NETSCAPE PUBLIC LICENSE, Annotated

Note that these explanations are not the license. The explanations are not a legal document, or legal advice. If you need to know exactly what the license requires, you need to read and understand the license itself; if you need legal advice, you need to talk to a lawyer. The annotations are merely a good faith effort to explain the license in simpler language.

Back to the NPL page.

1. Definitions.

1.1. ``Contributor'' means each entity that creates or contributes to the creation of Modifications.

1.2. ``Contributor Version'' means the combination of the Original Code, prior Modifications used by a Contributor, and the Modifications made by that particular Contributor.

1.3. ``Covered Code'' means the Original Code or Modifications or the combination of the Original Code and Modifications, in each case including portions thereof.

1.4. ``Electronic Distribution Mechanism'' means a mechanism generally accepted in the software development community for the electronic transfer of data.

1.5. ``Executable'' means Covered Code in any form other than Source Code.

1.6. ``Initial Developer'' means the individual or entity identified as the Initial Developer in the Source Code notice required by Exhibit A.

1.7. ``Larger Work'' means a work which combines Covered Code or portions thereof with code not governed by the terms of this License.

1.8. ``License'' means this document.

1.9. ``Modifications'' means any addition to or deletion from the substance or structure of either the Original Code or any previous Modifications. When Covered Code is released as a series of files, a Modification is:

A. Any addition to or deletion from the contents of a file containing Original Code or previous Modifications.

B. Any new file that contains any part of the Original Code or previous Modifications.

1.10. ``Original Code'' means Source Code of computer software code which is described in the Source Code notice required by Exhibit A as Original Code, and which, at the time of its release under this License is not already Covered Code governed by this License.

1.11. ``Source Code'' means the preferred form of the Covered Code for making modifications to it, including all modules it contains, plus any associated interface definition files, scripts used to control compilation and installation of an Executable, or a list of source code differential comparisons against either the Original Code or another well known, available Covered Code of the Contributor's choice. The Source Code can be in a compressed or archival form, provided the appropriate decompression or de-archiving software is widely available for no charge.

1.12. ``You'' means an individual or a legal entity exercising rights under, and complying with all of the terms of, this License or a future version of this License issued under Section 6.1. For legal entities, ``You'' includes any entity which controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with You. For purposes of this definition, ``control'' means (a) the power, direct or indirect, to cause the direction or management of such entity, whether by contract or otherwise, or (b) ownership of fifty percent (50%) or more of the outstanding shares or beneficial ownership of such entity.

2.1. The Initial Developer Grant.
The Initial Developer hereby grants You a world-wide, royalty-free, non-exclusive license, subject to third party intellectual property claims:

(a) to use, reproduce, modify, display, perform, sublicense and distribute the Original Code (or portions thereof) with or without Modifications, or as part of a Larger Work; and

(b) under patents now or hereafter owned or controlled by Initial Developer, to make, have made, use and sell (``Utilize'') the Original Code (or portions thereof), but solely to the extent that any such patent is reasonably necessary to enable You to Utilize the Original Code (or portions thereof) and not to any greater extent that may be necessary to Utilize further Modifications or combinations.

2.2. Contributor Grant.
Each Contributor hereby grants You a world-wide, royalty-free, non-exclusive license, subject to third party intellectual property claims:

(a) to use, reproduce, modify, display, perform, sublicense and distribute the Modifications created by such Contributor (or portions thereof) either on an unmodified basis, with other Modifications, as Covered Code or as part of a Larger Work; and

(b) under patents now or hereafter owned or controlled by Contributor, to Utilize the Contributor Version (or portions thereof), but solely to the extent that any such patent is reasonably necessary to enable You to Utilize the Contributor Version (or portions thereof), and not to any greater extent that may be necessary to Utilize further Modifications or combinations.

