[odc-discuss] ODbL comments in German from Axel Metzger

Tue Aug 4 17:06:44 UTC 2009

Frederik Ramm schrieb:
> I cannot translate this literally but this lists three possible 
> interpretations of the choice of law clause, one being the law of the 
> country where the "fact finding" is being done, one being the law of the 
> country where the case is brought to court, and the third being the law 
> of the country where the copyright or database rights governed by the 
> license originate. "The ODbL authors should really fix this in the next 
> version of the license."
>   
I think it says the clause could be read to refer to the laws of where 
the case is tried, or the laws of where the court decision is sought to 
be enforced, or the laws (including contract law) of the legislation 
whose intellectual property provisions are sought to be enforced. These 
could all be distinct in an international setting.

Has the comment been published on the IFROSS website? I coudln't find it 
there.

By the way, Axel Metzger is the law professor responsible for the 
so-called "Linux clause" in German copyright law (a provision that 
allows licensors to waive their right to collect license fees, making 
open licenses possible).