Wiki source code of License List Working Group
Last modified by Pamela Chestek on 2023/02/17 01:52
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1 | The OSI, under the auspices of the License Committee, will be evaluating whether the current list of licenses is as comprehensive as it should be. It may be that a combination of factors, including a) how licenses are selected for review, b) the desire to ensure that approved licenses meet a minimum standard of quality, and c) a desire to discourage license proliferation, may have prevented some suitable licenses from obtaining OSI approval. This creates ambiguity about whether some licenses are or are not open source licenses. | ||
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3 | The mission of the License List Working Group is to find ways to ensure that the OSI’s license list is appropriately comprehensive while also continuing to encourage the use of a smaller set of well-known, well-understood licenses. The work is likely to include: | ||
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6 | * Reevaluating the criteria for approving licenses, potentially setting different standards for licenses in use versus new licenses | ||
7 | * Reevaluating the process for considering licenses for approval, including whether the OSI should itself nominate licenses for approval | ||
8 | * Reevaluating the current categories for licenses, including how they are used and their usefulness | ||
9 | * Evaluating whether there should be a process for decertifying licenses, and what the process and standards would be for the process | ||
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11 | This Working Group will not be investigating or evaluating whether the Open Source Definition should be revised. That project is likely to require a different assortment of participants than this proposed Working Group, so a review of the OSD is more appropriately undertaken separately. | ||
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14 | The Working Group will solicit input from the community, both individual and corporate, in fulfilling its task. | ||
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17 | If you are interested in participating in the Working Group, please contact License Committee chair Pamela Chestek at [[[email protected]>>path:mailto:[email protected]]]. Describe why you are interested in participating and a brief summary of your background and qualifications for the role. The intent is to have a fairly small working group that can work efficiently, with members who are willing to contribute significant time to the project. There is also a desire for representation from different interests, including individual, for-profit and nonprofit entities, different legal jurisdictions, and lawyers and non-lawyers. |