3.1. Application of License.
The Modifications which You create or to which You contribute are governed by the terms of this License, including without limitation Section 2.2. The Source Code version of Covered Code may be distributed only under the terms of this License or a future version of this License released under Section 6.1, and You must include a copy of this License with every copy of the Source Code You distribute. You may not offer or impose any terms on any Source Code version that alters or restricts the applicable version of this License or the recipients' rights hereunder. However, You may include an additional document offering the additional rights described in Section 3.5.

3.2. Availability of Source Code.
Any Modification which You create or to which You contribute must be made available in Source Code form under the terms of this License either on the same media as an Executable version or via an accepted Electronic Distribution Mechanism to anyone to whom you made an Executable version available; and if made available via Electronic Distribution Mechanism, must remain available for at least twelve (12) months after the date it initially became available, or at least six (6) months after a subsequent version of that particular Modification has been made available to such recipients. You are responsible for ensuring that the Source Code version remains available even if the Electronic Distribution Mechanism is maintained by a third party.

3.3. Description of Modifications.
You must cause all Covered Code to which you contribute to contain a file documenting the changes You made to create that Covered Code and the date of any change. You must include a prominent statement that the Modification is derived, directly or indirectly, from Original Code provided by the Initial Developer and including the name of the Initial Developer in (a) the Source Code, and (b) in any notice in an Executable version or related documentation in which You describe the origin or ownership of the Covered Code.

3.4. Intellectual Property Matters

(a) Third Party Claims.
If You have knowledge that a party claims an intellectual property right in particular functionality or code (or its utilization under this License), you must include a text file with the source code distribution titled ``LEGAL'' which describes the claim and the party making the claim in sufficient detail that a recipient will know whom to contact. If you obtain such knowledge after You make Your Modification available as described in Section 3.2, You shall promptly modify the LEGAL file in all copies You make available thereafter and shall take other steps (such as notifying appropriate mailing lists or newsgroups) reasonably calculated to inform those who received the Covered Code that new knowledge has been obtained.

(b) Contributor APIs.
If Your Modification is an application programming interface and You own or control patents which are reasonably necessary to implement that API, you must also include this information in the LEGAL file.

3.5. Required Notices.
You must duplicate the notice in Exhibit A in each file of the Source Code, and this License in any documentation for the Source Code, where You describe recipients' rights relating to Covered Code. If You created one or more Modification(s), You may add your name as a Contributor to the notice described in Exhibit A. If it is not possible to put such notice in a particular Source Code file due to its structure, then you must include such notice in a location (such as a relevant directory file) where a user would be likely to look for such a notice. You may choose to offer, and to charge a fee for, warranty, support, indemnity or liability obligations to one or more recipients of Covered Code. However, You may do so only on Your own behalf, and not on behalf of the Initial Developer or any Contributor. You must make it absolutely clear than any such warranty, support, indemnity or liability obligation is offered by You alone, and You hereby agree to indemnify the Initial Developer and every Contributor for any liability incurred by the Initial Developer or such Contributor as a result of warranty, support, indemnity or liability terms You offer.

3.6. Distribution of Executable Versions.
You may distribute Covered Code in Executable form only if the requirements of Section 3.1-3.5 have been met for that Covered Code, and if You include a notice stating that the Source Code version of the Covered Code is available under the terms of this License, including a description of how and where You have fulfilled the obligations of Section 3.2. The notice must be conspicuously included in any notice in an Executable version, related documentation or collateral in which You describe recipients' rights relating to the Covered Code. You may distribute the Executable version of Covered Code under a license of Your choice, which may contain terms different from this License, provided that You are in compliance with the terms of this License and that the license for the Executable version does not attempt to limit or alter the recipient's rights in the Source Code version from the rights set forth in this License. If You distribute the Executable version under a different license You must make it absolutely clear that any terms which differ from this License are offered by You alone, not by the Initial Developer or any Contributor. You hereby agree to indemnify the Initial Developer and every Contributor for any liability incurred by the Initial Developer or such Contributor as a result of any such terms You offer.

3.7. Larger Works.
You may create a Larger Work by combining Covered Code with other code not governed by the terms of this License and distribute the Larger Work as a single product. In such a case, You must make sure the requirements of this License are fulfilled for the Covered Code.

