Distribution, Licensing, Modification, and Sale of Certain Types of Software

Policy Statement

Details

Members of the Dartmouth College community may distribute or license as "Open Source Software" software developed as part of their employed duties provided the following criteria are followed. In addition, members of the Dartmouth College community may distribute or license Open Source Software they have received, used, or modified under a General Public License (GPL) or a Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD) License, as long as the following criteria are met:

1. The license shall not restrict any party from selling or giving away the software as a component of an aggregate software distribution containing programs from several different sources. The license shall not require a royalty or other fee for such sale.
2. The program must include source code, and must allow distribution in source code, as well as compiled form. Where some form of a product is not distributed with the source code, there must be a well-publicized means of obtaining the source code for no more than a reasonable reproduction cost, preferably downloading via the Internet without charge. The source code must be the preferred form in which a programmer would modify the program. Deliberately obfuscated source code is not allowed. Intermediate forms, such as the output of a preprocessor or translator, are not allowed.
3. The license must allow modifications and derived works, and must allow them to be distributed under the same terms as the license of the original software.
4. The license may restrict source code from being distributed in modified form only if the license allows the distribution of "patch files" with the source code for the purpose of modifying the program at build time. The license must explicitly permit distribution of software built from the modified source code. The license may require derived works to carry a different name or version number from the original software.
5. The license must not discriminate against any person or group of persons.
6. The license must not restrict anyone from making use of the program in a specific field of endeavor. For example, it may not restrict the program from being used in a business or from being used for genetic research.
7. The rights attached to the program must apply to all to whom the program is redistributed without the need for execution of an additional license by those parties.
8. The rights attached to the program must not depend on the program's being part of a particular software distribution. If the program is extracted from that distribution and used or distributed within the terms of the program's license, all parties to whom the program is redistributed should have the same rights as those that are granted in conjunction with the original software distribution.
9. The license must not place restrictions on other software that is distributed along with the licensed software. For example, the license must not insist that all other programs distributed on the same medium must be open-source software.
10. No provision of the license may be predicated on any individual technology or style of interface.
11. The license states: "THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED 'AS IS' AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, ARE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL DARTMOUTH COLLEGE OR ITS EMPLOYEES BE LIABLE FOR DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE COSTS OF PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LAIBILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY OR TORT ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED IN ADVANCE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
12. The license provides that redistribution and use of the software in source or binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted, provided that:
    1. Any redistribution must include copyright notice attribution to Dartmouth College, as well as the disclaimer contained in section 11 above, as well as this list of conditions in any related documentation and, if feasible, on the redistributed software;
    2. Any redistribution must include the acknowledgment, "This product includes software developed by Dartmouth College," in any related documentation and, if feasible, in the redistributed software; and
    3. The names "Dartmouth" and "Dartmouth College" may not be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software.
13. Dartmouth College does not allow its community members to modify software where the license for that software prohibits modification. If you have questions as to whether software may be modified, please check with the Vice President of Information, Technology & Consulting or his/her designee.
14. If a member of the community modifies software licensed to the College, that person may not distribute or license that software unless permission is granted from the Vice President of Information, Technology & Consulting or his/her designee.
15. There are occasions when members of the Dartmouth community may develop software or create enhancements to software licensed to the College. Subject to Dartmouth's Copyright Policy, no person may sell such modified software to a third party without receiving permission from the Vice President of Information, Technology & Consulting.

Software developed with federal, foundation, or corporate funding is not necessarily covered by this policy. Specific special conditions regarding software protection and distribution might pertain to a particular grant or contract. Principal Investigators should contact the Office of Sponsored Projects and/or the Technology Transfer Office for advice before releasing any software developed with extramural funding.