Wiki-home » About VastPark » Licenses »

Open specifications

VastPark provides a number of it's specifications as specifications that others can implement royalty-free.

The license text is based on the Microsoft Open Specification Promise. We have used it as the basis of our promise so that Enterprise developers can more easily embrace and use the specifications as they are intended for the sake of interoperability.

Benefits of this license as we understand it (not legal advice!):

  • The format is already understood in the developer community due to Microsoft's usage of it
  • It's requirements encourage other implementers to work to standardize the specification as an open format. This is a real benefit for both customers and end users who want competitive choice and transparent interoperability between vendor products
  • The license is not so permissive as to open the door to proprietary vendors that aim to embrace and extend these specifications
  • Much like the Apache license, it includes a clause that helps protect the community of implementers, clients and end users from legal challenges by removing the patent protection from anyone who sues an implementation of the specification.

VastPark Open Specification Promise

Published: 19 March 2010 | Updated: 19 March 2010

VastPark irrevocably promises not to assert any VastPark Necessary Claims against you for making, using, selling, offering for sale, importing or distributing any implementation to the extent it conforms to a Covered Specification (“Covered Implementation”), subject to the following. This is a personal promise directly from VastPark to you, and you acknowledge as a condition of benefiting from it that no VastPark rights are received from suppliers, distributors, or otherwise in connection with this promise. If you file, maintain or voluntarily participate in a patent infringement lawsuit against a VastPark implementation of such Covered Specification, then this personal promise does not apply with respect to any Covered Implementation of the same Covered Specification made or used by you. To clarify, “VastPark Necessary Claims” are those claims of VastPark-owned or VastPark-controlled patents that are necessary to implement only the required portions of the Covered Specification that are described in detail and not merely referenced in such Specification. “Covered Specifications” are listed below.

This promise is not an assurance either (i) that any of VastPark’s issued patent claims covers a Covered Implementation or are enforceable or (ii) that a Covered Implementation would not infringe patents or other intellectual property rights of any third party. No other rights except those expressly stated in this promise shall be deemed granted, waived or received by implication, exhaustion, estoppel, or otherwise.

Covered Specifications (the promise applies individually to each of these specifications)

This promise applies to the following specifications. This promise applies to all versions of these specifications existing as of the promise date, 19 March 2010. Many of these specifications are currently undergoing further standardization. To the extent that VastPark is participating in those efforts, this promise will also apply to the specifications that result from those activities. In connection with the specifications listed below, this Promise also applies to the required elements of optional portions of such specifications.