If it is impossible for You to comply with any of the terms of this License with respect to some or all of the Covered Code due to statute or regulation then You must: (a) comply with the terms of this License to the maximum extent possible; and (b) describe the limitations and the code they affect. Such description must be included in the LEGAL file described in Section 3.4 and must be included with all distributions of the Source Code. Except to the extent prohibited by statute or regulation, such description must be sufficiently detailed for a recipient of ordinary skill to be able to understand it.

This License applies to code to which the Initial Developer has attached the notice in Exhibit A, and to related Covered Code.

6.1. New Versions.
Netscape Communications Corporation (``Netscape'') may publish revised and/or new versions of the License from time to time. Each version will be given a distinguishing version number.

6.2. Effect of New Versions.
Once Covered Code has been published under a particular version of the License, You may always continue to use it under the terms of that version. You may also choose to use such Covered Code under the terms of any subsequent version of the License published by Netscape. No one other than Netscape has the right to modify the terms applicable to Covered Code created under this License.

6.3. Derivative Works.
If you create or use a modified version of this License (which you may only do in order to apply it to code which is not already Covered Code governed by this License), you must (a) rename Your license so that the phrases ``Mozilla'', ``MOZILLAPL'', ``MOZPL'', ``Netscape'', ``NPL'' or any confusingly similar phrase do not appear anywhere in your license and (b) otherwise make it clear that your version of the license contains terms which differ from the Mozilla Public License and Netscape Public License. (Filling in the name of the Initial Developer, Original Code or Contributor in the notice described in Exhibit A shall not of themselves be deemed to be modifications of this License.)

COVERED CODE IS PROVIDED UNDER THIS LICENSE ON AN ``AS IS'' BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, WARRANTIES THAT THE COVERED CODE IS FREE OF DEFECTS, MERCHANTABLE, FIT FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR NON-INFRINGING. THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE OF THE COVERED CODE IS WITH YOU. SHOULD ANY COVERED CODE PROVE DEFECTIVE IN ANY RESPECT, YOU (NOT THE INITIAL DEVELOPER OR ANY OTHER CONTRIBUTOR) ASSUME THE COST OF ANY NECESSARY SERVICING, REPAIR OR CORRECTION. THIS DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY CONSTITUTES AN ESSENTIAL PART OF THIS LICENSE. NO USE OF ANY COVERED CODE IS AUTHORIZED HEREUNDER EXCEPT UNDER THIS DISCLAIMER.

This License and the rights granted hereunder will terminate automatically if You fail to comply with terms herein and fail to cure such breach within 30 days of becoming aware of the breach. All sublicenses to the Covered Code which are properly granted shall survive any termination of this License. Provisions which, by their nature, must remain in effect beyond the termination of this License shall survive.

UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES AND UNDER NO LEGAL THEORY, WHETHER TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), CONTRACT, OR OTHERWISE, SHALL THE INITIAL DEVELOPER, ANY OTHER CONTRIBUTOR, OR ANY DISTRIBUTOR OF COVERED CODE, OR ANY SUPPLIER OF ANY OF SUCH PARTIES, BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY OTHER PERSON FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OF ANY CHARACTER INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF GOODWILL, WORK STOPPAGE, COMPUTER FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION, OR ANY AND ALL OTHER COMMERCIAL DAMAGES OR LOSSES, EVEN IF SUCH PARTY SHALL HAVE BEEN INFORMED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. THIS LIMITATION OF LIABILITY SHALL NOT APPLY TO LIABILITY FOR DEATH OR PERSONAL INJURY RESULTING FROM SUCH PARTY'S NEGLIGENCE TO THE EXTENT APPLICABLE LAW PROHIBITS SUCH LIMITATION. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THAT EXCLUSION AND LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

The Covered Code is a ``commercial item,'' as that term is defined in 48 C.F.R. 2.101 (Oct. 1995), consisting of ``commercial computer software'' and ``commercial computer software documentation,'' as such terms are used in 48 C.F.R. 12.212 (Sept. 1995). Consistent with 48 C.F.R. 12.212 and 48 C.F.R. 227.7202-1 through 227.7202-4 (June 1995), all U.S. Government End Users acquire Covered Code with only those rights set forth herein.

