FreeBSD BSD License 3 -> 2 Clause History

[Arthur Chance]

On 31/12/2014 16:22, Warner Losh wrote:
>
>> On Dec 30, 2014, at 8:24 PM, grarpamp <grarpamp at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> On Tue, Dec 30, 2014 at 4:12 AM, Poul-Henning Kamp <phk at phk.freebsd.dk> wrote:
>>> I think you are reading more into that commit than it contains:
>>> It merely asserted "Copyright of Compilation" over FreeBSD.
>>
>> Likely. My original post wasn't worded well. I was mostly interested
>> in the rationale of removing the endorsement clause (from a license
>> writers perspective of new work, not any particular application of same),
>> which though 'simpler and more free', would seem a tricky thing to give
>> up, or to model new work on after having seen 3-clause texts.
>
> The endorsement clause is really a legal nothing. Other, existing law requires
> explicit permission to use one’s name and/or likeness in endorsement, so having
> it there didn’t change anything. You are already prohibited from using the names
> of people or organizations without their permission.

"Existing law"? There are a couple of hundred different legal systems on 
the planet (there are three in the UK alone), many founded on widely 
divergent philosophies. In some cases it's worth spelling out your 
intentions in the hope they are honoured even where they have no legal 
standing. Assuming the laws that apply to you apply to everyone is 
simply not tenable in today's globalised world.

-- 
Those who do not learn from computing history are doomed to
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