historical-apsl.html (8364B)
1 <!--#include virtual="/server/header.html" --> 2 <!-- Parent-Version: 1.96 --> 3 <!-- This page is derived from /server/standards/boilerplate.html --> 4 <!--#set var="TAGS" value="essays licensing non-cpleft" --> 5 <!--#set var="DISABLE_TOP_ADDENDUM" value="yes" --> 6 <title>Problems with older versions of the Apple License (APSL) 7 - GNU Project - Free Software Foundation</title> 8 <!--#include virtual="/philosophy/po/historical-apsl.translist" --> 9 <!--#include virtual="/server/banner.html" --> 10 <!--#include virtual="/philosophy/ph-breadcrumb.html" --> 11 <!--GNUN: OUT-OF-DATE NOTICE--> 12 <!--#include virtual="/server/top-addendum.html" --> 13 <div class="article reduced-width"> 14 <h2>The Problems with older versions of the Apple Public Source License (APSL)</h2> 15 16 <div class="announcement"> 17 <p>The current version of the Apple Public Source License (APSL) does not 18 have any of these problems. <a href="/philosophy/apsl.html">You can 19 read our current position on the APSL elsewhere</a>. This document is 20 kept here for historical purposes only.</p> 21 </div> 22 <hr class="thin" /> 23 24 <h3>FSF Position on the Older Versions of APSL</h3> 25 26 <p> 27 Apple released an updated version, 1.1, of the APSL but it remained 28 unacceptable. They changed the termination clause into a 29 “suspension” clause, but it still had the same kind of bad 30 effects.</p> 31 32 <p> 33 In January 2001, Apple released another version, APSL 1.2. This 34 version fixes two of the fatal flaws, but one still remains: any 35 modified version “deployed” in an organization must be 36 published. The APSL 1.2 has taken two large steps towards a free 37 software license, but still has one more large step to take before it 38 qualifies.</p> 39 40 <p> 41 Below, is the original commentary on the first version of the APSL, 42 version 1.0.</p> 43 44 <h3>Original APSL Commentary</h3> 45 46 <p> 47 After studying Apple's new source code license, the APSL, I have 48 concluded that it falls short of being a free software license. It 49 has three fatal flaws, any of which would be sufficient to make the 50 software less than free.</p> 51 52 <h4>Disrespect for privacy</h4> 53 <p> 54 The APSL does not allow you to make a modified version and use it for 55 your own private purposes, without publishing your changes.</p> 56 57 <h4>Central control</h4> 58 <p> 59 Anyone who releases (or even uses, other than for R&D) a modified 60 version is required to notify one specific organization, which happens 61 to be Apple.</p> 62 63 <h4>Possibility of revocation at any time</h4> 64 <p> 65 The termination clause says that Apple can revoke this license, and 66 forbid you to keep using all or some part of the software, any time 67 someone makes an accusation of patent or copyright infringement.</p> 68 <p> 69 In this way, if Apple declines to fight a questionable patent (or 70 one whose applicability to the code at hand is questionable), you 71 will not be able to have your own day in court to fight it, because 72 you would have to fight Apple's copyright as well.</p> 73 <p> 74 Such a termination clause is especially bad for users outside the 75 US, since it makes them indirectly vulnerable to the insane US 76 patent system and the incompetent US patent office, which ordinarily 77 could not touch them in their own countries.</p> 78 <p> 79 Any one of these flaws makes a license unacceptable.</p> 80 <p> 81 If these three flaws were solved, the APSL would be a free software 82 license with three major practical problems, reminiscent of the NPL:</p> 83 84 <ul> 85 <li>It is not a true copyleft, because it allows linking with other 86 files which may be entirely proprietary.</li> 87 88 <li>It is unfair, since it requires you to give Apple rights 89 to your changes which Apple will not give you for its code.</li> 90 91 <li>It is incompatible with the GPL.</li> 92 </ul> 93 94 <p> 95 Of course, the major difference between the NPL and the APSL is that 96 the NPL <b>is</b> a free software license. These problems are 97 significant in the case of the NPL because the NPL has no fatal flaws. 98 Would that the same were true of the APSL.</p> 99 100 <p> 101 At a fundamental level, the APSL makes a claim that, if it became 102 accepted, would stretch copyright powers in a dangerous way: it claims 103 to be able to set conditions for simply <b>running</b> the software. 104 As I understand it, copyright law in the US does not permit this, 105 except when encryption or a license manager is used to enforce the 106 conditions. It would be terribly ironic if a failed attempt at making 107 a free software license resulted in an extension of the effective 108 range of copyright power.</p> 109 110 <p> 111 Aside from this, we must remember that only part of MacOS is being 112 released under the APSL. Even if the fatal flaws and practical 113 problems of the APSL were fixed, even if it were changed into a very 114 good free software license, that would do no good for the other parts 115 of MacOS whose source code is not being released at all. We must 116 not judge all of a company by just part of what they do.</p> 117 118 <p> 119 Overall, I think that Apple's action is an example of the effects of 120 the year-old <a href="/philosophy/open-source-misses-the-point.html">“open 121 source” movement</a>: of its plan to appeal to business with the 122 purely materialistic goal of faster development, while putting aside 123 the deeper issues of freedom, community, cooperation, and what kind of 124 society we want to live in.</p> 125 126 <p> 127 Apple has grasped perfectly the concept with which “open 128 source” is promoted, which is “show users the source and 129 they will help you fix bugs.” What Apple has not 130 grasped—or has dismissed—is the spirit of free software, 131 which is that we form a community to cooperate on the commons of 132 software.</p> 133 </div> 134 135 </div><!-- for id="content", starts in the include above --> 136 <!--#include virtual="/server/footer.html" --> 137 <div id="footer" role="contentinfo"> 138 <div class="unprintable"> 139 140 <p>Please send general FSF & GNU inquiries to 141 <a href="mailto:gnu@gnu.org"><gnu@gnu.org></a>. 142 There are also <a href="/contact/">other ways to contact</a> 143 the FSF. 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