While exploring possibilities for bringing open source to the physical sciences, I have been unable to find a suitable license. So I recently decided to start writing one. It is far from done - as of now I've simply stated my goals and principles, written a summary, and drafted some initial terms (in English, not Legalese). My working repository for the license is currently on GitHub. I'm hoping that by working out in the open I'll be able to get enough feedback to turn it into a meaningful legal document.
This thread is meant to host general discussion about the license, while I hope that specific suggestions on the details of the license will be made on GitHub. I've copied some of the high-level content to the bottom of this post.
What do you think? Would you use it for your project? What's missing?
Goal:
An open license that fosters a collaborative innovation environment for physical science and engineering, by stewarding a shared intellectual property commons.
Summary:
The intent of the Open Sauce License is to seed and sustain an ecosytem of permissionless innovation, in which inventors can profit from their contributions while standing on the shoulders of an exponentially-growing giant. Intellectual property licensed under the Open Sauce License can be used and modified, at no cost to the licensee. Any new intellectual property developed by the licensee that builds off of the licensed material must be non-exclusively licensed back to all licensees under the Open Sauce License. Through this feedback mechanism, the shared pool of intellectual property grows. Intellectual property owners may additionally assign other non-exclusive licenses on their own terms. Licensees are free to incorporate the intellectual property into commercial projects, subject to the terms of the license and code of conduct.
Principles:
- Maximize reproducibility.
- Encourage attribution.
- Improve understanding.
- Preserve optionality.
- Prioritize safety.
