsequent version of that particular Modification has been made available to such recipients. You are responsible for ensuring that the Source Code version remains available even if the Electronic Distribution Mechanism is maintained by a third party.

OPL section 3.2 Availability of Source Code

Any Modification which You create or to which You contribute must be made available in Source Code form under the terms of this License either on the same media as an Executable version or via an accepted Electronic Distribution Mechanism to anyone to whom you made an Executable version available; and if made available via Electronic Distribution Mechanism, must remain available for at least twelve (12) months after the date it initially became available, or at least six (6) months after a subsequent version of that particular Modification has been made available to such recipients. You are responsible for notifying the Initial Developer of the Modification and the location of the Source Code if a contact means is provided. Initial Developer will be acting as maintainer of the Source Code and may provide an Electronic Distribution mechanism for the Modification to be made available.

Rationale: The intent of the addition of the last sentence is to provide as much flexibility and creative freedom as possible to the open source development community. However, there is a need for a source code depository to track the evolution of the code and provide the development community with a traceable history of the code's growth.

Step #5 Simplification of the required actions concerning third party claims.

MPL section 3.4(a) Third Party Claims

If Contributor has knowledge that a license under a third party's intellectual property rights is required to exercise the rights granted by such Contributor under Sections 2.1 or 2.2, Contributor must include a text file with the Source Code distribution titled "LEGAL'' which describes the claim and the party making the claim in sufficient detail that a recipient will know whom to contact. If Contributor obtains such knowledge after the Modification is made available as described in Section 3.2, Contributor shall promptly modify the LEGAL file in all copies Contributor makes available thereafter and shall take other steps (such as notifying appropriate mailing lists or newsgroups) reasonably calculated to inform those who received the Covered Code that new knowledge has been obtained.

OPL section 3.4(a) Third Party Claims

If You have knowledge that a party claims an intellectual property right in particular functionality or code (or its utilization under this License), you must include a text file with the source code distribution titled "LEGAL" which describes the claim and the party making the claim in sufficient detail that a recipient will know whom to contact. If you obtain such knowledge after You make Your Modification available as described in Section 3.2, You shall promptly modify the LEGAL file in all copies You make available thereafter and shall take other steps (such as notifying appropriate mailing lists or newsgroups) reasonably calculated to inform those who received the Covered Code that new knowledge has been obtained.

Rationale: The OPL modification in this section is intended to simplify the area of concern regarding possible intellectual property claims. The key difference is the contributor under the OPL needs to give notice of all claims he is aware of rather than merely required licenses. This change will help keep the development community updated to potential claims as well as allow the individual developer the ability to make an informed decision regarding use of the alleged disputed section of code.

Additional Minor Changes

Step #6

OPL section 3.6 adds the following sentence at the end of the section. "If you distribute executable versions containing Covered Code, you must reproduce the notice in Exhibit B in the documentation and/or other materials provided with the product."

Rationale: The OPL requires that the Exhibit B be included in the documentation files to give notice of the work of the initial developer in a larger work.

Step #7

OPL sections 6.1 through 6.3 are modified to make them initial developer designation neutral.

Rationale: These sections ha to be modified to accommodate the universal nature and application of the OPL.

Step #8

Sections 8.3 & 8.4 in MPL are deleted in OPL

Rationale: These sections were written for application in the American legal system. The intent of the drafters of OPL is that it may be used internationally. Therefore these sections would not be applicable.

Step #9

Section 13 of MPL is deleted in OPL

Rationale: For this universal open source license to be effective all developer specific terms must be contained in the addendum.