Re: Commercial license?

["Marin David Condic" <mcondic.auntie.spam@acm.org>]

Lots of contracts that are used every day - even in very large business
transactions - are not written by lawyers. I'd hazzard a guess that most
software licenses have not seen the inside of a law office either.
Basically, its a way of defining an understanding between two parties and it
doesn't always need a lawyer involved. Especially if the stakes aren't
terribly high - which I suspect is the case for most of the software that is
hanging around on the various web pages here.

However, I would agree that if anyone has any serious software efforts at
stake, getting a lawyer to review the license is a wise and prudent act.
Lawyers won't guarantee you won't have any problems, but they sure will
minimize those odds.

I think Dr. Leif's ADCL was proposed as a matter for consideration and one
that would presumably go through some itterations of refinement and
commentary. I would imagine that if an Ada Developer's Cooperative were to
be formed, it would need to consult an attorney concerning the provisions of
its license.

MDC
--
======================================================================
Marin David Condic
I work for: http://www.belcan.com/
My project is: http://www.jsf.mil/

Send Replies To: m c o n d i c @ a c m . o r g

    "Going cold turkey isn't as delicious as it sounds."
        -- H. Simpson
======================================================================

John R. Strohm <strohm@airmail.net> wrote in message
news:8E197C72ED293700.9CFD1DCB25CB0B4C.812DA03615AB7642@lp.airnews.net...
> LOOK, PEOPLE.
>
> A license is a LEGAL DOCUMENT.
>
> It is written in a language that superficially resembles English, but in
> fact the resemblance stops there.
>
> A license MUST be drafted by a knowledgeable professional, with expertise
in
> the subject area.  Doing anything else is foolhardy.
>
> The community here can provide input, state requirements and goals, and
> participate in the discussion, but the actual work must be done by a
> competent attorney.
>
> I'm a programmer, not a lawyer, and part of my education was learning that
I
> wasn't a lawyer and should consult one when it was appropriate.