RE: [Boost-Users] Re: boost vs. The Lawyers (non-technical)

From: Beman Dawes (bdawes_at_[hidden])
Date: 2002-10-11 14:13:13

At 10:54 AM 10/11/2002, Jeff Faust wrote:

 >My company's lawyer did go through every file, and I had meant to bring
 >this issue up sooner.  Boost should be something that I, as a developer
 >for a
 >company, can recognize as something useful and should be able to
 >incorporate
 >it without too much hindrance.  In truth, it was quite difficult and took 
a
 >long time.  The only difficulty was the license.  Some blanket license, 
as
 >a text file with the release, would aid greatly in convincing 
lawyer-types
 >that it's safe to use.

This is all understood, but it isn't entirely easy to do.

There are several problems, including:

*  Some Boost contributors have their own legal needs and require a 
separate license.

*  Boost contributors come from a number of countries, an what is a valid 
license for some many not be advisable or correct for others.

*  We need an IP lawyer to help with some of the issues, but don't have one 
and don't have any money to pay one. (Boost has a budget of exactly zero. 
At least the books are always in balance, except that there aren't any 
books, either.)

If anyone has any suggestions for dealing with the last issue, please let 
me know.

--Beman