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| | == Overview of SCEC Open-Source Software Licenses == | | == Overview of SCEC Open-Source Software Licenses == |
| − | SCEC scientific software is open-source in order to provide transparency into the scientific calculations performed by the code. SCEC scientific software is typically licensed under the open-source [http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0 Apache 2.0 software license]. Please see specific software distributions for details on their license terms. | + | SCEC scientific software is open-source in order to provide transparency into the scientific calculations performed by the code. Based on NSF funding requirements that we use an OSI approved open-source license, and the recommendations from USC Stevens Institute, we are standardizing our software licenses on BSD-3. |
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| − | Most SCEC software is intended to be open-source scientific software, and is released under an Apache 2 software license. Anyone is allowed to review the software source code, run the software, and use the results. The SCEC Apache 2 license says that you may use, modify, and/or [re]distribute the SCEC software as-is, including as part of a commercial product. As long as you do not change the software, you may re-distribute it and call it SCEC software. If you alter the software in any way, other than tailoring the configuration files or making it compilable on your platform, you may only refer to it as being based upon SCEC software. You must cause any modified files to carry prominent notices stating that you changed the files; and in all cases, altered or not, you must include attribution to SCEC as the original author of the software.
| + | == BSD-3 License Text for SCEC Software == |
| | + | USC Stevens reviewed and approved this version of the BSD-3 license for use with SCEC open-source software. |
| | + | *[http://hypocenter.usc.edu/research/CME/BSD_3_LICENSE_USC.txt USC BSD-3 License Text File] |
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| − | It is important to note the SCEC software is offered only with a strong disclaimer of warranty, on an “as is” basis, with no warranties or support of any kind.
| + | == Software License Information == |
| | + | *[https://opensource.org/ Open Source Initiative Website] |
| | + | *[https://stevens.usc.edu/ USC Stevens Research Website] |
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| − | In some cases, SCEC funding agencies require licensing of scientific software as open-source software as defined at the open-source software organization ([http://www.opensource.org http://www.opensource.org]). The Apache 2.0 software license we use confirms with these guidelines.
| + | == USC Stevens Software License Recommendations == |
| | + | *[https://hypocenter.usc.edu/research/CME/USC-Stevens-Guidance-on-Software-Distribution-050318.pdf USC Stevens Research Guidance on Software Licenses] |
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| − | == Overview of Apache Licensing Conditions == | + | == Preferred Copyright Notice for Documentation == |
| − | *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apache_License Apache License 2.0] | + | For end-users of SCEC software, documentation and training materials should included copyright notices. As a research organization, we recommend that SCEC software documentation is distributed under a Creative Commons copyright, described below. |
| | + | *[https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ CC by 4.0] |
| | + | This copyright notice permits copying and redistributing the material, remixing, and building upon it as long as the users give appropriate credit to the original authors. More details about this copyright are given on the CC pages. |
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| − | Like any free software license, the Apache License allows the user of the software the freedom to use the software for any purpose, to distribute it, to modify it, and to distribute modified versions of the software, under the terms of the license.
| + | *[https://creativecommons.org/ Creative Commoms Website] |
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| − | The Apache License, like most other permissive licenses, does not require modified versions of the software to be distributed using the same license (in contrast to copyleft licenses). In every licensed file, any original copyright, patent, trademark, and attribution notices in redistributed code must be preserved (excluding notices that do not pertain to any part of the derivative works); and, in every licensed file changed, a notification must be added stating that changes have been made to that file.
| + | == Data Copyrights == |
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| − | If a NOTICE text file is included as part of the distribution of the original work, then derivative works must include a readable copy of these notices (again, excluding notices not pertaining to any part of the derivative work), in at least one of three places: within a NOTICE text file distributed as part of the derivative works, within the source form or documentation, or within a display generated by the derivative works (wherever such third-party notices normally appear). The contents of the NOTICE file do not modify the license, as they are for informational purposes only, and adding more attribution notices as addenda to the NOTICE text is permissible, provided that these notices cannot be understood as modifying the license. Modifications may have appropriate copyright notices, and may provide different license terms for the modifications.
| + | Data versus database |
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| − | Unless explicitly stated otherwise, any contributions submitted by a licensee to a licensor will be under the terms of the license without any terms and conditions, but this does not precede any separate agreements with the licensor regarding these contributions.
| + | In any data project, there are likely to be two components. The first is the data collected, assembled, or generated. Think of it as the raw content in the system. It could be hourly temperature readings from a sensor, the age of individuals in a survey, recordings of individual voices, or photographs of plant specimens. The second component is the data system in which the data is stored and managed. |
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| − | The Apache Software Foundation and the Free Software Foundation (FSF) agree that the Apache License 2.0 is a free software licence, compatible with version 3 of the GNU General Public License (GPL). | + | We usually do not think of data content separate from the system in which it is stored, but the distinction is important in terms of intellectual property rights. The question is what, if anything, is protected by copyright. Data that is factual has no copyright protection under U.S. law; it is not possible to copyright facts. Not all data is in the public domain. A project might, for example, use copyrighted photographs; the photographs are part of the project’s “data.” In many cases, the data in a data management system as well as the metadata describing that data will be factual, and hence not protected by copyright. |
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| − | It should be noted, however, that there is a one-way incompatibility between the Apache version 2 and GPL version 3 licenses, in that GPL version 3 code cannot be included in an Apache project without activating the requirement that the entire project be relicensed under the GPL version 3.
| + | A database, on the other hand, can have a thin layer of copyright protection. Deciding what data needs to be included in a database, how to organize the data, and how to relate different data elements are all creative decisions that may receive copyright protection. |
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| − | == Software License Text as Source Code Comment ==
| + | Because of the different copyright status of databases and data content, different mechanisms are required to manage each. Copyright can govern the use of databases and some data content (that which is itself original), but contract law, trademarks, and other mechanisms are required to regulate factual data. |
| − | <pre>
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| − | /**
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| − | * Copyright 2007-2013 University Of Southern California
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| − | *
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| − | * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
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| − | * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
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| − | * You may obtain a copy of the License at
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| − | *
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| − | * http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
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| − | *
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| − | * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
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| − | * software distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
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| − | * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
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| − | * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
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| − | * limitations under the License.