This License represents the complete agreement concerning subject matter hereof. If any provision of this License is held to be unenforceable, such provision shall be reformed only to the extent necessary to make it enforceable. This License shall be governed by California law provisions (except to the extent applicable law, if any, provides otherwise), excluding its conflict-of-law provisions. With respect to disputes in which at least one party is a citizen of, or an entity chartered or registered to do business in, the United States of America: (a) unless otherwise agreed in writing, all disputes relating to this License (excepting any dispute relating to intellectual property rights) shall be subject to final and binding arbitration, with the losing party paying all costs of arbitration; (b) any arbitration relating to this Agreement shall be held in Santa Clara County, California, under the auspices of JAMS/EndDispute; and (c) any litigation relating to this Agreement shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the Federal Courts of the Northern District of California, with venue lying in Santa Clara County, California, with the losing party responsible for costs, including without limitation, court costs and reasonable attorneys fees and expenses. The application of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods is expressly excluded. Any law or regulation which provides that the language of a contract shall be construed against the drafter shall not apply to this License.

Except in cases where another Contributor has failed to comply with Section 3.4, You are responsible for damages arising, directly or indirectly, out of Your utilization of rights under this License, based on the number of copies of Covered Code you made available, the revenues you received from utilizing such rights, and other relevant factors. You agree to work with affected parties to distribute responsibility on an equitable basis.

I. Effect.
These additional terms described in this Netscape Public License -- Amendments shall apply to the Mozilla Communicator client code and to all Covered Code under this License.

II. ``Netscape's Branded Code'' means Covered Code that Netscape distributes and/or permits others to distribute under one or more trademark(s) which are controlled by Netscape but which are not licensed for use under this License.

III. Netscape and logo.
This License does not grant any rights to use the trademark ``Netscape'', the ``Netscape N and horizon'' logo or the Netscape lighthouse logo, even if such marks are included in the Original Code.

IV. Inability to Comply Due to Contractual Obligation.
Prior to licensing the Original Code under this License, Netscape has licensed third party code for use in Netscape's Branded Code. To the extent that Netscape is limited contractually from making such third party code available under this License, Netscape may choose to reintegrate such code into Covered Code without being required to distribute such code in Source Code form, even if such code would otherwise be considered ``Modifications'' under this License.

V. Use of Modifications and Covered Code by Initial Developer.

V.1. In General.
The obligations of Section 3 apply to Netscape, except to the extent specified in this Amendment, Section V.2 and V.3.

V.2. Other Products.
Netscape may include Covered Code in products other than the Netscape's Branded Code which are released by Netscape during the two (2) years following the release date of the Original Code, without such additional products becoming subject to the terms of this License, and may license such additional products on different terms from those contained in this License.

V.3. Alternative Licensing.
Netscape may license the Source Code of Netscape's Branded Code, including Modifications incorporated therein, without such additional products becoming subject to the terms of this License, and may license such additional products on different terms from those contained in this License.

VI. Arbitration and Litigation.
Notwithstanding the limitations of Section 11 above, the provisions regarding arbitration and litigation in Section 11(a), (b) and (c) of the License shall apply to all disputes relating to this License.

``The contents of this file are subject to the Netscape Public License Version 1.0 (the "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance with the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at http://www.mozilla.org/NPL/

Software distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" basis, WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the License for the specific language governing rights and limitations under the License.

The Original Code is Mozilla Communicator client code, released March 31, 1998.

The Initial Developer of the Original Code is Netscape Communications Corporation. Portions created by Netscape are Copyright (C) 1998 Netscape Communications Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

Contributor(s): ______________________________________.''





