🚀 go-pugleaf

Hello Everyone.

Over the past couple of weeks, I've seen an enormous volume of 
mis-information regarding OSF/Motif's Release 1.2 licensing terms and 
royalty requirements on the network.  I am posting this to reiterate the 
actual Release 1.2 licensing policies and correct the misinformation.  It's 
in layman's terms.  (Any discrepancies between this message and the license 
agreement are unintentional; the license remains the final authority.) 

This posting is long because Motif is being used by lots of different kinds 
of developers under a variety of licensing circumstances.  I invite anyone 
with issues, questions, or problems concerning licensing to contact me 
directly at crow@osf.org.  I will also be happy to ship to anyone who sends 
me their snail-mail address a full copy of the OSF/Motif Release 1.2 
License and a summary sheet that explains the key points of the License 
agreement in non-lawyer language.  

It is critical for Software Developers to clearly understand their 
available options in developing applications and system tools using 
OSF/Motif Release 1.2 and beyond.  With this posting, I will review the 
options Software Developers have in delivering their Motif-based 
applications, license requirements and when royalties are and are not due 
OSF.  All of the comments below are pertinent to OSF/Motif Rel 1.2 and 
beyond (if you have questions on earlier Motif releases call me).  The 
terms described below are not new, but have been true since the 
introduction of Release 1.2 nearly two years ago.

For purposes of this discussion, the working definition of a "Runtime Copy" 
of Motif means any subset of routines from the "libXm" or "libMrm" library 
files in object code form statically linked within an application program 
and executable only with that single application.  If you use any other 
portion of Motif or dynamically link these library files in object code 
form to the application program then you are not using a Runtime Copy of 
Motif.

End User Options
----------------

End users of applications that bind in a Runtime Copy of Motif should 
follow the terms of their licenses with the suppliers of those 
applications.  If a prerequisite Motif license is necessary, then an 
application developer is required to put that in their terms with you.  If 
you are required to obtain a Motif license prior to your use of a 
particular application, then please contact a Motif software supplier.


Software Developer Options
--------------------------

Here are the options Software Developers have, depending upon how they've 
licensed OSF/Motif.

1) The Software Developer uses a copy of Motif to develop the application   
   and ships only the application code without Motif code.  The assumption 
   is that there is already a Motif shared library on the target system 
   with which the application can run.
    
     License Reqs.:     No source code license required.
                        Object code license required, at a minimum.
     Royalty impact:    No royalties are required from the developer because 
                        no actual Motif code is shipping with the 
                        application.

2) The Software Developer statically binds in the Motif "Runtime Copy" (as 
   defined in the license supplement).  Applications are shipped with Motif 
   "Runtime Copies".

  There are three variants:

  A. Developer is Not a Source Code Licensee of OSF/Motif.

     License Reqs.:     This is by far the most common method of 
                        distributing OSF/Motif based applications.  The 
                        developer has licensed an object code copy of Motif 
                        from an OSF/Motif Full Distribution licensee.  The 
                        application distributed by the developer may be 
                        installed on any system, whether or not the system 
                        already has a Motif license.  
     Royalty Reqs.:     No royalties will be due OSF in this instance.

  B. Developer is a Full Distribution Rights Licensee of OSF/Motif or has a 
     University Site License.  

     License Reqs.:     The application distributed by the licensee 
                        (developer) may be installed on any system, 
                        whether or not the system already has a Motif 
                        license.  
     Royalty Reqs.:     No royalties will be due OSF in this instance.


  C. Developer is a Limited Distribution Rights Licensee of Motif. 

     License Reqs.:     (i)  Licensee may only install the application on 
                        internal systems that are already licensed for 
                        Motif.  In the event that the application is 
                        installed on an internal system that is not 
                        licensed for Motif, then Licensee must license that 
                        system for Motif and pay OSF the appropriate object 
                        code royalty under their Limited Distribution Rights 
                        License.  
                        (ii) Also, whenever licensee distributes their 
                        application externally with the Motif Runtime Copy,  
                        licensee must require that the purchaser install 
                        the application only on Motif licensed systems.  
                        This requirement must be clearly indicated on the 
                        application software license and packaging.  The 
                        Software Developer owes no royalties to OSF 
                        themselves, however the end user may be required to 
                        obtain a license from a Motif software supplier 
                        (and that supplier would then owe OSF a royalty).  The 
                        Motif license is the responsibility of the end user 
                        of these applications.
     Royalty Reqs.:     There are no royalties due OSF for the Runtime Copies 
                        themselves, but a Motif object code license (at any 
                        release level) must be paid for each system on which 
                        the application runs.  
                        Under item i, licensee must license a copy of 
                        Motif for each internal system that is not already 
                        licensed for Motif. They can do this under their own 
                        Limited Distribution Rights license, or by purchasing 
                        a license from a Motif software supplier.  
                        Under item ii, if the End User system is not already 
                        licensed, then the End User must purchase a Motif 
                        license from a Motif software supplier.

3. The Software Developer ships a royalty-bearing copy of Motif with their   
   application (essentially anything that falls outside the "Runtime Copy" 
   definition in the license supplement).  

   Again, there are three variants:

   A. Software Developer is Not a Source Code Licensee of OSF/Motif.
 
    License Reqs.:     The developer has licensed an object code copy of 
                        Motif from an OSF/Motif Full Distribution licensee.  
                        The application distributed with a royalty-bearing 
                        copy of Motif by the developer may be installed to 
                        any system, provided that the developer's Motif 
                        object code license with their Motif supplier allows 
                        it.  
    Royalty Reqs.:     Royalties are due OSF in this instance.  The 
                        OSF/Motif Full Distribution licensee (supplier) who 
                        licensed Motif to the Software Developer pays OSF.  
                        The supplier's terms with the Software Developer 
                        determines what the Software Developer, in turn, 
                        pays the supplier.

  B. Software Developer is a Full Distribution Rights Licensee of 
     OSF/Motif.  

     License Reqs.:     OSF/Motif Full Distribution rights are required only 
                        if object code copies are shipped EXTERNALLY.  A 
                        Limited Distribution or University source license is 
                        adequate for INTERNAL use or INTERNAL distribution 
                        of royalty-bearing copies.
     Royalty Reqs.:     An object code royalty is due for each of these copies 
                        of Motif.  The royalty rate will be based on the 
                        volume options selected by the licensee 
                        (developer).

  C. Developer is a Limited Distribution Rights Licensee of Motif or has a 
     University Site License. 

     License Status:    The developer may only distribute INTERNALLY 
                        royalty-bearing copies of Motif.  
     Royalty Reqs.:     An object code royalty is due for each of these copies 
                        of Motif.  The royalty rate will be based on the 
                        volume options selected by the licensee 
                        (developer).


One more note: If developers have multiple object code copies of Motif from 
different sources, then the license terms under which a Motif object code 
copy was created apply to that copy and only to that copy.

Again, I invite anyone with issues, questions, or problems concerning 
licensing to contact me directly.

Regards,
Darrell Crow
OSF/Motif Technology Manager
OSF
crow@osf.org
(617) 621-7278