diff --git a/gpl-lgpl.tex b/gpl-lgpl.tex index 372bb50132aa7eade0c7e8b91135521dfe60655f..f93d6d09ea038adb47c63dc0303640a8e631deb2 100644 --- a/gpl-lgpl.tex +++ b/gpl-lgpl.tex @@ -3692,40 +3692,34 @@ policy requires each such patent holder to provide appropriate levels of patent assurance to users, according to the nature of the patent holder's relationship to the program. -% FIXME-URGENT: integrate - -GPLv3 provides for two classes of patent commitments: - - Prohibition of Enforcement of patent claims against those to whom you - distribute: GPLv3 \S10 makes explicit that demands for acceptance of - patent licenses or payment of patent royalties by those to whom a - licensee directly distributes are additional conditions that may not - imposed. This provision establishes a uniform rule of patent exhaustion - with respect to GPL’d programs regardless of the domestic patent law in - any particular system or locale. - - Grant of license to claims in contributor versions: Section 11 introduces - an affirmative grant of rights to patent claims by those who contribute - code to GPL’d programs. The intent is to prevent parties within the - commons from aggressively asserting patents against users of code they - have themselves modified, preventing a form of commons betrayal by - ``insiders'' to the community. A contributor’s patent claims necessarily - infringed by the version of the program created by the incorporation of - its modifications are licensed to all subsequent users and modifiers of - the program, or programs based on the program. No patent claims only - infringed by subsequent modifications by other parties are thus - licensed. Patent claims acquired after the making of the ``contributor - version'' necessarily infringed by that version are also licensed by this - provision at the time of their acquisition or perfection. When a company - with a large number of such claims acquires the program’s modifier, all - claims held or thereafter acquired by the purchaser are automatically - licensed under this provision. The acquisition of Nokia by Microsoft, for - example, resulted in the automatic licensing of all Microsoft claims now - or hereafter acquired which read on any contributor version of any GPLv3 - program ever modified by Nokia. The wholesale decimation of Microsoft - patent claims on GPLv3 programs arising from the purchase of Nokia has so - far been unremarked in the industry. -% FIXME-URGENT: end +In general, GPLv3 provides for two classes of patent commitments: + +\begin{itimize} +\item Grant of license to claims in contributor versions: GPLv3~\S11 + introduces an affirmative grant of rights to patent claims by those who + contribute code to GPL’d programs. The intent is to prevent parties from + aggressively asserting patents against users of code those parties have + themselves modified --- in theory preventing betrayal by ``insiders'' of + the copyleft community. A contributor's patent claims necessarily + infringed by the version of the program created by the incorporation of its + modifications are licensed to all subsequent users and modifiers of the + program, or programs based on the program. No patent claims only infringed + by subsequent modifications by other parties are thus licensed. Patent + claims acquired after the making of the ``contributor version'' necessarily + infringed by that version are also licensed by this provision at the time + of their acquisition or perfection. + +\item Prohibition of enforcement of patent claims against those to whom you + distribute: GPLv3~\S10 makes explicit that licensees who directly + distribute may not make demands for acceptance of patent licenses or + payment of patent royalties from distribution recipients. This provision + establishes a uniform rule of patent exhaustion with respect to GPL'd + programs regardless of the domestic patent law in any particular system or + locale. +\end{itimize} + +The following two subsections discuss in order each of the above mentioned +classes of patent commitments. \subsection{The Contributor's Explicit Patent License} @@ -3837,6 +3831,14 @@ patent portfolio to determine whether the combination of the modifications with the remainder of the work cause it to read on any of the contributor's patent claims. +Finally, GPLv3's explicit patent license for contributors has an interesting +and useful side effect. When a company with a large number of such claims +acquires the program's modifier, all claims held or thereafter acquired by +the purchaser are automatically licensed under this provision. For example, +Microsoft's acquisition of Nokia resulted in the automatic licensing of all +Microsoft patent claims now or hereafter acquired which read on any +contributor version of any GPLv3 program ever modified by Nokia. + \subsection{Conveyors' Patent Licensing} The remaining patent licensing in GPLv3 deals with patent licenses that are