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| <<TableOfContents>> | ~-[[FrontPage|Launchpad Help]] > [[Translations]] > Translation licensing FAQ and other legal aspects -~ |
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| == Why is this needed? == | ||<tablestyle="float:right; font-size: 0.9em; width:40%; background:#F1F1ED; margin: 0 0 1em 1em;" style="padding:0.5em;"><<TableOfContents>>|| We have now updated the "Translations copyright" section of the [[TermsofUse|Launchpad terms of use]] to require that translations submitted in Launchpad licensed using the BSD licence. == Why was this needed? == |
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| Unfortunately there was some inconsistency in how we presented that condition. The FAQ at https://translations.edge.launchpad.net/+faq says: | Unfortunately there was some inconsistency in how we presented that condition. The FAQ at https://translations.launchpad.net/+faq said: |
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| But those at https://help.launchpad.net/TermsofUse say: | But those at https://help.launchpad.net/TermsofUse said: |
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| Which is it? Whose is "their" license in that second one? We want to clear this up by going with the BSD license, but not without your agreement. | Which was it? Whose is "their" license in that second one? We wanted to clear this up by going with the BSD license and consulted people using Launchpad Translations. |
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| We're proposing the following adjustment to the Terms of Use for Licensing to clarify this. | We have updated our Launchpad terms of use as follows: |
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| Translations copyright |
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| All translations in Launchpad are the work of the translator that created them. These translations are made available to Canonical and in turn to you under the BSD license (revised, without advertising clause). We require this so that other projects can use these translations as sources for their own translations, without suffering licensing incompatibilities. }}} |
All translations in Launchpad are the work of the translator that created them. These translations are made available to Canonical and in turn to you under the BSD license (revised, without advertising clause). We require this so that other projects can use these translations as sources for their own translations, without suffering licensing incompatibilities. }}} |
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| If you definitely don't want your contributions licensed under BSD, we'll remove your contributions from Launchpad. | If you've already told us that you definitely don't want your contributions licensed under BSD, we've removed your contributions from Launchpad. |
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| However, all your future contributions through Launchpad will still be licensed under BSD, so if you don't want that, do not use Launchpad for translating. | However, all your future contributions through Launchpad will still be licensed under BSD, and if you've got explicit concerns about this, we'd like to hear them on the launchpad-users mailing list. |
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| We'll be very sad to see you go, though, and if you've got explicit concerns about this, we'd like to hear them on the launchpad-users mailing list. | If you don't want your contributions licensed under BSD, do not use Launchpad for translating, although we'll be very sad to see you go. |
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| == Why default to 'I accept relicensing' instead of 'I don't accept'? == For all practical purposes, translators in Launchpad have already allowed sharing their translations under different licenses. We believe that there is no noteworthy difference, but we don't want to force that belief on you. If you feel you need more time to decide on this issue, please let us know. == What happens if I do not accept, but somebody else entered the same translation somewhere else? == Your versions of those translations will be deleted, but the other person's may not. Launchpad can't see why the translations are identical. |
Launchpad Help > Translations > Translation licensing FAQ and other legal aspects
We have now updated the "Translations copyright" section of the Launchpad terms of use to require that translations submitted in Launchpad licensed using the BSD licence.
Why was this needed?
Translations are freely shared between projects on Launchpad. Copyright complicates that free exchange. That's why our terms of use require that, when you translate in Launchpad, you grant us the right to share those translations with other projects.
Unfortunately there was some inconsistency in how we presented that condition. The FAQ at https://translations.launchpad.net/+faq said:
We ask that all translations submitted through Launchpad use the BSD licence. This makes the strings available to the widest number of open source projects.
But those at https://help.launchpad.net/TermsofUse said:
All translations submitted into Launchpad are the work of the translator that created them, and are submitted under the same license as the software being translated. In addition, the translator grants to Canonical Ltd the right to publish the translation and use the translation in other software packages under their license.
Which was it? Whose is "their" license in that second one? We wanted to clear this up by going with the BSD license and consulted people using Launchpad Translations.
We have updated our Launchpad terms of use as follows:
All translations imported from sources external to Launchpad are owned by the translator that created them. In general, these translations are licensed under the same terms as the software for which they are a translation. All translations in Launchpad are the work of the translator that created them. These translations are made available to Canonical and in turn to you under the BSD license (revised, without advertising clause). We require this so that other projects can use these translations as sources for their own translations, without suffering licensing incompatibilities.
What changes?
In practice, very little and probably nothing. If you went by the conditions as described in the FAQ, definitely nothing.
Why the BSD license?
The BSD license is universally compatible. This lets you share and combine with projects under GPL, LGPL, BSD, and many other licenses.
Why not public domain like the FSF's Translation Project?
For all practical purposes, BSD license is very much like disclaiming any copyrights, similar to what Translation Project does by asking for disclaimers in writing. However, you still get to keep your copyright, which is slightly easier to manage.
Does that mean my translations may be used in proprietary software?
Yes, this risk exists and will remain. However, we believe that the advantage of having large translation memories for free software far outweighs the risk of having free software translations end up in proprietary software.
Keeping track of how each string is allowed to be used would be much more difficult, and gain us relatively little.
If and when we allow proprietary projects to use Launchpad for translation, they will get the same translation suggestions as anyone else. Those may include translations you entered (and conversely, those projects' translations may be included in the suggestions you receive as well).
If I don't want my translations licensed under BSD, what will you do?
If you've already told us that you definitely don't want your contributions licensed under BSD, we've removed your contributions from Launchpad.
However, all your future contributions through Launchpad will still be licensed under BSD, and if you've got explicit concerns about this, we'd like to hear them on the launchpad-users mailing list.
If you don't want your contributions licensed under BSD, do not use Launchpad for translating, although we'll be very sad to see you go.
Will I still be able to select a packaged translation from some other template?
Yes, however, it will be clearly noted that it's up to you to check licensing compatibility. For example, you should not reuse nontrivial translations from a GPL module in a BSD-licensed project without asking the author for permission. An icon will warn of potential licensing issues.
You can freely reuse a few translations, though, because that's what copyright laws allow. Also, accidental matches between translations for short phrases should not make you worry.
I have no problem with BSD myself, but I also uploaded translations from upstream. What do I do?
As long as the uploads were marked as translations that were published elsewhere, they fall under a separate copyright regime: those imports will retain their original copyright license. The licensing cleanup only applies to translations that are (as far as the system knows) original to Launchpad. .
