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I am not sure this is legal in my country! In Czechia "release" is a legal act done by author(or right holder). You can do it by uploading code on Github etc..

I am not sure this is legal in my country! In Czechia "release" is a legal act done by author(or right holder). You can do it by uploading code on Github etc.. But it is something author did themselfs. You can not perform legal act (releasing) with extra conditions like a delay. Either you did it or not! For the same reason you can not put extra conditions in Last Will (house is yours, but you have to take care of my cats). That part is simply not enforceable and gets ignored by notary! So I am worried, clause about Apache license is invalid, and software may get forever stuck under less permisive license!

the_mitsuhiko 3y ago
> You can not perform legal act (releasing) with extra conditions like a delay. Either you did it or not! There are definitely fundamental legal questions in Open Source licenses that differ from country to country, but you're most likely incorrect that a delay cannot happen in Czechia. Delays in (non software) licenses are very common and have been held up in courts. In fact, that's the common case of many licenses that they hare different rights associated over time. > For the same reason you can not put extra conditions in Last Will I doubt that whatever regulates wills restricts contracts or licenses.
- Throwfi44 3y ago
  Yes, they could put extra paragraphs that become valid after 2 years, that would be OK. But the way it is written, it changes existing license! Effectively making a new release! You can not do that in EU, what if user does not agree with the new licence? It is quite illegal in most EU countries! You can not swap licenses like that! Many scammers do that, and there are strong pro-consumer laws to prevent that! What is worse, it even terminates old license after two years! Really really stupid lawyer worked on this! Here is the text: > On the second anniversary of the date we make the Software available, the Software will become available under the Apache 2.0 license. On that date, the Terms and Conditions above automatically terminate and the following terms become effective:
  - the_mitsuhiko 3y ago
    > But the way it is written, it changes existing license! You can not do that in EU, what if user does not agree with the new licence? It is quite illegal in most EU countries! It is not illegal as the license terms are available from the start. The text of the license effectively changes. If you do not agree with what the license looks like after two years, you should not enter into that agreement in year zero. > Many scammers do that, and there are strong pro-consumer laws to prevent that! Consumer laws are largely based on the idea that you cannot take away people's rights, you can generally add rights. Even if there was a hypothetical case that you mention, it would be legally absurd in the FSL case. You could have the license swap over in the US, after which point in time no trace of the FSL remains and the license file can be legally swapped. In that case you can re-import the source code into your country.
    - Throwfi44 3y ago
      Ok, imagine following scenario: - You started using product - One year latter ASF stops existing, apache.org returns 404 or viagra ads. - Two years latter, original FSL gets terminated, your new license for that software are 404 errors or viagra ads. You now have no license and should stop distribution! Think what you want, software under FSL is on my ban list.
      - the_mitsuhiko 3y ago
        That’s a purely hypothetical situation. Even in that case a court would very likely uphold the license just by the name. For what it’s worth plenty of software is only referencing a license by name or reference and I’m sure you are using that software as if that license were there in hardcopy. More importantly if you want to make a fork you can always retain that license the moment you fork, not the moment the license swaps. In fact you probably would want to start collecting contributions under Apache 2 straightaway.

the_mitsuhiko 3y ago

> You can not perform legal act (releasing) with extra conditions like a delay. Either you did it or not! There are definitely fundamental legal questions in Open Source licenses that differ from country to country, but you're most likely incorrect that a delay cannot happen in Czechia. Delays in (non software) licenses are very common and have been held up in courts. In fact, that's the common case of many licenses that they hare different rights associated over time. > For the same reason you can not put extra conditions in Last Will I doubt that whatever regulates wills restricts contracts or licenses.

Throwfi44 3y ago
Yes, they could put extra paragraphs that become valid after 2 years, that would be OK. But the way it is written, it changes existing license! Effectively making a new release! You can not do that in EU, what if user does not agree with the new licence? It is quite illegal in most EU countries! You can not swap licenses like that! Many scammers do that, and there are strong pro-consumer laws to prevent that! What is worse, it even terminates old license after two years! Really really stupid lawyer worked on this! Here is the text: > On the second anniversary of the date we make the Software available, the Software will become available under the Apache 2.0 license. On that date, the Terms and Conditions above automatically terminate and the following terms become effective:
- the_mitsuhiko 3y ago
  > But the way it is written, it changes existing license! You can not do that in EU, what if user does not agree with the new licence? It is quite illegal in most EU countries! It is not illegal as the license terms are available from the start. The text of the license effectively changes. If you do not agree with what the license looks like after two years, you should not enter into that agreement in year zero. > Many scammers do that, and there are strong pro-consumer laws to prevent that! Consumer laws are largely based on the idea that you cannot take away people's rights, you can generally add rights. Even if there was a hypothetical case that you mention, it would be legally absurd in the FSL case. You could have the license swap over in the US, after which point in time no trace of the FSL remains and the license file can be legally swapped. In that case you can re-import the source code into your country.
  - Throwfi44 3y ago
    Ok, imagine following scenario: - You started using product - One year latter ASF stops existing, apache.org returns 404 or viagra ads. - Two years latter, original FSL gets terminated, your new license for that software are 404 errors or viagra ads. You now have no license and should stop distribution! Think what you want, software under FSL is on my ban list.
    - the_mitsuhiko 3y ago
      That’s a purely hypothetical situation. Even in that case a court would very likely uphold the license just by the name. For what it’s worth plenty of software is only referencing a license by name or reference and I’m sure you are using that software as if that license were there in hardcopy. More importantly if you want to make a fork you can always retain that license the moment you fork, not the moment the license swaps. In fact you probably would want to start collecting contributions under Apache 2 straightaway.