ubuntu-manual team mailing list archive

[Ilya Haykinson <haykinson@xxxxxxxxx>]

CC has a concept of an "unported" license, which is generically applicable,
and a "ported" license -- i.e. one specific to a country's legal system.

We should be using an unported license, since we're not targeting any
particular country with any edition. Some ported licenses may already be
translated to multiple languages, and there are certainly unported license
translations.

In any case, I've reached out to Diane Peters, general counsel of Creative
Commons, who spearheads porting and localization issues. I'll update the
list when I hear from her. Until then, let's hold off on further work
localizing the license.

-ilya

On Wed, Mar 3, 2010 at 8:53 PM, Kevin Godby <godbyk@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> On Wed, Mar 3, 2010 at 10:23 PM, Ilya Haykinson <haykinson@xxxxxxxxx>
> wrote:
> > I recommend that we _never_ translate this license, since it's a binding
> > legal document and it is very easy to make a mistake in translation that
> > alters the entire meaning. If need be, I can email Lawrence Lessig and
> ask
> > for help in approving a translation, but instead I would prefer that we
> do
> > the following:
> >
> >  - if a localized license is available, use it
> >  - otherwise, use the US English version
> >
> > This should yield the most legally sound approach for now, and does not
> bind
> > us to any legal approval cycle in CC, or expose us to unnecessary risk of
> > creating a license that's too restrictive, too liberal, contradictory, or
> > just plain unenforceable.
>
> I don't mind having a translated license, but I do think there should
> be a notice at the top stating that it's an unofficial translation and
> that the binding license is the one located at <url>.
>
> I think increasing the translations of the license is a good thing and
> we should try to work with CC on that if we have time.  I think the
> biggest problem isn't the translation itself, but that they have to
> investigate the laws of each individual country and address the
> specifics there.
>
> --Kevin
>