[78] in SIPB_Linux_Development
Motif rights at MIT
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (alexp@athena.mit.edu)
Thu Jul 8 16:03:42 1993
From: alexp@athena.mit.edu
To: tytso@athena.mit.edu, vanharen@gza.com, yandros@athena.mit.edu
Cc: alexp@athena.mit.edu, cmitch@mit.edu, linux-dev@athena.mit.edu
Date: Thu, 08 Jul 93 16:03:15 EDT
Ted, Chris and Chad:
Chris' last message mostly has it right. As README.license (which I wrote)
says (in essence), we have the right to "hand out free to the world" only
static, inseparable binaries embedding parts of Motif. MIT users are allowed
to make use of Motif libraries (to create new binaries embedding Motif). As
Ted says, Motif would not be a lot of use to MIT if we couldn't do this. As
README.license says (and SOURCE_POLICY, which I didn't write, doesn't) is that
there are restrictions (and confidentiality obligations) on the use of source
code for the various parts of Motif.
The situation is somewhat clouded by the fact that the former SWA
group (now dissolved), redistributed Motif source internally at MIT
for a moderate fee (as Chris says). Part of the reasons for the fee
included the effort of preparing updated distribution tapes from the
numerous OSF patches (Chris can vouch for that- he spent many hours
working with me on it), informing users about license obligations
(particularly with regard to source use), and tracking where the
software went.
The continued distribution of Motif as a CSS software product for a
fee is currently being discussed and it is not yet sure what will be
decided. For now, I would say that until this issue is resolved, it is
not OK to let anyone at MIT have access to Motif sources. This is a policy
issue that the managers have to decide. There are also legal concerns.
It is OK to let libraries in binary form be used by MIT users (but not
outsiders) to create applications using Motif (as has been the case
all along), provided that they are aware of and respect license
obligations. Thus afs acls should be set to system:authuser rl, as I
believe they are, in the actual lib and bin directories for the
various platforms.
It is not OK (forbidden by the license terms) to distribute applications
incoporating shared libraries outside MIT.
I hope this helps clear some of this up.
Alex
