753611 - Python package merging, licenses, and repository location

Status: RESOLVED FIXED

(mozilla.org :: Licensing, task, P3)

Description

[Ben Bangert [:benbangert]]

I've been working on a Python package called zktools that is under the github mozilla-services account at the moment. As I've been collaborating with Jim Fulton on some of his lower level tools of a similar nature, we'd like to merge projects into a single 'zk' Python package that includes all our code.

Individually, all of his code is licensed under the ZPL 2.1, which I believe is similar in nature to our MPL 2.0 which all my code is licensed under. 

What I'd like to do is move my code into this new package that his code is also in, all code will retain the licenses in it, and new modules I write will of course have the same MPL license. 

To facilitate contributions and ensure wider community ownership, we wanted to place this new repository under a new organization that we'd have access to as well as Jim Fulton and other folks that are working on it.

My manager is ok with this plan, and wanted me to run it by legal.

Comment 1

[Liz Compton [:liz]]

Gerv - could you please take a look at this?

Comment 2

[Gervase Markham [:gerv]]

By ZPL, do you mean this:
http://www.opensource.org/licenses/zpl.php
? Version 2.0 or 2.1?

As a point of fact, it's not similar to the MPL. It's basically the BSD licence with some extra clauses; there is no copyleft.

If none of our code is changing licence, then there's no objection from the licensing team :-)

You need to be aware that because of those extra clauses which make it not the same as the BSD licence, it's not permitted to copy code from a ZPL file into an MPL file without permission of the copyright holders (all contributors to the code copied). And because of copyleft, it's not possible to copy code from an MPL file into a ZPL file without permission of the copyright holders. If this is not too much of a problem, then go right ahead :-) If it is, we may need to find a plan B.

Gerv

Comment 3

[Ben Bangert [:benbangert]]

It's under ZPL 2.1.

At this point, there's additional collaborators and code from the Nimbus project to be merged as well, which is all covered by the Apache Public License here:
https://github.com/nimbusproject/kazoo/blob/master/LICENSE

I believe that is the same copyleft as ours? At this point it also has the best code-base to start from, and merge some of my existing stuff onto.

Comment 4

[Ben Bangert [:benbangert]]

Ok, so would the following be ok?

I start with the Kazoo code (Apache license), I rewrite the bits I want to contribute using Kazoo and contribute to the new code base (under Apache license with Mozilla copyright), and any bits of zc.zk (under ZPL) that are to be included get re-licensed as Apache license with permission from their respective copyright holders.

Comment 5

[Gervase Markham [:gerv]]

We should talk about this on the phone or something :-) Drop me an email with your availability and timezone (I'm afraid I'm not working tomorrow, Friday).

Gerv

Comment 6

[Gervase Markham [:gerv]]

Hi Ben,

Sorry I didn't manage to catch up with you when I was in the US. Having reviewed this bug, I suspect the situation has moved on somewhat from 7 months ago! Are you able to tell us what has happened since comment 4?

Gerv

Comment 7

[Ben Bangert [:benbangert]]

Sure, since the main project that was being merging was Apache Public License, we started with that and integrated only code that was licensed under Apache Public License 2.0. The entire new joined project is APL 2.0 as a result.

Comment 8

[Gervase Markham [:gerv]]

OK, as long as you didn't change the license on any code without authorial permission, that sounds like it's wrapped up :-)

Gerv

Comment 9

[Ben Bangert [:benbangert]]

Nope, all 3rd party code was already APL 2.0, so none of that code changed license by relocating it. All of our code from our mozilla zktools library had to be rewritten into the new APL 2.0 project (to handle the new API) where we contributed it under APL 2.0 as well.