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| Squeak License | |
|---|---|
| Name | Squeak License |
| Author | Sun Microsystems; Apple Inc. contributors; User Group contributors |
| Date | 2000s |
| Free software | Contested |
Squeak License The Squeak License is a software license originally associated with the Squeak Smalltalk implementation and its distribution and governance. It addresses rights related to modification, redistribution, attribution, and patent grants for Squeak-derived code and media, and has been discussed in the context of several free software and proprietary projects, foundations, and corporate stewardship efforts.
The Squeak License emerged in the early 2000s amid discussions between stakeholders including Sun Microsystems, Apple Inc., Disney Enterprises, SRI International, and individual contributors from the Smalltalk-80 community. Its evolution intersected with events and organizations such as the formation of the Free Software Foundation, debates at the Open Source Initiative, advisory interactions with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and academic projects at institutions like MIT, Stanford University, Carnegie Mellon University, and University of Cambridge. The license and its revisions were influenced by precedents set by licenses used by projects like GNU General Public License, BSD license, MIT License, Apache License and discussions involving stakeholders such as Tim Berners-Lee, Richard Stallman, Linus Torvalds, and corporate entities including IBM, Microsoft, Oracle Corporation, and Red Hat. Community dialogues occurred on mailing lists associated with organizations like Apache Software Foundation, Eclipse Foundation, Mozilla Foundation, and at conferences such as O’Reilly Media events, the ACM SIGPLAN meetings, and USENIX gatherings.
The Squeak License contains clauses addressing copyright assignment, attribution requirements, redistribution permissions, and warranty disclaimers, with language that was compared by commentators to terms in the Berkeley Software Distribution family and various permissive and reciprocal licenses. Specific provisions touch on moral rights and media rights that raised questions in relation to statutes and conventions referenced by bodies such as the World Intellectual Property Organization and national legislatures including the United States Congress and the European Parliament. Its compatibility with patent frameworks and contributor agreements was evaluated against models like the Contributor License Agreement used by the Linux Foundation, the patent grants under the Apache License, and assignment frameworks used by entities including Oracle Corporation and Sun Microsystems. Drafters considered termination clauses and indemnity language similar to instruments reviewed by legal teams at Harvard University, Yale University, and firms such as Baker McKenzie and Morrison & Foerster.
Analysts compared the Squeak License to the GNU General Public License versions, the Lesser General Public License, the Mozilla Public License, the Eclipse Public License, and permissive texts like the MIT License and the BSD license. Compatibility debates referenced court decisions involving parties like Apple Inc. and Google LLC, precedent-setting disputes such as cases involving Oracle Corporation and Google LLC, and compatibility analyses by organizations including the Open Source Initiative and the Free Software Foundation. Legal scholars from institutions such as Columbia University, University of Chicago, New York University, and University of California, Berkeley contributed comparative assessments.
Adoption pathways included incorporation into distributions and educational projects at institutions like MIT Media Lab, University of Oxford, University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory, and reuse by companies including Apple Inc., IBM, Intel Corporation, Cisco Systems, and HP Inc. for research, prototyping, and teaching. The license’s terms were relevant to repositories hosted by services such as GitHub, GitLab, SourceForge, and influenced code stewardship models pursued by foundations like the Squeakland Foundation-style community groups, local user groups, and nonprofit organizations akin to the Mozilla Foundation and the Apache Software Foundation.
Legal commentary came from academics, law firms, and advocacy organizations including the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Open Source Initiative, and the Free Software Foundation. Community responses varied across contributors from the Smalltalk and Squeak communities, members affiliated with the Computer History Museum, representatives from the Software Freedom Conservancy, and corporate counsel from Sun Microsystems and Apple Inc.. Debates referenced comparative legal frameworks such as those developed in cases involving Oracle Corporation and standards-setting activity at the World Wide Web Consortium and the International Organization for Standardization.
Practical implementation of the Squeak License required attention to contributor tracking, copyright assignment practices, and packaging for distribution via platforms like GitHub, Bitbucket, and SourceForge. Distributors and educators at institutions such as MIT, Stanford University, California Institute of Technology, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology weighed the license against institutional policies and technology transfer offices, while commercial vendors like Red Hat, Canonical (company), SUSE, and Debian Project analyzed compliance for redistribution. International distribution invoked statutes and treaties involving the World Intellectual Property Organization, European Commission, and national bodies such as the United States Patent and Trademark Office.