Open Public License

1. Purpose.  This Open Public License (OPL) is 
granted for the purpose of maintaining the key 
benefits of open source and free software licenses 
(e.g., free access to valuable libraries and 
applications, guaranteed access to source code, 
community development efforts, and widespread 
attribution to the creator of the software which 
may give rise to opportunities for ancillary 
services or additional programming), while 
retaining the possibility to restrict distribution 
under specific circumstances.

2. Application of the OPL. The OPL applies to any 
computer program or computer code (the “Program”) 
that contains a notice stating that it may be 
distributed under the terms hereof.  Any recipient 
of such a Program (the “Licensee”) is granted the 
rights set out herein, subject to the terms of 
this license. 

3. Distributing Verbatim Copies.  Licensee may copy 
and distribute verbatim copies of the Program as 
it was received. Copies may be distributed in any 
medium, but must include the following:
a. All copyright notices contained in the Program; 
and
b. A conspicuous statement that the source code of 
the Program is freely available, subject to the 
OPL, including a reference to the location 
where the Program is available electronically; 
and
c. A copy of any contact information regarding the 
copyright holder that is included in the 
Program, including information regarding the 
availability of additional services; and
d. A copy of the OPL; and
e. All source code, if binaries are distributed; 
and
f. A conspicuous disclaimer of warranty in the 
words set out in this license or referring to 
this license, making clear that the Program is 
distributed without any warranty of any kind; 
and
g. A conspicuous statement that any sale, 
licensing, or distribution of the Program, or 
any part thereof, in violation of the OPL will 
subject the seller, licensor, or distributor to 
liability for damages as provided in the OPL.

4. Modifying the Program; Internal Use. Licensee is 
free to make any modifications to the Program 
and/or create derivative works for its own 
internal use without any obligation to make the 
Program, with or without such modifications, 
publicly available. The modifications or 
derivative work may be created by Licensee or its 
employees or by a third party contractor 
(“Contractor”).  As used in this license, a 
“Modified Program” is a computer program or 
computer code that contains the Program or any 
portion of it, either verbatim or with 
modifications, or a derivative work based in whole 
or in part upon the Program.  Without limiting the 
generality of the foregoing sentence, any 
translation into another language is included 
within the definition of “Modified Program.”

5. Licensing by Third Party Contractors.  If Licensee 
hires a Contractor to create a Modified Program 
for the Licensee’s internal use, the Contractor 
shall only have access to the Program subject to 
the terms and limitations set out in this license 
and any additional terms and limitations specified 
by the contracting Licensee.  If the Contractor 
provides any substantial portion of the Modified 
Program to any person or entity other than 
Licensee, the Contractor shall itself be deemed a 
Licensee and a distributor of the Modified 
Program.  Such a person shall be required to 
comply with Paragraph 6 or Paragraph 7 below. 

6. Distributing a Modified Program under the OPL.  
Licensee or a person authorized by Licensee may 
provide one or more copies of a Modified Program 
to another person or entity under the OPL only if 
all of the following conditions are met:
a. All provisions of the OPL shall apply to the 
Modified Program, including but not limited 
to the conditions for distribution of the 
original Program that are set out in 
Paragraph 3; and
b. Each copy of the Modified Program must 
include prominent notices identifying 
changes in the Program, the creator’s 
identity and contact information, and the 
date of the changes; and
c. A copy of the Modified Program or a notice 
containing a brief description and download 
location must be sent to all prior copyright 
holders identified in the Program; and
d. Licensee must make the Modified Program, 
along with all source code, freely and 
publicly available.
Nothing in this Paragraph is intended to 
restrict Licensee’s right to receive payment 
for the Modified Program or for other products, 
services, or extended warranties relating to 
the Modified Program, or the Licensee’s right 
to include additional terms in its arrangements 
with its customers or clients that are not 
inconsistent with the OPL.

