656248 - Can we create Derived Works from LPPL-licensed code and include in Gecko?

Status: RESOLVED FIXED

(mozilla.org :: Licensing, task)

Description

[Jonathan Kew [:jfkthame]]

To support automatic hyphenation in non-English languages, I'd like to create hyphenation dictionaries (more accurately "pattern files", they're not really "dictionaries" although that's the easiest term to use) based on those used in the TeX community. Many of these are licensed under the LPPL (http://www.latex-project.org/lppl.txt).

As we would not be using the original files but creating a Derived Work, I believe the LPPL would permit us to distribute this Derived Work under a different license - e.g. the Mozilla tri-license; see clause 10.

Moreover, our Derived Work would NOT be intended (or usable) as a direct replacement for the original; hence clause 6a is not applicable. And the "Derived Works That Are Not Replacements" also clarifies that clauses 6b and 6d do not apply either.

(FWIW, I notice that the OpenOffice project appears to be distributing similar Derived Works under the GPL and/or LGPL; this includes a number of the resources found at http://extensions.services.openoffice.org/en/taxonomy/term/246.)

Please check the license terms and confirm whether we can legitimately use such LPPL-licensed resources to create Derived Work that becomes part of Gecko.

Comment 1

[Gervase Markham [:gerv]]

Actually, sorry, that was a mistake. There's no need for this bug to be a secret. I should have just CCed the appropriate people.

Harvey, Liz: can you enter this bug into the legal triage process?

Thanks,

Gerv

Comment 2

[Liz Compton [:liz]]

Adding Luis so he can review the license.

Comment 3

[Luis Villa [Outside Counsel; for non-law use [e-mail]]]

I have sent some comments to Gerv.

Comment 4

[Rimas Kudelis [use needinfo to ping]]

So, what is the outcome?

Comment 5

[Gervase Markham [:gerv]]

Luis wants me to contact the LaTeX team to clarify our understanding of the licence. I have drafted an email today and sent it to Luis for comment. Once it is finalized, we will send it off and see what they say.

Gerv

Comment 6

[Gervase Markham [:gerv]]

I emailed the LaTeX project today.

Gerv

Comment 7

[Rimas Kudelis [use needinfo to ping]]

Gerv, did you get any reply from them?

Comment 8

[Gervase Markham [:gerv]]

Hi Rimas,

Yes, we did (there was some delay due to their developer having a computer failure), and we are now working out what to do with it :-) 

Gerv

Comment 9

[Gervase Markham [:gerv]]

Using LPPLed Code In Mozilla

Thank you everyone for your patience. Having read the license carefully and consulted with the LaTex team, we have come up with the following steps for 
using LPPLed code in Mozilla.

For the following to work, the code Mozilla ships must not be "intended to be used as a ... replacement" for the original LPPLed work. Therefore, it is best to use only a fragment of the original program (e.g., one file instead of the entire program); alternatively, you must make sufficient modifications to it  so that such a statement could not be said to be true.

1) Copy the appropriate files of code into the Mozilla tree.

2) Add the tri-license header above the original LPPLed license header.

3) Add the following text underneath the tri-license header:

At the time this file was first modified, a complete, unmodified copy of the LPPL Work was available from: <link to specific version of the file - not HEAD - in public web repository if possible, or specifically versioned tarball>

4) Underneath that, just above the original LPPLed header, add the text:

Portions of this file were originally made available under the following license:

So the final order of comments at the top of the file is:

- Tri-license header
- "At the time the file was first modified..."
- "Portions of this file were originally..."
- LPPL header


Please let me know if this is not clear :-)

Gerv

Comment 10

[Rimas Kudelis [use needinfo to ping]]

What if the syntax of the file doesn't allow comments? I'm not sure it's the case, but it may be for hyphenation dictionaries (and spellcheck files too).

Comment 11

[Gervase Markham [:gerv]]

Put all the new wording where the LPPL is now. If the LPPL is nowhere to be seen, add a LICENSE file to the directory (that's allowed by the MPL if the file can't take comments).

Gerv

Comment 12

[Gervase Markham [:gerv]]

Marking FIXED. Let us know if you need more.

Gerv

Comment 13

[(no longer active)]

Jonathan, is this enough for us to start shipping support for more hyphenation dictionaries in Gecko?

Comment 14

[Jonathan Kew [:jfkthame]]

Yes, I'm intending to work on adapting and packaging the ones we can ship on this basis.