[Debichem-devel] Bug#598728: ITP: nwchem -- High-Performance Computational Chemistry Software

[Michael Banck]

Package: wnpp
Severity: wishlist
Owner: Debichem Team <debichem-devel at lists.alioth.debian.org>


* Package name    : nwchem
  Version         : 6.0
  Upstream Author : NWChem Core Developer Team
* URL             : http://www.nwchem-sw.org
* License         : ECL 2.0
  Programming Lang: Fortran, Python
  Description     : High-Performance Computational Chemistry Software

NWChem is one of the state-of-the-art computational chemistry codes,
with a focus on parallel computing and large systems.  It is maintained
by the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL) at the Pacific
Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL).  Version 6.0 got recently released
under the OSI-approved ECL (Educational Community License), Version 2.0,
see http://www.opensource.org/licenses/ecl2.php.  This is a major
donation to the scientific FLOSS community, for more information, see
http://www.emsl.pnl.gov/news/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=142 

As I am not aware whether there is any prior ECL-licensed package in
Debian, here is some information on it.  Quoting OSI:

"The Educational Community License version 2.0 ("ECL") consists of the
Apache 2.0 license, modified to change the scope of the patent grant in
section 3 to be specific to the needs of the education communities using
this license."

This is section 3, the first part is identical to the Apache 2.0
license:

"3. Grant of Patent License.

Subject to the terms and conditions of this License, each Contributor
hereby grants to You a perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, no-charge,
royalty-free, irrevocable (except as stated in this section) patent
license to make, have made, use, offer to sell, sell, import, and
otherwise transfer the Work, where such license applies only to those
patent claims licensable by such Contributor that are necessarily
infringed by their Contribution(s) alone or by combination of their
Contribution(s) with the Work to which such Contribution(s) was
submitted. If You institute patent litigation against any entity
(including a cross-claim or counterclaim in a lawsuit) alleging that the
Work or a Contribution incorporated within the Work constitutes direct
or contributory patent infringement, then any patent licenses granted to
You under this License for that Work shall terminate as of the date such
litigation is filed."

This is the added part on top of Apache 2.0's license section 3:

"Any patent license granted hereby with respect to contributions by an
individual employed by an institution or organization is limited to
patent claims where the individual that is the author of the Work is
also the inventor of the patent claims licensed, and where the
organization or institution has the right to grant such license under
applicable grant and research funding agreements. No other express or
implied licenses are granted."


Cheers,

Michael