Response to: Relicensing (or correcting?) the OpenDocument spec? (JIRAOFFICE-407)

[robert_weir@us.ibm.com]

As we finish up our work on ODF 1.2 we're going back over old comments 
submitted to the OASIS office-comment list and seeing if any of them are 
still applicable.  I just re-read your comment regarding the "All Rights 
Reserved" notice you observed in the ODF 1.1 specification's page footer:

http://lists.oasis-open.org/archives/office-comment/200703/msg00000.html

The "All rights reserved" notice is commonly used to assert copyright 
protection.  However it does not follow from this that you are granted no 
rights to use the specification.  All it is doing is asserting ownership. 
You need to refer to the Notices on page 3 to read a statement of 
permitted uses, where it states in part:

"This document and translations of it may be copied and furnished to 
others, and derivative works that comment on or otherwise explain it or 
assist in its implementation may be prepared, copied, published, and 
distributed, in whole or in part, without restriction of any kind, 
provided that the above copyright notice and this section are included on 
all such copies and derivative works. However, this document itself may 
not be modified in any way, including by removing the copyright notice or 
references to OASIS, except as needed for the purpose of developing any 
document or deliverable produced by an OASIS Technical Committee (in which 
case the rules applicable to copyrights, as set forth in the OASIS IPR 
Policy, must be followed) or as required to translate it into languages 
other than English."

Regards,

Rob Weir
Co-Chair, OASIS ODF TC