OpenSolaris Documentation License Information

OpenSolaris Documentation Licenses

Oracle will release documentation source for OpenSolaris under one of the following licenses:  

• The Common Development and Distribution License (CDDL)

• The Public Documentation License, Version 1.01
• The Public Documentation License, Version 1.01 - html
• The Public Documentation License, Version 1.01 - pdf

*Other open source or third party licenses  

The CDDL should be used to license documentation that is delivered as
part of the software packaging structure, for example, man pages and
online help.  

Oracle will use CDDL to open source and license
the Solaris 10 man pages.
 
The PDL, v1.01 should be used to license documentation that is
delivered separately, for example, traditional technical documentation
in the form of manuals, guides and HOWtos.  The PDL, v1.01 is derived from the
Public Documentation License the license used by the OpenOffice.org project. Paragraph 5.9 is new. Otherwise, changes are mainly cosmetic to clear up ambiguities.Refer to the PDL License FAQ for answers to frequently asked questions.

Documentation that is released under another open source license or a
third party license may retain that license.

Why is there more than one documentation license?

We need more than one documentation license to handle the different kinds of
documentation that will be available as part of OpenSolaris.  There was no single, existing license that was appropriate. As stated in the FAQs for
the OpenOffice.org Project, it was authored "to address the need for a license that allows Open Source communities to collaborate on documentation which isn’t intended for inclusion or integration in the project code base or in packaged distributions (e.g., “product”)."

Will I need an Oracle Contributor Agreement?

Contributors will be required to submit an Oracle Contributor Agreement (the "OCA").  Details about the OCA are described on the OpenSolaris website. The OCA is available at OCA.pdf.