IANAL.

Jason L Tibbitts III tibbs@math.uh.edu writes:

I can't imagine this could be considered free.

We do allow clauses that say you must change the name if you fork. So do we allow clauses that say you _cannot_ change the name if you fork?

We really should not obscure what this document actually says with made-up words like a ‘fork’. As far as I can see, it says that we must not change the name when we are going “to create or distribute ... a derivative work of ... the Software”.

This is actually might (and most probably should) be read as far as prohibiting to incorporate excerpts of the ‘Nagios Remote Data Processor’ into my program (whatever it is) unless I rename it to ‘Nagios Remote Data Processor’, which I (spoiler) am not allowed to do according to a Trademark licence, which in turn I (spoiler again) must accept to have a valid copyright licence.

Robert-André Mauchin zebob.m@gmail.com writes:

It has "open" in the name and...

This is exact kind of thing that should have alerted you, not reassured, I believe. ;-)

...some of the conditions are dubious, specifically Point 3: "may not be forked"

It is best to discuss it in a couple with the Point 4, which is about trademarks:

  3. The Software may not be Forked. "Forking" and "to Fork"

means to create or distribute a product or a derivative work of the object or source code of the Software under a new or different brand.

  4. Any Use of the Software is subject to compliance with the terms and

conditions of the Nagios Trademark Use Restrictions, which are incorporated herein by reference and can be viewed online at http://www.nagios.com/legal/trademarks/

This basically says that this ‘Nagios Open Software License’ is not a complete, self-sufficient agreement at all. We must read and accept the trademark licence too. Its text is cited below.

TLDR: it revokes a right to use the (modified) ‘Software’ commercially.

