[cfe-dev] ARM contributing to libc++ & libc++abi

[Arnaud A. de Grandmaison]

> "necessarily infringed"? Does that mean that if ARM contributes code that
unnecessarily uses ARM-owned patents, people don't get the implicit license
and are liable?

[Caveat: I am not a lawyer] This wording can be found in many common CLA
(contributor licence agreement). With my limited understanding of the patent
parlance, this relates to a kind of transitivity between patents: people
only get the licence for what is in the contribution; for example, the fact
we contribute some code generation stuff (necessarily infringed) does not
give people a licence on the target architecture (unnecessarily infringed).

 

> Isn't the point to limit patent claims *by* ARM on users of LLVM? I don't
see how this license would limit claims *on* ARM, nor why the project would
care about that. Unless the lawyers have managed to corrupt the meaning of
"on" in this case.

[Caveat: I am not a lawyer] It removes doubts and clarifies the situation,
at least for the lawyers, and this better protects users, LLVM and ARM.
Users get the licence for what we contributed to LLVM,  but not to the
complete patent portfolio. This ultimately benefits the LLVM project, which
does not want to be in the middle of some patent madness.

 

Best regards,

--

Arnaud

 

 

From: cfe-dev-bounces at cs.uiuc.edu [mailto:cfe-dev-bounces at cs.uiuc.edu] On
Behalf Of Sebastian Redl
Sent: 02 December 2014 18:04
To: cfe-dev at cs.uiuc.edu
Subject: Re: [cfe-dev] ARM contributing to libc++ & libc++abi

 

 

On 02.12.2014 15:43, Marshall Clow wrote:

 

On Dec 1, 2014, at 5:30 AM, Arnaud A. de Grandmaison
<arnaud.degrandmaison at arm.com> wrote:

 

We (ARM) intend to contribute to libc++ and libc++abi.

 

However, in order to do that, we would first need to add a 'NOTICE.TXT' file
at the root of each of these projects which would contain:

 

===================

Patent agreement notice to LLVM users in accordance with Paragraph 2 of LLVM

Developer Policy, Patents subsection:

 

Presently, ARM is unaware of any patents that would read on its LLVM

contributions. Nonetheless, to avoid doubt with respect to patent rights,

ARM hereby grants recipients of the software distributed by LLVM a
perpetual,

worldwide, non-exclusive, no-charge, royalty-free, irrevocable patent
license

to make, have made, use, offer to sell, sell, import, and otherwise transfer

software distributed by LLVM, where such license applies only to those
patent

claims licensable by ARM that are necessarily infringed by ARM's
contributions.

"necessarily infringed"? Does that mean that if ARM contributes code that
unnecessarily uses ARM-owned patents, people don't get the implicit license
and are liable? 



This does not change any licensing terms; it essentially helps limit any
patent claims on ARM

Isn't the point to limit patent claims *by* ARM on users of LLVM? I don't
see how this license would limit claims *on* ARM, nor why the project would
care about that. Unless the lawyers have managed to corrupt the meaning of
"on" in this case.

Sebastian
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