From 1f6399f54ece5bcbfd6a62ed3afac5fd828cff40 2015-02-02 15:35:34 From: Bradley M. Kuhn Date: 2015-02-02 15:35:34 Subject: [PATCH] Rework & expand discussion: express patent license Upon consultation with Richard Fontana, we drafted together this rewrite of the original paragraph discussing this issue. The original paragraph was tersely written and indeed accurate. However, it was likely comprehensible only to those already familiar with patent licensing regimes and systems. As such, it fit poorly in the tutorial, which is designed for all policy makers who care about copyleft, who may in fact be new to patent policy and licensing. Please note: Richard Fontana dictated to me some of this text, and therefore he is likely a copyright and "creator" (per CC-BY-SA 4.0) of some of this text. In fact, since we wrote it collaboratively, I suspect Fontana and I are co-copyright holders and co-creators of this commit. --- diff --git a/comprehensive-gpl-guide.tex b/comprehensive-gpl-guide.tex index ddf6174c8974771e1487a770eef6618ce456beb2..4a3f08a7bca826ee5993244ca66df41eeda0cf14 100644 --- a/comprehensive-gpl-guide.tex +++ b/comprehensive-gpl-guide.tex @@ -101,7 +101,8 @@ and Guide {\parindent 0in \begin{tabbing} Copyright \= \copyright{} 2003--2005, 2008, 2014 \hspace{1.mm} \= \kill -Copyright \> \copyright{} 2003--2005, 2008, 2014 \> Bradley M. Kuhn. \\ +Copyright \> \copyright{} 2003--2005, 2008, 2014--2015 \> Bradley M. Kuhn. \\ +Copyright \= \copyright{} 2015 \> Richard E. Fontana. \\ Copyright \> \copyright{} 2014 \> Anthony K. Sebro, Jr. \\ Copyright \= \copyright{} 2014 \> Denver Gingerich. \\ Copyright \= \copyright{} 2003--2007, 2014 \> Free Software Foundation, Inc. \\ diff --git a/gpl-lgpl.tex b/gpl-lgpl.tex index ab1476813f1c056ff889db966dc3ca7b6949aee1..291998ef638919e808f8293224e8a8d3860c1194 100644 --- a/gpl-lgpl.tex +++ b/gpl-lgpl.tex @@ -3836,14 +3836,26 @@ GPLv3~\S11\P3 makes this clear by defining ``patent license,'' for purposes of the subsequent three paragraphs, as ``any express agreement or commitment, however denominated, not to enforce a patent (such as an express permission to practice a patent or covenant not to -sue for patent infringement)'' - -The definition does not include patent licenses that arise by -implication or operation of law, because the third through fifth paragraphs -of section 11 are specifically concerned with explicit promises that purport -to be legally enforceable. The final paragraph of section 11 explicitly +sue for patent infringement)''. + +``Express'', as used GPLv3~\S11\P3, is a term often used in legal writing as +an antonym to ``implied''. Thus, GPLv3's definition of ``patent license'' +does not include those patent licenses which arise by +implication or operation of law\footnote{FIXME: explain this}. +Instead, GPLv3~\S11\P3--5 are specifically concerned with explicit promises +that are purportedly legally enforceable. + +Nevertheless, unlike traditional commercial patent licensing +agreements\footnote{FIXME: note such a clause is rare, if not unique.}, +rather than confining the patent license grant to some narrow set of such +express situations, GPLv3 preserves the +\hyperref[gpl-implied-patent-grant]{existing implied patent licensing structure} +found in GPLv2. Specifically, the final paragraph of GPLv3~\S11 explicitly preserves the availability of patent licenses arising by implication or -operation of law. +operation of law. GPLv3~\S11's final paragraph dissuades potential +misinterpretation disparity between GPLv2 and GPLv3 --- namely, that some +might argue an explicit patent license would otherwise cause any implied +patent license to evaporate. GPLv3~\S11\P5 is commonly called GPLv3's downstream shielding provision. It responds particularly to the problem of exclusive deals between patent