Integrate pasted introductory text for GPLv3§11.

This text was (on the whole) useful as introductory text to this
tutorial's existing extensive section on GPLv3§11.

The example, however, belonged further down in the section, so I've
placed it there.
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Bradley M. Kuhn 2014-11-13 10:50:57 -05:00
parent 1e0d39fe72
commit c3815b0689

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@ -3692,40 +3692,34 @@ policy requires each such patent holder to provide appropriate levels of
patent assurance to users, according to the nature of the patent holder's
relationship to the program.
% FIXME-URGENT: integrate
In general, GPLv3 provides for two classes of patent commitments:
GPLv3 provides for two classes of patent commitments:
\begin{itimize}
\item Grant of license to claims in contributor versions: GPLv3~\S11
introduces an affirmative grant of rights to patent claims by those who
contribute code to GPLd programs. The intent is to prevent parties from
aggressively asserting patents against users of code those parties have
themselves modified --- in theory preventing betrayal by ``insiders'' of
the copyleft community. A contributor's patent claims necessarily
infringed by the version of the program created by the incorporation of its
modifications are licensed to all subsequent users and modifiers of the
program, or programs based on the program. No patent claims only infringed
by subsequent modifications by other parties are thus licensed. Patent
claims acquired after the making of the ``contributor version'' necessarily
infringed by that version are also licensed by this provision at the time
of their acquisition or perfection.
Prohibition of Enforcement of patent claims against those to whom you
distribute: GPLv3 \S10 makes explicit that demands for acceptance of
patent licenses or payment of patent royalties by those to whom a
licensee directly distributes are additional conditions that may not
imposed. This provision establishes a uniform rule of patent exhaustion
with respect to GPLd programs regardless of the domestic patent law in
any particular system or locale.
\item Prohibition of enforcement of patent claims against those to whom you
distribute: GPLv3~\S10 makes explicit that licensees who directly
distribute may not make demands for acceptance of patent licenses or
payment of patent royalties from distribution recipients. This provision
establishes a uniform rule of patent exhaustion with respect to GPL'd
programs regardless of the domestic patent law in any particular system or
locale.
\end{itimize}
Grant of license to claims in contributor versions: Section 11 introduces
an affirmative grant of rights to patent claims by those who contribute
code to GPLd programs. The intent is to prevent parties within the
commons from aggressively asserting patents against users of code they
have themselves modified, preventing a form of commons betrayal by
``insiders'' to the community. A contributors patent claims necessarily
infringed by the version of the program created by the incorporation of
its modifications are licensed to all subsequent users and modifiers of
the program, or programs based on the program. No patent claims only
infringed by subsequent modifications by other parties are thus
licensed. Patent claims acquired after the making of the ``contributor
version'' necessarily infringed by that version are also licensed by this
provision at the time of their acquisition or perfection. When a company
with a large number of such claims acquires the programs modifier, all
claims held or thereafter acquired by the purchaser are automatically
licensed under this provision. The acquisition of Nokia by Microsoft, for
example, resulted in the automatic licensing of all Microsoft claims now
or hereafter acquired which read on any contributor version of any GPLv3
program ever modified by Nokia. The wholesale decimation of Microsoft
patent claims on GPLv3 programs arising from the purchase of Nokia has so
far been unremarked in the industry.
% FIXME-URGENT: end
The following two subsections discuss in order each of the above mentioned
classes of patent commitments.
\subsection{The Contributor's Explicit Patent License}
@ -3837,6 +3831,14 @@ patent portfolio to determine whether the combination of the modifications
with the remainder of the work cause it to read on any of the contributor's
patent claims.
Finally, GPLv3's explicit patent license for contributors has an interesting
and useful side effect. When a company with a large number of such claims
acquires the program's modifier, all claims held or thereafter acquired by
the purchaser are automatically licensed under this provision. For example,
Microsoft's acquisition of Nokia resulted in the automatic licensing of all
Microsoft patent claims now or hereafter acquired which read on any
contributor version of any GPLv3 program ever modified by Nokia.
\subsection{Conveyors' Patent Licensing}
The remaining patent licensing in GPLv3 deals with patent licenses that are