CompuDav.com - CompuDav License

CompuDav License (revision 1.0)

- INITIAL REMARKS -
Most of the licenses for software today are proprietary. In other words, one user may use one copy of the software, and that user may not modify/redistribute the program. The CompuDav License aims to be the "middle-of-the-road" license - offering companies and individuals the right to make money while, at the same time, allowing the end user rights to modify and sell the software, as long as it complies with this license.

COMPUDAV LICENSE - TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR COPYING, DISTRIBUTING, AND MODIFYING THE SOFTWARE

0. This License applies to any program or other work which contains a notice placed by the original author or contains a text file called CDL.txt saying that it is distributed under the terms of the CDL or CompuDav License. The "Program" referred to, below, is any program or work, and a "work based on the Program" means any redistribution of the original work, whether modified or not. Each licensee is addressed as "you".

Copying, distribution, running the Program, and modification are the only activities covered under this license. Therefore, other activities are outside of the license's scope.

1. BY INSTALLING, USING, MODIFYING, COPYING, AND DISTRIBUTING THIS SOFTWARE, YOU AUTOMATICALLY ACCEPT THE TERMS SET FORTH BY THIS AGREEMENT. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE WITH THE TERMS SET FORTH BY THIS AGREEMENT, YOU SHOULD NOT INSTALL THIS PRODUCT AND, IF APPLICABLE, YOU SHOULD PROMPTLY RETURN THIS PRODUCT TO THE PLACE OF PURCHASE FOR A FULL REFUND. YOU MAY NOT REVERSE ENGINEER, DECOMPILE, OR USE ANY METHOD WHATSOEVER IN ORDER TO OBTAIN THE SOURCE CODE FROM BINARY FORMS OF THIS SOFTWARE.

2. You may copy and distribute verbatim copies of the Program as you receive them, in any medium, provided that you place a copy of this license in a file called "CDL.txt" with the Program. As well, you must acknowledge the original copyright holder in a file called "Copyright.txt" which is also distributed with the Program. Both these files must be in the root directory where the installed Program resides.

A fee may be charged in the distribution of this program through any medium, including, but not limited to, the Internet, CD-ROM, floppy, and tape. This fee must be in accordance with section 4 of this license, which governs the distribution of executables/binaries.

If any source code or source code links are provided with the product, a link or links to the original source code file(s) must be provided at the end of CDL.txt. Or, the original source code must be distributed along with the Program in the same medium as the Program.

3. You may modify your copy or copies of the Program's source code, forming a work based on the Program, and redistribute them in any medium. The distribution must include the original Program's source code and, at your discretion, the modified source code of your work based on the Program. Distributors may not charge a fee for the actual source code. However, they may charge a fee for the distribution of the source code along with other items, which include, but are not
limited to, instructions, documentation, executables, and object code.

4. You may not redistribute executables or object code without full permission from the copyright holder. The only exception to this is if the Program is provided free of charge (i.e. $0.00). Then, you are permitted to redistribute the Program in any medium and charge any fee for the Program.

5. Any work based on the Program may not be distributed under a new license as it is the copyright holder's work. This includes any builds from the original source code as the author has a copyright on the source code. Portions of the Program's source code may be used in other software, providing that you conspicuously and appropriately display the copyright notice on the source code that you used. Portions of the Program's executables or object code may be used providing that the
original Program was provided free of charge. If the executables or object code of the Program were not provided free of charge, then this transaction falls outside the scope of this license.

6. The original copyright holder is not responsible for any damages incurred through the use of the Program. This includes, but is not limited to, loss of data, malfunctioning software, and formatting the hard drive. Any misleading comments or assumptions such as "will not format hard drive", when the software's whole purpose is to format the hard drive, do not fall under the scope of this license. THE ORIGINAL COPYRIGHT HOLDER IS NOT RESPONSIBLE, IN ANY WAY, FOR DISTRIBUTIONS THAT DO NOT COME FROM HIM/HER. In other words, the original developers are not responsible for any damages incurred from distributions that are not maintained by or are from themselves.

7. If the software or any portions of it are restricted to distribution in certain countries only, then you must comply with this limitation. In this case a "limitation section" will be incorporated into this license.

8. CompuDav nor anyone affiliated with CompuDav is not responsible for enforcing this license. If you notice compliance errors, it is your decision whether or not to enforce this license.

9. You are not required to accept this license, since you have not signed it. However the installation/use/redistribution/modification/ copying of the software indicates your acceptance. Furthermore, no other license grants you rights to the "use" of the Program.

10. Any work based on the Program does not have rights to the use of trademarks, registered trademarks, or anything else that has been legally "registered" or "patented" by the original author. This includes, but is not limited to, slogans, company names, and product names. It is up to the distributor to see if compensation is required for the use of these patents. You may not call your Program something that closely resembles the original name. For example, calling your Program "Simulation Software", instead of "Software Simulation".

11. The Program is licensed under version 1.0 of the CDL. It is not licensed under nor is it covered by future versions or revisions of this license.

END TERMS OF USE

- NOTE THAT... -
Developers/copyright holders of the Program have full rights to modify this license, thus forming a new license based on this one. However, the copyright holder must conspicuously and appropriately display the changes made to the license. As well, the copyright holder may not call the license "CDL", "CompuDav License", or anything that closely resembles these names.

- OK, SO WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? -
Basically, customers can redistribute binaries provided that they were free in the first place (the original creator made them free). Customers may not, however, redistribute executables/binaries that were not free to begin with. As well, customers may modify and redistribute source code providing that they publish either a link to the original (unmodified) source, or they include it with the modified program.

Let's take two common scenarios to help illustrate the above license.

Scenario 1

Joe has developed a new piece of software called Backup Monitor, which is a registered trademark of his company. He decides to sell two versions of the software - one is a free, standard edition, and the other one is a professional edition, which costs $30. Both programs are licensed under the CDL.

What can customers do?
Customers may redistribute Backup Monitor for any fee, over any medium, but they must acknowledge Joe's trademark information. Individuals cannot attempt to pass off Backup Monitor as being their own software. However, customers may not redistribute/copy/modify the professional edition of Backup Monitor as the professional edition is completely proprietary.

Scenario 2

Heather has developed a new piece of software called Network Monitor. She has not trademarked this name and offers it freely to anyone else who wishes to use it. She wishes to give away the source code and the executables for free over the internet and CD-ROM.

What can customers do?
Customers may distribute verbatim copies of the software in any form at any fee, provided that they include either a link to or the actual original source code in their distributions. Since Heather does not care about trademarks/patents, distributors are free to use the title Network Monitor. Users may develop a new work based on the original source code provided that they link to or distribute the original source (does not include any of their modifications in it) with the software. Furthermore, users may also use portions of the source code providing that they show exactly which parts cam from where and display an appropriate copyright notice.

All companies, corporations, names, and product names are intended to be fictional. In no way are they intended to depict real objects.