{"action":"created","issue":{"url":"https://api.github.com/repos/biopython/biopython/issues/898","repository_url":"https://api.github.com/repos/biopython/biopython","labels_url":"https://api.github.com/repos/biopython/biopython/issues/898/labels{/name}","comments_url":"https://api.github.com/repos/biopython/biopython/issues/898/comments","events_url":"https://api.github.com/repos/biopython/biopython/issues/898/events","html_url":"https://github.com/biopython/biopython/issues/898","id":167420613,"number":898,"title":"Switch to using 3-clause BSD licence","user":{"login":"peterjc","id":63959,"avatar_url":"https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/63959?v=3","gravatar_id":"","url":"https://api.github.com/users/peterjc","html_url":"https://github.com/peterjc","followers_url":"https://api.github.com/users/peterjc/followers","following_url":"https://api.github.com/users/peterjc/following{/other_user}","gists_url":"https://api.github.com/users/peterjc/gists{/gist_id}","starred_url":"https://api.github.com/users/peterjc/starred{/owner}{/repo}","subscriptions_url":"https://api.github.com/users/peterjc/subscriptions","organizations_url":"https://api.github.com/users/peterjc/orgs","repos_url":"https://api.github.com/users/peterjc/repos","events_url":"https://api.github.com/users/peterjc/events{/privacy}","received_events_url":"https://api.github.com/users/peterjc/received_events","type":"User","site_admin":false},"labels":[{"url":"https://api.github.com/repos/biopython/biopython/labels/Enhancement","name":"Enhancement","color":"0e8a16"}],"state":"open","locked":false,"assignee":null,"assignees":[],"milestone":null,"comments":29,"created_at":"2016-07-25T17:26:11Z","updated_at":"2016-08-02T14:53:06Z","closed_at":null,"body":"Biopython currently uses a slight variation of what was then known as the Python-style licence, a variant of the OSI approved HPND, see https://github.com/biopython/biopython/blob/master/LICENSE vs https://opensource.org/licenses/HPND\r\n\r\nFor background see this email from Biopython co-founder Andrew Dalke, http://lists.open-bio.org/pipermail/biopython-dev/2013-August/019941.html\r\n\r\nWe would like to switch to a more mainstream licence to simply downstream packaging and reuse, specifically the 3-clause BSD licence looks like the closest match: https://opensource.org/licenses/BSD-3-Clause\r\n\r\nSee past mailing list discussion:\r\n\r\nhttp://lists.open-bio.org/pipermail/biopython-dev/2013-July/019903.html etc\r\nhttp://lists.open-bio.org/pipermail/biopython-dev/2013-August/019941.html etc\r\nhttp://lists.open-bio.org/pipermail/biopython-dev/2015-November/021151.html etc\r\n\r\nUnless we can get solid legal advice that the current agreement allows a simple switch, this change is likely best achieved by gradually dual-licensing each Python file one-by-one under *BOTH* the current license and the BSD-3-Clause license. This means checking all the contributors to each file, based on copyright claims in any header, and a review via ``git blame``, and getting their agreement (ideally CC'd to our public mailing list).\r\n\r\nThen, once all our Python code is dual licensed, we can do a full release under both licences, and at the point (if we wish) drop the original licence in favour of the BSD-3-Clause only.\r\n\r\nTODO:\r\n\r\n - Prepare a replacement for the current ``LICENSE`` file to list both the historic agreement, and the BSD-3-Clause, with a suitable header (saying many files are explicitly dual licensed but otherwise the historic agreement applies).\r\n\r\n - Prepare a revised default Python header as an exemplar to be copied for all dual-licenced files, replacing this typical example (from  ``Bio/Seq.py``).\r\n\r\n```\r\n# Copyright 2000-2002 Brad Chapman.\r\n# Copyright 2004-2005 by M de Hoon.\r\n# Copyright 2007-2015 by Peter Cock.\r\n# All rights reserved.\r\n# This code is part of the Biopython distribution and governed by its\r\n# license.  Please see the LICENSE file that should have been included\r\n# as part of this package.\r\n```\r\n\r\n - Have lawyer approve the language.\r\n\r\n - Update ``LICENSE`` file and first few modules."},"comment":{"url":"https://api.github.com/repos/biopython/biopython/issues/comments/236929627","html_url":"https://github.com/biopython/biopython/issues/898#issuecomment-236929627","issue_url":"https://api.github.com/repos/biopython/biopython/issues/898","id":236929627,"user":{"login":"christiam","id":736979,"avatar_url":"https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/736979?v=3","gravatar_id":"","url":"https://api.github.com/users/christiam","html_url":"https://github.com/christiam","followers_url":"https://api.github.com/users/christiam/followers","following_url":"https://api.github.com/users/christiam/following{/other_user}","gists_url":"https://api.github.com/users/christiam/gists{/gist_id}","starred_url":"https://api.github.com/users/christiam/starred{/owner}{/repo}","subscriptions_url":"https://api.github.com/users/christiam/subscriptions","organizations_url":"https://api.github.com/users/christiam/orgs","repos_url":"https://api.github.com/users/christiam/repos","events_url":"https://api.github.com/users/christiam/events{/privacy}","received_events_url":"https://api.github.com/users/christiam/received_events","type":"User","site_admin":false},"created_at":"2016-08-02T14:53:06Z","updated_at":"2016-08-02T14:53:06Z","body":"I hereby give my explicit permission to switch to the BSD 3-clause license."}}
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