[RTEMS Project] #3053: Change RTEMS License to Two Paragraph BSD

[RTEMS trac]

#3053: Change RTEMS License to Two Paragraph BSD
---------------------------+--------------------------
 Reporter:  Joel Sherrill  |      Owner:  (none)
     Type:  enhancement    |     Status:  new
 Priority:  high           |  Milestone:  5.0
Component:  General        |    Version:  4.12
 Severity:  normal         |   Keywords:  license, BSD
---------------------------+--------------------------
 RTEMS has long used the GPL v2 with an exception that eliminated the viral
 nature of the license. There has been discussion amongst the core
 developers and primary submitters about switching to the "Two Paragraph
 BSD" license. The consensus was that it was time to change. One reason was
 that the RTEMS license was modeled on a license no longer used by GCC
 language run-times. Another was that the "Two Paragraph BSD" license is
 easier to explain and understand. But the major reason was that the RTEMS
 Project has never imposed any license conformance burden on end user
 projects. The BSD license family is much clearer about that intent.

 An announcement was made at the December 2015 Flight Software Workshop
 ([http://flightsoftware.jhuapl.edu/files/_site/workshops/2015/]). The
 slides and video are available for that presentation. No specific date was
 given but the core developer consensus was that we needed to focus on the
 4.11 branch and, subsequently, the 4.12 release branches being made. With
 the 4.12 branch imminent, it is now time to ensure there is a ticket to
 track this effort and work through the relicensing as quickly and
 accurately as possible.

 The relicensing effort will involve multiple activities:

 * update web content to include and recommend Two Paragraph BSD license
 * update coding conventions to recommend Two Paragraph BSD license
 * identify contributors for each file
   - some work has been done on this
 * obtain permission from contributors to relicense
 * update files with new license
 * generate reports on licenses associated with a particular build of RTEMS

 The content on relicensing from the Flight Software Workshop presentation
 is captured here.

 Original rationale for GPL v2 + exception
 * felt needed to establish a community
 * “stick” to encourage submissions
 * license was used by GCC language run-times

 Rationale to switch
 * RTEMS has a strong community
 * users understand business value of submitting
 * we have explained the “carrot”
 * GPL v3 has soured some on GPL in general

 Mechanics of Switching
 * Permission from each submitter must be obtained
   - permission obtained from top contributors
 * All contributors to a file must give permission before that file can be
 relicensed
 * Web form with confirmation email to grant permission to relicense
 * Effort will be made to locate the “missing”

 When Permission is Not Obtained
 * Some files may never be relicensed
 * If users fund, replacement may be written
 * Older BSPs and ports may be obsoleted and removed on technical grounds
   - These are the most likely to contain files to have contributors that
 are hard to find

 Generation of License Report
 * We are considering marking files with Linux Foundation sponsored
 [https://SPDX.org] annotation
 * Standard annotation for open source licenses
   _ Examples: NASA-1.3, GPL-2.0
 * Can annotate exceptions like current RTEMS license
   - Example: GPL-2.0-with-linking-exception
 * Tools exist to generate overall license reports
   - RTEMS would have to integrate one with build system

--
Ticket URL: <http://devel.rtems.org/ticket/3053>
RTEMS Project <http://www.rtems.org/>
RTEMS Project