| Trademark Use Restrictions | | The objective of our Nagios Trademark Use Restrictions is to encourage | use of the Nagios trademarks by the Nagios community for | non-commercial purposes, while regulating that use in order to avoid | confusion on the part of Nagios users and the general public, to | maintain the value of the image and reputation of the trademarks and | to protect them from inappropriate or unauthorized use. | | The sections below describe what uses are allowed, what uses aren’t | allowed, and cases in which you need to obtain permission before using | a trademark. | | | The Trademarks | | Nagios Enterprises owns a number of trademarks, including Nagios® and | the Nagios logo. This policy encompasses these and other marks, in | word and logo form, owned by or licensed to Nagios Enterprises, | collectively referred to as “Trademarks”. | | | Permitted Use | | Certain usages of the Trademarks do not require that you obtain prior | written permission from Nagios Enterprises. | | Community Advocacy. We share access to the Trademarks with the Nagios | community for the purposes of discussion, development and advocacy. We | recognise that most of the open source discussion and development | areas are for non-commercial purposes and will allow the use of the | trademarks in this context, provided: | | The Trademark is used in a manner consistent with the guidelines | set forth below. There is no commercial intent behind, or benefit | from the use. The use of the Trademark does not lend itself to | causing confusion for users or the public. There is no suggestion | (through words or appearance) that your project is approved by, | sponsored by, or affiliated with Nagios Enterprises, its trademark | licensees, or their related projects unless it actually has been | approved by Nagios Enterprises. | | | | Building for Nagios. If you are producing a product which is intended | for use with Nagios, you may use the Nagios trademark in a way which | indicates the intent of your product. For example, if you are | developing a notification tool for Nagios, an acceptable project title | would be “Notification Tool for Nagios”. You may not uses names such | as “NagiosNotifier”, “Nagios Notification Tool”, etc. without first | obtaining permission from us, as such names are problematic and may | constitute a violation of trademark law. Furthermore, you may not use | the Trademarks in a way which implies an endorsement where one doesn’t | exist, or which attempts to unfairly or confusingly capitalise on the | goodwill or brand of the Nagios project, Nagios Enterprises, or its | trademark licensees. | | Commentary and Parody. Using the Trademarks in your discussion, | commentary, criticism or parody, in ways that unequivocally do not | imply endorsement, is permissible. For example, anyone is free to | write articles, blog about, or talk about Nagios — as long as it’s | clear to everyone (including people completely unfamiliar with Nagios) | — that they are simply referring to Nagios and are in no way speaking | for the Nagios project, Nagios Enterprises, or its trademark | licensees. | | We reserve the right to review all usage within the open source | community, and to object to any usage that appears to overstep the | bounds of discussion and good-faith non-commercial development. In any | event, once a project has left the open source project phase or | otherwise becomes a commercial project, this policy does not authorize | any use of the Trademarks in connection to that project. | | | Restricted Uses That Require a Trademark License | | Express written permission from Nagios Enterprises is necessary to use | any of the Trademarks under any circumstances other than those | specifically permitted above. These include: | | Any commercial use. Any derivative works of products associated | with trademarks owned by or licensed to Nagios Enterprises. Use | on or in relation to a software product that includes or is built | on top of a product supplied by Nagios Enterprises or its | trademark licensees, if there is any commercial intent associated | with that product. Use in a domain name or URL, with the | exception of third-level and higher domain names used for the | purposes of naming monitoring servers for personal or internal | company use. Use for merchandising or marketing purposes, e.g. on | t-shirts. Use of a name which includes the letters NAGIOS in | relation to computer hardware or software. Services relating to | any of the above. | | | | If you wish to request permission for any of the uses above or for any | other use which is not specifically referred to in this policy, please | contact us and we’ll let you know as soon as possible if your proposed | use is permissible. Permission may only be granted subject to certain | conditions, which may include the requirement that you enter into an | agreement with us to maintain the quality of the product and/or | service which you intend to supply at a prescribed level. | | While there may be exceptions, it is very unlikely that Nagios | Enterprises will approve the use of its Trademarks in the following | cases: | | Use of a Trademark in a company or legal entity name. Use of a | Trademark in a domain name which has a commercial intent. The | commercial intent can range from promotion of a company, product, | service, or event, to collecting revenue generated by advertising. | The calling of any software or product by the name NAGIOS (or | another related Trademark). Use in combination with any other | marks or logos. This includes use of a Trademark in a manner that | creates a “combined mark,” or use that integrates other wording | with the Trademark in a way that the public may think of the use | as a new mark (for example Enterprise Nagios or NagiosMonitor, or | in a way that by use of special fonts or presentation with nearby | words or images conveys an impression that the two are related in | some manner). Use in combination with any product or service | which is presented as being Certified or Official or formally | associated with products or services provided by Nagios | Enterprises or its trademark licensees. Use in a way which | implies an endorsement where one doesn’t exist, or which attempts | to unfairly or confusingly capitalise on the goodwill or brand of | the project. Use of a Trademark in a manner that disparages | Nagios Enterprises, its trademark licensees, or their products and | is not clearly a third-party parody. On or in relation to a | software product which constitutes a modified version of a product | supplied by Nagios Enterprises or its trademark licensees. In a | title or metatag of a web page with the intention of, or which | results in, influencing search engine rankings or result listings, | for purposes other than discussion, advocacy, or licensed | development of products and services relating to the Trademarks. | | | Logo Usage Guidelines | | The Nagios logo is presented in greyscale and it is important that its | visual integrity be maintained. If you should feel the need to alter | it in any way, you must contact us and obtain permission before using | a modified logo. Keep the following guidelines in mind when requesting | approval for a modified logo: | | You may use transparency and gradient/depth tools, but should | retain the official colors. Any scaling must retain the original | proportions of the logo. | | | Contact Information | | For all questions and inquiries relating to trademarks, please contact | us via email or in writing at the addresses below. | | Email: trademarks@nagios.com | | Mail: Nagios Enterprises, LLC 1295 Bandana BLVD N, Suite 165 Saint | Paul, MN 55108 U.S.A. | | These trademark use restrictions and guidelines are published under | the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license and are based | off the Ubuntu trademark policy. You are welcome to base your own | trademark policies off it. If you do, let others use your changes | and give credit to the Ubuntu project as the original source.