The following license grant language has been proposed to be added to the OSLC terms as an option for workgroup participants along with the current IP Covenant language. Background motivation is here. Any comments on the draft can be directed to ScottBosworth before January 1, 2011. At that point in time, the intent is to add the final language to the terms as an option alongside the Covenant. Workgroup participants for future specifications will then have the option of making either a license grant or a covenant.

Draft License Grant language

Exhibit B – Patent License Contributor (“__NAME OF PARTY__”) wants to encourage broad adoption of the Covered Specification (as defined above). Therefore, Contributor grants an irrevocable (except as set forth in this paragraph), worldwide, no-charge, royalty-free license under any Necessary Claims(1) to any party (“User”) for making, using, importing, selling, or offering for sale Covered Implementations(2). However, this license will become void, and Contributor reserves the right to assert its Necessary Claims against User, if User (or anyone acting in concert with such party) asserts any Necessary Claims against any Covered Implementations of Contributor or of any third party. This license is available to everyone directly from Contributor, and does not flow from User to User’s suppliers, business partners, distributors, customers or others. Therefore, if User’s supplier, business partner, distributor, customer or other party independently takes an action that voids the license as to itself, Contributor reserves the right to assert its Necessary Claims against that party, even though this license will remain in effect for User.

By granting this irrevocable patent license, Contributor does not represent that it holds any or all Necessary Claims.

Any agreement in the future in which Contributor transfers a Necessary Claim (or patent or patent application that includes it) will: subject such transfer, automatically or otherwise, to the rights granted to others under this license prior to such transfer so that those who later get rights to the Necessary Claim get such rights subject to this license; or retain for Contributor the right to grant such rights to others.

Definitions:

1"Necessary Claims" are those patent claims that can not be avoided by any commercially reasonable, compliant implementation of the Required Portions of a Covered Specification. "Required Portions" are those portions of a specification that must be implemented to comply with such specification. If the specification prescribes discretionary extensions, Required Portions include those portions of the discretionary extensions that must be implemented to comply with such discretionary extensions.

2"Covered Implementations" are those specific portions of a product (hardware, software, services or combinations thereof) that implement and comply with a Covered Specification and are included in a compliant implementation of that Covered Specification. Reference to User includes entities controlled by, controlling, and under common control with User, based on majority control.

Existing IP Covenant language

Exhibit A – Patent Non-Assertion Covenant Contributor (“__NAME OF PARTY__”) wants to encourage broad adoption of this specification (“Covered Specification”). Therefore, Contributor irrevocably covenants to you that it will not assert any Necessary Claims(1) against any party (“User”) for making, using, importing, selling, or offering for sale Covered Implementations(2). However, this covenant will become void, and Contributor reserves the right to assert its Necessary Claims against User, if User (or anyone acting in concert with such party) asserts any Necessary Claims against any Covered Implementations of Contributor or of any third party. This covenant is available to everyone directly from Contributor, and does not flow from User to User’s suppliers, business partners, distributors, customers or others. Therefore, if User’s supplier, business partner, distributor, customer or other party independently takes an action that voids the covenant as to itself, Contributor reserves the right to assert its Necessary Claims against that party, even though this covenant will remain in effect for User.

By making this irrevocable patent covenant with regard to Covered Specification, Contributor does not represent that it holds any or all Necessary Claims regarding Covered Specification.

Any agreement in which Contributor transfers a Necessary Claim (or patent or patent application that includes it) will state that those who later get rights to the Necessary Claim are bound by Contributor’s commitments under this covenant or the Contributor will retain the right to grant such rights to future implementers in order to fulfill Contributor’s commitments under this covenant.

Definitions:

1"Necessary Claims" are those patent claims that can not be avoided by any commercially reasonable, compliant implementation of the Required Portions of a Covered Specification. "Required Portions" are those portions of a specification that must be implemented to comply with such specification. If the specification prescribes discretionary extensions, Required Portions include those portions of the discretionary extensions that must be implemented to comply with such discretionary extensions.

2"Covered Implementations" are those specific portions of a product (hardware, software, services or combinations thereof) that implement and comply with a Covered Specification and are included in a compliant implementation of that Covered Specification. Reference to User includes entities controlled by, controlling, and under common control with User, based on majority control.