7. Distributing Modified Program under Terms Other 
than the OPL.  Licensee or a person authorized by 
Licensee may provide one or more copies of a 
Modified Program to another person or entity on 
terms other than the OPL only if all of the 
following conditions are met:
a. Licensee must negotiate a separate license 
with the holder(s) of the copyright(s) in 
the Program on such terms as the copyright 
holder(s) may agree, with the terms of the 
license being in all respects consistent 
with this Paragraph; and
b. All source code of the Modified Program must 
be provided to each and every authorized 
recipient of the Modified Program, including 
but not limited to any person or entity who 
rightfully receives a copy of the Modified 
Program from a person other than the 
Licensee; and
c. Each and every authorized recipient of the 
Modified Program (including but not limited 
to any person or entity who rightfully 
receives a copy of the Modified Program from 
a person other than the Licensee) must be 
granted the unlimited right to copy and use 
the Modified Program for its own purposes 
and to alter or modify the Modified Program 
without limitation; and 
d. Licensee must make a determination in good 
faith that it is not economically feasible 
or appropriate to make the Modified Program 
freely available under the OPL.
Neither Licensee nor any other person or entity 
may provide the Modified Program to any other 
person or entity for any purpose, except 
pursuant to the provisions of the OPL or as 
provided in this Paragraph. 

8. Retained Rights of Copyright Holder.  This license 
does not restrict the rights of the Program’s 
copyright holder to create derivative works of the 
Program or to incorporate the Program or any part 
thereof into a Modified Program and to sell, 
license, or distribute the Modified Program on any 
terms it deems desirable.

9. Damages for Breaching this OPL.  The copyright 
holder of the Program has determined that it is in 
his, her, or its best interest to make the Program 
(and Modified Programs) freely available on the 
terms and conditions set out herein.  The Licensee 
understands and agrees that that any sale, 
licensing, or distribution of the Program in 
breach of this license would damage the copyright 
holder but that such damages would be difficult, 
if not impossible to calculate.  Accordingly, if 
Licensee distributes or provides to any other 
person or entity the Program or any Modified 
Program in violation of this license, the 
copyright holder shall be entitled to a court 
order requiring specific performance of the terms 
of this license plus damages equal to one half of 
the Licensee’s net revenues (gross revenues minus 
variable costs directly attributable to the 
production and distribution of the products on 
which revenues are received) from the sale, 
licensing or distribution of the Program, any 
Modified Program, and any ancillary products, and 
one half of gross revenues received by the 
Licensee for any ancillary services.

10. No Warranty. BECAUSE THIS PROGRAM IS LICENSED 
FREE OF CHARGE, THERE IS NO WARRANTY TO THE EXTENT 
PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAWS. EXCEPT WHEN 
OTHERWISE STATED IN WRITING THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS 
AND/OR OTHER PARTIES PROVIDE THE PROGRAM “AS-IS” 
WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR 
IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE 
IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS 
FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. IN NO EVENT, UNLESS 
REQUIRED BY APPLICABLE LAW OR AGREED TO IN 
WRITING, WILL ANY COPYRIGHT HOLDER OR ANY OTHER 
PARTY WHO MAY MODIFY AND/OR REDISTRIBUTE THE 
PROGRAM AS PERMITTED ABOVE, BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES, 
INCLUDING ANY GENERAL, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL OR 
CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR 
INABILITY TO USE THE PROGRAM (INCLUDING BUT NOT 
LIMITED TO LOSS OF DATA OR DATA BEING RENDERED 
INACCURATE OR LOSS SUSTAINED BY LICENSEE OR THIRD 
PARTIES OR A FAILURE OF THE PROGRAM TO OPERATE 
WITH ANY OTHER PROGRAMS), EVEN IF SUCH HOLDER OR 
OTHER PARTY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF 
SUCH DAMAGES. 


How to Apply the Open Public License 
to Your New Program
To apply the Open Public License to your new program, 
do the following:
1. Assure that all requirements listed in the license 
agreement are met.
2. Attach the following notices to your program (it 
is generally best to attach them to the start of 
each source file; at a minimum, include a 
copyright notice and a pointer to where the full 
notice is found).

One line to give the program’s name and an overview of what it 
does.
Copyright © yyyy [name of author and contact information 
(electronic and regular mail)]
Date of most recent modifications

This program is free software. You can redistribute it and/or 
modify it under the terms of the Open Public License as 
published by PIC Development Group and the Open Solutions 
Group.

The program is distributed with the hope that it will be useful 
and beneficial, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY, without even the 
implied warranty of MERCAHANTABILLITY or FITNESS FOR A 
PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the license agreement for further 
details.

You should have received a copy of the Open Public License 
along with this program. If you did not, please visit www.open-
solutions.org to obtain a copy.