[NOTE: The text of this Exhibit A may differ slightly from the text of the notices in the Source Code files of the Original Code. This is due to time constraints encountered in simultaneously finalizing the License and in preparing the Original Code for release. You should use the text of this Exhibit A rather than the text found in the Original Code Source Code for Your Modifications.]

Annotations to the Netscape Public License

(These annotations are meant for descriptive purposes only and do not in any way constitute a legally binding portion of the License.)

``Netscape / Mozilla Public License''
We wanted easy names that people could remember. We also wanted names that is distinguishable from other licenses, so we shied away from more generic names like "Source Code License".

``Covered Code''
This means any software or code that is covered by this License.

``Source Code'' vs ``Executable''
These licenses make a distinction between covered Source Code, and the binary executable products that can be made from them. It defines all possible forms of the Mozilla code as either one or the other. They have different restrictions and requirements placed on their use and distribution.

``Initial Developer''
In the NPL, the Initial Developer is Netscape Communications Corporation. In the MozPL, it is whomever contributes code and places it under the MozPL.

``Larger Work''
This is the definition that allows you, provided that you have taken the proper care in your coding, to combine NPL or MozPL covered code with other code -- such as code governed by a proprietary license -- to make a product.

``Modifications''
This is a very important definition, as it specifies precisely what code you write must be made public and what you can keep.

• If you change anything within one of the files contained in the Source Code, that is a Modification, and it must be made publicly available in source code form.
• If you take code out of one of the files contained in the Source Code and place it in a new file, whether you add new code or not, that is a Modification, and it must be made publicly available in source code form.
• If you rename a file or combine two or more files contained in the Source Code, that is a Modification, and it must be made publicly available in source code form.
• However, if you add a new file that does not contain any of the Original Code or subsequent Modified code, it is not a Modification, and need not be made publicly available in source code form. This remains true even if the new file is called or referenced by changes you made in the Source Code, though those changes do constitute a Modification and must be made publicly available in source code form. Having said this, though, Netscape believes that it is in the interest of all who develop on the Communicator code base to contribute their changes back to the development community. In this way, they will reap the benefits of distributed development.

This definition also refers only the modifications themselves, not the complete file as modified. Later in the License, we require that the Source Code to Modifications be made available, and this way a developer need only post his changes to the Source, not the entire source in changed form. This should cut down on the need for quite a bit of FTP space.

``Original Code''
In this case, it is the Mozilla Communicator code released by Netscape on March 31, 1998. In the case of the MozPL used in the future, this definition will apply to code released by other developers. This definition makes clear that a Modification is not Original code.

``You''
This definition of You allows either an individual or an organization to use code covered by these licenses.

``Source Code License''
This is the part of the License in which it is spelled out precisely what permissions the contributors to the Source Code are granting.

``Initial Developer Grant'' and ``Contributor Grant'' section (b)
This section is derived from the basic principles below.

1. It is not OK for someone to create a Modification for which he or she has a patent, make the Modification available free of charge as required under the License, and then come back and try to charge everyone for the patent rights.

2. On the other hand, the patent rights of contributors should be protected in a manner consistent with the goal of the License.

``Availability of Source Code''
This provision is intended to ensure availability of code, while minimizing the burden on each Contributor. It is based on the principle of ``code follows the executable'' that is found in the GPL. It does not require that you return Modifications to mozilla.org or any other named organization. However, you may do so if you choose, and we hope that you wish to participate in the development community that mozilla.org is chartered to foster.

``Third Party Claims''
We considered whether we should prohibit the use of any functionality where a contested intellectual property claim exists. But because these claims are often in contention, or unclear, or limited in their geographical scope so that they do not apply in some areas, we decided that this would limit the range of products that could be created from the Mozilla Communicator code too severely. Instead, we decided that contested intellectual property claims should be clearly disclosed so that each developer understands to the greatest extent possible the intellectual property issues surrounding the Source Code. This will help them to choose, on a case-by-case basis, whether or not they are interested enough in using the functionality to deal with the rights issues that surround that functionality.

