[log4j-announce] New licensing strategy

[Ceki G. <cg...@ur...>]

Greetings everyone,

As you probably know already, log4j is licensed under IBM Public License 
(IPL), a full-fledged open-source license, certified by the open source 
initiative. It allows the licensee to freely use and distribute the 
package, even in modified form.

Some developers have objected to using the IPL because it is not company 
neutral. To alleviate these concerns, I intend to release all new log4j 
code and code already copyrighted by me and other contributors (who agree) 
under the MIT Public License, a very simple open-source license, equally 
certified by the open source initiative. It is important to realize that 
this change has no practical implications for users.

This will underscore the independence of the log4j project which is neither 
controlled nor sponsored by IBM.

The mid-term goal is to replace all IBM copyrighted parts of the code so 
that we can dispose of log4j in the best interest of the project and its 
user community, this, without being hostage to IBM politics.

Your comments and suggestions are welcome. Ceki Gulcu