Hi there,

Here is the answer from Nuno Brito, from the FSF:

On 29/11/2013 22:18, Nuno Brito via RT wrote:

Hi Pierre,

I can't speak for the FSF but personally I am a fan of ReactOS since
some 7 years now and been following (to some point) your progress and
hardships. You guys do a great work.

In regards to the MS-LPL, there is point 3.F of the license to consider:

(F) Platform Limitation - The licenses granted in sections 2(A) and

2(B) extend only >to the software or derivative works that you create
that run directly on a Microsoft >Windows operating system product,
Microsoft run-time technology (such as the .NET >Framework or
Silverlight), or Microsoft application platform (such as Microsoft

Office or Microsoft Dynamics).

Since ReactOS is not mentioned as a valid platform on this article, your
rights to the code should be interpreted without the "Grant of Rights"
section:

2. Grant of Rights
(A) Copyright Grant - Subject to the terms of this license, including

the license >conditions and limitations in section 3, each contributor
grants you a non-exclusive, >worldwide, royalty-free copyright license
to reproduce its contribution, prepare >derivative works of its
contribution, and distribute its contribution or any >derivative works
that you create.

(B) Patent Grant - Subject to the terms of this license, including the

license >conditions and limitations in section 3, each contributor
grants you a non-exclusive, >worldwide, royalty-free license under its
licensed patents to make, have made, use, >sell, offer for sale, import,
and/or otherwise dispose of its contribution in the >software or
derivative works of the contribution in the software.

So, I would say that point F in section 3 removes your rights (as
provided by Microsoft) to the source code under the MS-LPL. 

One possible route is contacting the IP department at Microsoft and
negotiate an agreement that basically allows ReactOS to proceed with
this goal using an explicit permission from Microsoft. This is not an
easy approach, even if the company is willing to negotiate (at no cost
since ReactOS is a non-profit organization), I can imagine that you will
need to analyze the contract terms quite thoroughly to ensure it is a
fair agreement (and compatible with the FOSS licensing model).

You should find an email contact point at
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/legal/IntellectualProperty/IPLicensing/Policy.aspx

Hope this helps.

With kind regards,
Nuno Brito

So, it sounds like we cannot include any MS-LPL code in our trunk without any prior legal work.

Regards,
Pierre

On 29/11/2013 20:35, Pierre Schweitzer wrote:

To give you my position: 1. Current FAT driver in ReactOS needs to die away. I am testing all my new code with the MS's FASTFAT driver. 2. Lawyers advice is needed whether we can distribute it. Regards, Aleksey Bragin On 29.11.2013 21:55, Hermès BÉLUSCA - MAÏTO wrote:

Nice idea Pierre! About this license we're talking about: yes I understand as Aleksander: that you can only use fastfat or derived works from it, on an (authentic) Windows OS (just my 2 cents, I'm not a lawyer too). Hermès. -----Message d'origine----- De : ros-dev-bounces@reactos.org [mailto:ros-dev-bounces@reactos.org] De la part de Pierre Schweitzer Envoyé : vendredi 29 novembre 2013 18:24 À : ros-dev@reactos.org Objet : Re: [ros-dev] [ros-diffs] [ekohl] 61145: [FASTFAT] FsdGetFsVolumeInformation: Return volume creation time. Hi all, Let's the experts do. I've contacted the April (French association which mission is to promote and defend FOSS). They can answer about licensing issues (they propose it through their contact form). I'll keep you informed with their answers, highlights, and so on. Regards, On 11/29/2013 06:05 PM, Alexander Andrejevic wrote:

I suppose it depends on how you interpret it. To me, "...extend only to the software or derivative works that you create that run on a Microsoft Windows operating system product" sounds like the program must run on Windows exclusively. It's not "... that you create to run ...", but "... that you create that run ...". Regards, Alexander On Fri, Nov 29, 2013 at 05:55:08PM +0100, David Quintana (gigaherz) wrote:

I do not agree on the "unless it's on Microsoft Windows" part. The license grants apply if it is "created to run directly" on windows, which I understand as "it can run anywhere else, also, just as long as it runs in windows without an intermediary". On 29 November 2013 17:51, Alexander Andrejevic <theflash@sdf.lonestar.org> wrote:

The problem is that you don't even have a license to use it or distribute it, unless it's on Microsoft Windows. Then again, I'm not a lawyer either and I could be wrong too. It would be great if someone who knows a lot about licenses explained this. Regards, Alexander On Fri, Nov 29, 2013 at 05:35:21PM +0100, David Quintana (gigaherz)

The exact words of the license, as seen at http://www.ohloh.net/licenses/mslpl (I couldn't find a better link for it), are: "4. (F) Platform Limitation- The licenses granted in sections 2(A) & 2(B) extend only to the software or derivative works that you create that run on a Microsoft Windows operating system product." Excluding that term, the rest of the license is mostly a differently-worded BSD license. If it only needs to be tested in windows to ensure that it works there, then there should be absolutely no problem including it in ReactOS, as long as the terms don't conflict with the other licenses' terms. And GPL with the ReactOS exception, as far as I can tell, allows it. I'm not a lawyer, though, so I could be wrong. On 29 November 2013 16:17, Alexander Andrejevic <theflash@sdf.lonestar.org> wrote:

http://code.msdn.microsoft.com/windowshardware/fastfat-File-Syste m-Driver-135bdf34/view/SourceCode Ged. -----Original Message----- From: ros-diffs-bounces@reactos.org [mailto:ros-diffs-bounces@reactos.org] On Behalf Of ekohl@svn.reactos.org Sent: 29 November 2013 14:06 To: ros-diffs@reactos.org Subject: [ros-diffs] [ekohl] 61145: [FASTFAT]