``Contributor APIs''
This section is designed to protect developers using code covered by the NPL or MozPL against stealthy patent attacks.

``Required Notices''
This section is intended to allow Contributors to receive proper recognition for their contributions and to provide additional value-added services as long as they take the appropriate precautions to protect other Contributors from liability associated with such services.

``Distribution of Executable Versions''
The goal of the NPL and the MozPL is to encourage as much innovation as possible. We anticipate that people will take the code licensed under the NPL and MozPL and combine it with code developed or licensed under other terms. We also anticipate that the combined code will be licensed under a variety of terms, including different payment terms, support terms and use restrictions. Netscape does not wish to dictate the terms under which any such executables will be available. The NPL and MozPL are designed to make sure that the Source Code Modifications are freely available. After that, the creator of a larger work is free to license the executable of the work as he or she sees fit.

``Inability to Comply Due to Statute or Regulation''
This section was included so that the license could allow for the inclusion in the Source Code of regulated software such as cryptographic code which may have legal restrictions placed on its broad and public distribution.

``Versions of the License''
We realize that we are not perfect and may not have thought of all possible contentious situations that may arise because of this License. This clause give us the opportunity to address problems that may arise in the future.

``Effect of New Versions''
This clause guarantees that Netscape will never be able to take away rights that you have under the version of the license under which your code or modifications were created.

``Derivative Works''
We think that the NPL and MozPL are pretty good licenses, and we've done our best to make them serviceable for both Modifications and new code. However, if someone wants to make a new license based on either the NPL or MozPL, they need to distinguish their license from ours to avoid unnecessary confusion.

Required Legalese
These last sections of the License are the inevitable legal statements. Where they are in CAPS, we are not shouting, but are required to write these sections in capital letters by law.

``Responsibility for Claims''
This section is designed to spread the burden of intellectual property claims made on Mozilla based code over the group of developers responsible for distributing copies of covered code that contain the offense that leads to the claim.

We believe wholeheartedly in the benefits of open source development, but not everyone does. Some people or groups may try to take advantage of the work of open source development through claims of patent infringement. This is unfortunate, but it is also reality. We suggest that you be aware of the intellectual property implications of what you are working on to protect yourself and others from falling afoul of someone else's patent.

``Amendments''
The NPL and the MozPL are virtually identical, except that the NPL contains a set of rights that Netscape is reserving for itself in the Amendments section.

``Mozilla''
We used ``Mozilla'' rather than Netscape for several reasons. First, ``Netscape Communicator'' is a trademarked name that we want to reserve for our branded products. Mozilla helps to differentiate between them and what many people will soon be developing from the Source Code.

The mozilla.org version is derived from Netscape Communicator Standard Edition, but there are several critical differences of which the following are examples. First, we've removed the cryptographic capabilities of the Netscape product due to US export control issues. We've also removed code licensed from third parties which Netscape doesn't have the right to license under the NPL. Finally, we may remove some functionality for patented inventions which Netscape may not have the right to distribute in Source Code form at this time.

``Communicator client code''
We used ``Communicator client code'' because the code being released is the mozilla.org version of the Netscape Communicator Standard Edition product.

``Netscape and logo''
We've been moving very quickly to ready our code for release on March 31, and we may have missed something. All this section says is that if you come across something that we've missed, that doesn't give you the rights to use our trademarks. It doesn't require you to do our work for us. This section is designed to protect us from our screw ups, not to screw you up.

``Other Products''
This section is here because of the state of Netscape's code today. Netscape has a number of server products that contain NPL code. We intend to make sure those products can comply with the terms of NPL license as soon as practical. This is why we have included the two year time limit.

``Alternative Licensing''
This is included because Netscape already has certain source code licenses in place whose terms differ from those of this NPL. These licenses may not require the license back of code, although in many cases such licensees do return code voluntarily.

``Exhibit A''
This is the text that you must include in all files that are covered by the NPL or MozPL.