[OSM-legal-talk] New license status

[James Livingston]

On 03/10/2009, at 7:30 PM, Ulf Möller wrote:
> [re: people contributing to a fork]
>
> In my understanding they don't. This is an asymmetry, but I don't see
> any manageable way around it if we want to be able to change to a
> different license later. (And the ODbL is new and we'd be the first
> project to try it out, so I think we need a chance to switch to a
> different license in case anything goes wrong or some other future
> license turns out to be better.)
>>

> [re: EvilStreetMap not accepting contributions]
>
> They can decide what to do with their modifications, but the OSM
> contributors have the right to vote on the licenses for the original
> database.

That's pretty much what I expected, that active contributors to the  
main database could prevent the relicensing of a derivative database,  
but people who were formerly contributors to the main database and now  
contributing to the derivative one couldn't prevent relicensing of the  
main database.

As you said, we probably can't get away from the asymmetry between two  
and still be able to relicense without requiring everyone's permission  
again. As long as a fork doesn't get to the point of arguing over who  
gets to be The Project, with it's special database contributors.


Thank for verifying what I thought it meant.