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| − | */
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| − |
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| − | ##
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| − | # Copyright 2007-2013 University Of Southern California
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| − | #
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| − | # Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
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| − | # you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
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| − | # You may obtain a copy of the License at
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| − | #
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| − | # http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
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| − | #
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| − | # Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
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| − | # software distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
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| − | # WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
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| − | # See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
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| − | # limitations under the License.
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| − | ##
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| − | | |
| − | </pre>
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| − | | |
| − | == Software License Summary ==
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| − | | |
| − | * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_free_software_licenses
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| − | | |
| − | Differences between open software licenses tend to rest on a few primary issues including:
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| − | | |
| − | {|border="1" | Software License Type Summary
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| − | |-
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| − | ! License Type
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| − | ! Source Code Visibility
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| − | ! Restrictive or Permissive Use
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| − | ! Length of License Text (paragraphs)
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| − | ! Description
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| − | |-
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| − | | No license || Open || None || 0 || Without a license, the code is copyrighted by default. People can read the code, but they have no legal right to use it. To use the code, you must contact the author directly and ask permission.
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| − | |-
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| − | | Public domain || Open || Permissive || 0 || If your code is in the public domain, anyone may use your code for any purpose whatsoever. Nothing is in the public domain by default; you have to explicitly put your work in the public domain if you want it there. Otherwise, it is many years before work reverts to the public domain.
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| − | |-
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| − | | GPL License || Open || Copyleft || 12 || Your code can never be used in any proprietary program, ever.
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| − | |-
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| − | | LGPL License || Open || Mostly Copyleft || 16 || GPL with a cleverly-constructed pressure valve release. Your free software can be binary linked to proprietary programs under certain very specific circumstances.
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| − | |-
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| − | | BSD License || Open || Permissive || 2 || Short and sweet. Includes legal disclaimer of liability with explicitly named organization.
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| − | |-
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| − | | Apache License || Open || Permissive || 9 || Requires derivative works to provide notification of any licensed or proprietary code in a common location.
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| − | |}
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| − | | |
| − | == Related Activities ==
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| − | *prepare for license review from users
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| − | *identify position on license issues
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| − | *collaborate with groups that have good practices
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| − | | |
| − | == External Sites ==
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| − | *[http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0 Apache 2 License Text]
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| − | *[https://www.apache.org/dev/apply-license.html#faq-existing Apache 2 FAQ]
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| − | | |
| − | == Further Information ==
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| − | *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apache_License Wikipedia Descriptions of Apache License 2.0]
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| − | *[http://scec.usc.edu/scecpedia Main SCECpedia Wiki]
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| | | | |
| | == Related Entries == | | == Related Entries == |
| − | *[[Broadband Platform]] | + | *[https://opensha.org/ OpenSHA] |
| | + | *[https://github.com/SCECcode/bbp/wiki Broadband Platform] |
| | + | *[[CyberShake]] |
| | + | *[https://github.com/SCECcode/UCVMC/wiki UCVM] |
| | + | *[https://github.com/SCECcode/csep2 PyCSEP] |
Overview of SCEC Open-Source Software Licenses
SCEC scientific software is open-source in order to provide transparency into the scientific calculations performed by the code. Based on NSF funding requirements that we use an OSI approved open-source license, and the recommendations from USC Stevens Institute, we are standardizing our software licenses on BSD-3.
BSD-3 License Text for SCEC Software
USC Stevens reviewed and approved this version of the BSD-3 license for use with SCEC open-source software.
Software License Information
USC Stevens Software License Recommendations
Preferred Copyright Notice for Documentation
For end-users of SCEC software, documentation and training materials should included copyright notices. As a research organization, we recommend that SCEC software documentation is distributed under a Creative Commons copyright, described below.
This copyright notice permits copying and redistributing the material, remixing, and building upon it as long as the users give appropriate credit to the original authors. More details about this copyright are given on the CC pages.
Data Copyrights
Data versus database
In any data project, there are likely to be two components. The first is the data collected, assembled, or generated. Think of it as the raw content in the system. It could be hourly temperature readings from a sensor, the age of individuals in a survey, recordings of individual voices, or photographs of plant specimens. The second component is the data system in which the data is stored and managed.
We usually do not think of data content separate from the system in which it is stored, but the distinction is important in terms of intellectual property rights. The question is what, if anything, is protected by copyright. Data that is factual has no copyright protection under U.S. law; it is not possible to copyright facts. Not all data is in the public domain. A project might, for example, use copyrighted photographs; the photographs are part of the project’s “data.” In many cases, the data in a data management system as well as the metadata describing that data will be factual, and hence not protected by copyright.
A database, on the other hand, can have a thin layer of copyright protection. Deciding what data needs to be included in a database, how to organize the data, and how to relate different data elements are all creative decisions that may receive copyright protection.
Because of the different copyright status of databases and data content, different mechanisms are required to manage each. Copyright can govern the use of databases and some data content (that which is itself original), but contract law, trademarks, and other mechanisms are required to regulate factual data.
Related Entries
