Don't Expect an OpenOffice/LibreOffice Merger

Since Oracle has decided to give OpenOffice back to the community, a lot of people wondered if there would be some sort of re-unification with the ex-Oracle and the Document Foundation run by a lot of the original involved folks. The latter has released a statement saying, "the development of TDF community and LibreOffice is going forward as planned, and we are always willing to include new members and partners. We will provide as many information as we can with the progress of the situation. We are currently making every possible effort to offer a smooth transition to the project."

What?

[somersault]

Why would I expect a merger? It feels like they only forked a couple of months ago.

Re:It is not OpenOffice

[MBGMorden]

So after all that work of building up a brand with the horribly awkward name "OpenOffice.org"

There may have been some feet stomping and pleading, but to virtually every person I've ever spoken to it was just "OpenOffice".

Re:It would be...

[erroneus]

That's kind of what I was thinking. The reason for moving away from Oracle was because it cannot be trusted. They asked for the name and did not get it so they moved on. Now Oracle says "we're sorry, here you can have the name!" Can Oracle be trusted not to pull some sort of stunt if it were accepted?

To Oracle: You're a big heavy company. You throw your weight around a lot. We don't like it, we don't like you and you simply can't be trusted any more than Microsoft or those of your ilk.

What Oracle Could Do

[Bruce Perens]

Oracle has three things of value for the community:

The Copyrights

Oracle still owns the copyrights of OpenOffice. Everybody will be able to use, modify, and distribute OpenOffice under the rights granted in the license, which never terminates. That license is LGPL2 for versions before 3.0, and LGPL3 for 3.0 beta and later, and the PDL for documentation. However, if the copyrights were transferred to a non-profit foundation, that foundation would be able to re-license OpenOffice as licenses develop. Laws change over time, and licenses must change to meet them. It would also be possible for the non-profit to enforce the larger part of the copyright rights. Currently, individual contributors or the project as their representative can enforce the copyright rights and license terms only on post-Oracle modifications. It would also be able to protect OpenOffice against pernicious changes in the commercial copyright holder. Products and companies get sold and change management. Remember that SCO was a "friendly" Linux company called Caldera before they went on their legal rampage. 501(c)3's, however, can devise covenants that keep their copyrights public property forever, and are legally limited to disburse their holdings only to other 501(c)3's on dissolution.

The Domain

OpenOffice.org is well known, and most instances of the software on user systems still reference it. Transferring this to a non-profit would be helpful.

Patents

Oracle might hold patents that read on OpenOffice, or could be used to defend it against other companies that bring patent suits. We can use Oracle's patents that are embedded in OpenOffice under the terms of the LGPL2 and LGPL3. But it would be nice to have some help in defending the program.

How Oracle Can Hurt

Oracle can hurt by trying to muscle the non-profit into accepting some sort of control from Oracle, be it a board position or something else. We have ample evidence that the project, since 1999, did poorly in gaining developers under a corporation's control. And if anything, Oracle makes other companies less comfortable than Sun would have. It's time for the project to be independent. The project should reject any offers that come with a demand for continuing control.

Thanks

Bruce

Re:better name

[Bloodwine77]

I am sorry, but LibreOffice is a horrible name. I thought it was only supposed to be a temporary name when they initially forked. It is not a very catchy name and it does not roll off the tongue very well. I agree that going back to OpenOffice.org might not be the best thing to do, but they really need a new name.

Re:No it's not

[MrEricSir]

Are you aware that there are languages other than English?

Re:What?

[denis-The-menace]

Pro tip: Do not reply to anonymous trolls (aka feeding the trolls)
Let moderators set their score to -1 so that they fade away in frustration.

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion