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Firefox 3: Is this really Free Software?

Homer's picture

You decide:

MOZILLA FIREFOX END-USER SOFTWARE LICENSE AGREEMENT

Version 3.0, May 2008

A source code version of certain Firefox Browser functionality that you may use, modify and distribute is available to you free-of-charge from www.mozilla.org under the Mozilla Public License and other open source software licenses.

The accompanying executable code version of Mozilla Firefox and related documentation (the "Product") is made available to you under the terms of this Mozilla Firefox End-User Software License Agreement (the "Agreement"). By clicking the "Accept" button, or by installing or using the Mozilla Firefox Browser, you are consenting to be bound by the Agreement. If you do not agree to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, do not click the "Accept" button, and do not install or use any part of the Mozilla Firefox Browser.

During the Mozilla Firefox installation process, and at later times, you may be given the option of installing additional components from third-party software providers. The installation and use of those third-party components may be governed by additional license agreements.

1. LICENSE GRANT. The Mozilla Corporation grants you a non-exclusive license to use the executable code version of the Product. This Agreement will also govern any software upgrades provided by Mozilla that replace and/or supplement the original Product, unless such upgrades are accompanied by a separate license, in which case the terms of that license will govern.

2. TERMINATION. If you breach this Agreement your right to use the Product will terminate immediately and without notice, but all provisions of this Agreement except the License Grant (Paragraph 1) will survive termination and continue in effect. Upon termination, you must destroy all copies of the Product.

3. PROPRIETARY RIGHTS. Portions of the Product are available in source code form under the terms of the Mozilla Public License and other open source licenses (collectively, "Open Source Licenses") at http://www.mozilla.org/MPL. Nothing in this Agreement will be construed to limit any rights granted under the Open Source Licenses. Subject to the foregoing, Mozilla, for itself and on behalf of its licensors, hereby reserves all intellectual property rights in the Product, except for the rights expressly granted in this Agreement. You may not remove or alter any trademark, logo, copyright or other proprietary notice in or on the Product. This license does not grant you any right to use the trademarks, service marks or logos of Mozilla or its licensors.

4. PRIVACY POLICY. You agree to the Mozilla Firefox Privacy Policy, made available online at http://www.mozilla.com/legal/privacy/, as that policy may be changed from time to time. When Mozilla changes the policy in a material way a notice will be posted on the website at www.mozilla.com and when any change is made in the privacy policy, the updated policy will be posted at the above link. It is your responsibility to ensure that you understand the terms of the privacy policy, so you should periodically check the current version of the policy for changes.

5. WEBSITE INFORMATION SERVICES. Mozilla and its contributors, licensors and partners work to provide the most accurate and up-to-date phishing and malware information. However, they cannot guarantee that this information is comprehensive and error-free: some risky sites may not be identified, and some safe sites may be identified in error.

6. DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY. The product is provided "as is" with all faults. To the extent permitted by law, Mozilla and Mozilla’s distributors, and licensors hereby disclaim all warranties, whether express or implied, including without limitation warranties that the product is free of defects, merchantable, fit for a particular purpose and non-infringing. You bear the entire risk as to selecting the product for your purposes and as to the quality and performance of the product. This limitation will apply notwithstanding the failure of essential purpose of any remedy. Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of implied warranties, so this disclaimer may not apply to you.

7. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY. Except as required by law, Mozilla and its distributors, directors, licensors, contributors and agents (collectively, the "Mozilla Group") will not be liable for any indirect, special, incidental, consequential or exemplary damages arising out of or in any way relating to this agreement or the use of or inability to use the product, including without limitation damages for loss of goodwill, work stoppage, lost profits, loss of data, and computer failure or malfunction, even if advised of the possibility of such damages and regardless of the theory (contract, tort or otherwise) upon which such claim is based. The Mozilla Group's collective liability under this agreement will not exceed the greater of $500 (five hundred dollars) and the fees paid by you under the license (if any). Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental, consequential or special damages, so this exclusion and limitation may not apply to you.

8. EXPORT CONTROLS. This license is subject to all applicable export restrictions. You must comply with all export and import laws and restrictions and regulations of any United States or foreign agency or authority relating to the Product and its use.

9. U.S. GOVERNMENT END-USERS. This Product is a "commercial item," as that term is defined in 48 C.F.R. 2.101, consisting of "commercial computer software" and "commercial computer software documentation," as such terms are used in 48 C.F.R. 12.212 (Sept. 1995) and 48 C.F.R. 227.7202 (June 1995). Consistent with 48 C.F.R. 12.212, 48 C.F.R. 27.405(b)(2) (June 1998) and 48 C.F.R. 227.7202, all U.S. Government End Users acquire the Product with only those rights as set forth therein.

10. MISCELLANEOUS. (a) This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between Mozilla and you concerning the subject matter hereof, and it may only be modified by a written amendment signed by an authorized executive of Mozilla. (b) Except to the extent applicable law, if any, provides otherwise, this Agreement will be governed by the laws of the state of California, U.S.A., excluding its conflict of law provisions. (c) This Agreement will not be governed by the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods. (d) If any part of this Agreement is held invalid or unenforceable, that part will be construed to reflect the parties' original intent, and the remaining portions will remain in full force and effect. (e) A waiver by either party of any term or condition of this Agreement or any breach thereof, in any one instance, will not waive such term or condition or any subsequent breach thereof. (f) Except as required by law, the controlling language of this Agreement is English. (g) You may assign your rights under this Agreement to any party that consents to, and agrees to be bound by, its terms; the Mozilla Corporation may assign its rights under this Agreement without condition. (h) This Agreement will be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the parties, their successors and permitted assigns.

Comments

Anony Mouse's picture

Really, FireFox is not a free

Really, FireFox is not a free software! You're kidding. A free software is a software that is distributed under the copyright law. So a little legalise is necessary. As far as I can see that the 4 liberties are respected, for me it's a free software. A logo or a trademarks is not the software itself... I don't care if the project protect them. If I really want to modify the software, I will recompile and can strip the logo and trademarks.

Free software live in the real world so it has to be a little bit cautious.

André Cotte

Anony Mouse's picture

GPL

You can simply accept GPL for Firefox. For example Qt is licensed under both GPL and proprietary licence, but still it is available even in such free-software only distributions as gNewSense because we can simply select GPL.

Anony Mouse's picture

Firefox3 is Free

It is free software. 1. You are allowed access to the source 2. You are permitted to practise all four freedoms of free software.
If you're really worried about it, you can get the source and compile your own binary and choose to have the GPL apply to you. The EULA applies to the binary and the code is available under the MPL, GPL2 and LGPL2; it is up to you to choose which one will apply to you.

Anony Mouse's picture

Are you sure?

I'm using the source build on gentoo and I still get prompted.

Anony Mouse's picture

Somebody programmed that

Somebody programmed that prompt into the code. You can get the source from the Firefox website then remove the prompt yourself; after all, it is free software.

Homer's picture

Compile from source?

The problem with the "compile from source" option is:

  • Many new Linux users are just that ... users ... not proficient with other things like "compiling from source". So such people have some tough choices ahead:
    1. Learn about compiler toolchains, or
    2. Just accept an unacceptable license, or
    3. Don't use Firefox®
  • Non-privileged users on shared systems may not be able to do this. Do they all still have to agree to that EULA, whether they want to or not?
  • The end result will be binaries that cannot be called Firefox®, and cannot include any of the original logos, due to Mozilla® Corporation's Draconian trademark restrictions

What I find most unacceptable, is this issue of forced EULA acceptance in supposedly Free Software. This is entirely contradictory to the principles of Free Software:

"You are not required to accept this License in order to receive or run a copy of the Program."

http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html

Note that OpenOffice.org recently had a similar issue, which has now been fixed. I strongly suggest Mozilla® Corp. does the same, before every other distro does the same as Debian.

Personally, I'll be using and recommending GNU IceCat from now on, since the issues of forced EULA acceptance and trademarks restrictions make Firefox®, and other Mozilla® Corp. applications, non-Free software, IMHO.

Anony Mouse's picture

GNU IceCat

Pretty much the same is contained in GNU IceCat. So, rebranding doesn't just magically solve all issues... I really wonder how "8. EXPORT CONTROLS" could be compatible with free software. --plato

Anony Mouse's picture

Debian Iceweasel

Exactly same EULA can be found in Iceweasel package from Debian repos as well. Rebranding doesn't change the essence, neither with Debian's Iceweasel nor with GNU IceCat. And how could "8. EXPORT CONTROLS." of this EULA be compatible with The Debian Free Software Guidelines (DFSG) "5. No Discrimination Against Persons or Groups: The license must not discriminate against any person or group of persons."? --plato

Anony Mouse's picture

the GPL'ed version is already

the GPL'ed version is already the one which included in all major GNU/Linux and *BSD Distributions.
there's no need to compile it from source except - maybe - on M$-Windows.
Other free OSes normaly compiles the GPL'ed version and distributes it and NOT the EULA'ed one.
So i think no need to recompile it from source just use any major GNU/Linux distribution.

Anony Mouse's picture

Too difficult for the user?

  • Who says the user has to be the one to do any of the technical stuff? All the user needs to do is make demands of their software and then find someone capable to do all the technical work. The user has three choices to get things to work: do it themselves, find a member of their community to do it or hire a Linux professional. I would put my money on the Linux professional and encourage everyone else to do the same. Problem solved.
  • If a computer operator is working on a shared system, then they should know that they won't always have the right to install new software; it's not their right because it's not their system.
  • If you've modified the Firefox code, you are compelled to remove any references to Mozilla or Firefox. That's trivial enough to do with sed. While this requirement may be bothersome, it does not infringe on our right to freedom (the right to help ourselves and the right cooperate with our communities).
  • I agree that the GPL is not a usage licence while the FFEULA is one. Despite the naming and terms of the FFEULA, I find it acceptable because I am not deprived of the right to practise any of the four freedoms; I have access to the binary's source and I am allowed to practise my freedoms. It is not hard to comply with the FFEULA and practise the four freedoms at the same time. I do agree that it would be more convenient to use GNU Icecat as a replacement for Firefox.
  • The trademark issue is a minor inconvenience at most. Being compelled to remove all references to Mozilla's trademarks does not deprive us of the right to live in freedom.