As we approach the first public beta of version 5.0 of the THREDDS Data Server (TDS), we have decided to revisit our software license. Currently, both NetCDF-Java and the TDS are released under the same license that the netCDF C library uses, which is a license that was 'home grown' at UCAR. It's usually called an 'MIT-style license,' though it is perhaps more similar to the BSD-3 Clause license. Rather than continue to use the 'home grown' license, we will be moving to a standard, off-the-shelf BSD-3 license, bringing the TDS and NetCDF-Java packages more in line with standard practice within the Open Source community.
What This Means For You
If you are a user of the TDS, this change in licensing does not affect you.
If you are a developer who includes technology from the TDS or netCDF-Java in your own work, you will find that the new license is slightly less restrictive than the current license, in that it does not explicitly request that you credit UCAR/Unidata in publications that result from your use of the technology. Of course, we still appreciate any acknowledgement you do provide; such credits are very useful to Unidata in making the case to our funders that the work we do is valuable to our community. If you find Unidata's contributions to community cyberinfrastructure useful, please consider citing the technology you're using, or perhaps including a badge in your online materials.
What is Changing
Here is the text of the current license:
Copyright 1998-2015 University Corporation for Atmospheric Research/Unidata Portions of this software were developed by the Unidata Program at the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research. Access and use of this software shall impose the following obligations and understandings on the user. The user is granted the right, without any fee or cost, to use, copy, modify, alter, enhance and distribute this software, and any derivative works thereof, and its supporting documentation for any purpose whatsoever, provided that this entire notice appears in all copies of the software, derivative works and supporting documentation. Further, UCAR requests that the user credit UCAR/Unidata in any publications that result from the use of this software or in any product that includes this software. The names UCAR and/or Unidata, however, may not be used in any advertising or publicity to endorse or promote any products or commercial entity unless specific written permission is obtained from UCAR/Unidata. The user also understands that UCAR/Unidata is not obligated to provide the user with any support, consulting, training or assistance of any kind with regard to the use, operation and performance of this software nor to provide the user with any updates, revisions, new versions or 'bug fixes.' THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY UCAR/UNIDATA 'AS IS' AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL UCAR/UNIDATA BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER TORTIOUS ACTION, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE ACCESS, USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE.
Here is the new license:
Copyright 1998-2018 University Corporation for Atmospheric Research/Unidata Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met: 1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer. 2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution. 3. Neither the name of the copyright holder nor the names of its contributors may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software without specific prior written permission. THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS 'AS IS' AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT HOLDER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
