JodiB
Newbie
Posts: 15
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Apache license
« on: Dec 15th, 2007, 3:44pm » |
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I would be interested in experienced interpretations of the Apache license at:
http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
More specifically the section focused on patents:
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3. Grant of Patent License. Subject to the terms and conditions of this License, each Contributor hereby grants to You a perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, no-charge, royalty-free, irrevocable (except as stated in this section) patent license to make, have made, use, offer to sell, sell, import, and otherwise transfer the Work, where such license applies only to those patent claims licensable by such Contributor that are necessarily infringed by their Contribution(s) alone or by combination of their Contribution(s) with the Work to which such Contribution(s) was submitted. If You institute patent litigation against any entity (including a cross-claim or counterclaim in a lawsuit) alleging that the Work or a Contribution incorporated within the Work constitutes direct or contributory patent infringement, then any patent licenses granted to You under this License for that Work shall terminate as of the date such litigation is filed.
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What I find hard to distinguish from this license is how this may affect someone from selling software that is derived from an Apache project (and covered by this license) but the software includes enhancements that are covered by a patent. In other words, make an enhancement/addition to Apache where that enhancement is covered by a patent - can it be sold commercially or is one forgoing the patent rights?
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