<div dir="ltr"><div>Dear Mr. Landavere,</div><div><br></div><div>I am bit puzzled about your email and don't know if you expect a response from us - or not?</div><div><br></div><div>Have you actually read the QGIS user license, which is an exact copy of the GPL license? It gives you a lot of freedom and hardly any restrictions - unlike many other software you probably use.</div><div><br></div><div>For your reference - you can find the license we use here: <a href="https://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/gpl-2.0.en.html">https://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/gpl-2.0.en.html</a> - with one exception made for the usage of the Qt library documented here: <a href="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/qgis/QGIS/master/Exception_to_GPL_for_Qt.txt">https://raw.githubusercontent.com/qgis/QGIS/master/Exception_to_GPL_for_Qt.txt</a></div><div><br></div><div>Can you be more specific where you have a problem with the QGIS license?</div><div><br></div><div>Regards and greetings,</div><div>Andreas Neumann<br></div></div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Wed, 1 Nov 2023 at 21:20, Mike Landavere <<a href="mailto:mike@umd.edu">mike@umd.edu</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;text-align:center;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline"><br>Notice to External Parties of UMD’s Inability to Accept Certain Click-Through Terms & Conditions</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:0pt 0pt 0pt 18pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Re: Exception to QGIS DEVELOPMENT TEAM </span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Terms of End User License Agreement </span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">for University of Maryland College Park</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">To whom it may concern,</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">The University of Maryland College Park (“University”) would like to download QGIS </span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">from QGIS DEVELOPMENT TEAM </span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">(“Company”) via the following link: <a href="https://www.qgis.org/en/site/" target="_blank">https://www.qgis.org/en/site/</a></span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">.  As part of the process of obtaining such product, Company purports to require the University to accept its standard terms and conditions pursuant to Company’s “click through agreement,” by which the user must accept without modification such terms and conditions in order to complete the transaction. </span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Please be advised that the University is an instrumentality of the State of Maryland and is therefore subject to Maryland law, which governs and prohibits certain forms of contract terms and provisions. Several of the provisions contained in Company’s standard terms and conditions, such as the types of provisions identified below, may violate or be inconsistent with Maryland law. Therefore, please be advised that the University cannot accept Company’s standard terms and conditions to the extent that they are inconsistent with Maryland law. Moreover, please be advised that, pursuant to Section 12-201 of the State Government Article of the Maryland Code, any University employee who has otherwise agreed to the Company’s standard terms and conditions does not have authority to agree to terms which are inconsistent with or violate Maryland law, including but not limited to the provisions discussed below.  </span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">The University is not authorized to accept, and cannot agree to accept, the following categories of terms and conditions: </span></p><br><ol style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px"><li dir="ltr" style="margin-left:15px;list-style-type:decimal;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:rgb(47,84,150);background-color:transparent;font-style:italic;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Commercial Terms.</span><span style="font-size:11pt;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-style:normal;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline"> The University is a state governmental entity, not a commercial entity, and laws pertaining to private commercial entities, such as the Uniform Commercial Code, are not applicable to the University.  </span></p></li></ol><br><ol start="2" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px"><li dir="ltr" style="margin-left:15px;list-style-type:decimal;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:rgb(47,84,150);background-color:transparent;font-style:italic;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Confidentiality.</span><span style="font-size:11pt;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-style:normal;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline"> The University is subject to State open records laws, including the Maryland Public Information Act (Maryland Code Annotated, General Provisions Article, Title 4), and University System of Maryland policies regarding the disclosure of certain forms of information and documents. The Maryland Public Information Act does prohibit the University from disclosing Company’s confidential business and financial information.</span></p></li></ol><br><ol start="3" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px"><li dir="ltr" style="margin-left:15px;list-style-type:decimal;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:rgb(47,84,150);background-color:transparent;font-style:italic;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Dispute-Related Terms.</span><span style="font-size:11pt;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-style:normal;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline"> The University is not authorized to agree to terms relating to the resolution or litigation of potential disputes, such as mandatory arbitration, entitlement to injunctive relief, and jury trial waiver clauses. All such terms require the consent of the Maryland Attorney General, which may consent or not in its sole discretion.</span></p></li></ol><br><ol start="4" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px"><li dir="ltr" style="margin-left:15px;list-style-type:decimal;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:rgb(47,84,150);background-color:transparent;font-style:italic;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).</span><span style="font-size:11pt;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-style:normal;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline"> The University is subject to FERPA, 20 U.S.C. § 1232g, and its implementing regulations. To the extent Company has access to “education records” under this click-through agreement, Company is deemed a FERPA School Official.  Nothing contained in the agreement shall be interpreted to require the University to provide educational records to the Company in violation of FERPA.</span></p></li></ol><br><ol start="5" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px"><li dir="ltr" style="margin-left:15px;list-style-type:decimal;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Md. Code Ann., State Government Article, §10-13A-03</span><span style="font-size:11pt;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">. The University is subject to Md. Code Ann., State Government Article, §10-13A-03. To the extent Company processes “Personally Identifiable Information” on University’s behalf, Company must take commercially reasonable steps to support the University’s privacy governance program and to maintain appropriate security controls.</span></p></li></ol><br><ol start="6" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px"><li dir="ltr" style="margin-left:15px;list-style-type:decimal;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:rgb(47,84,150);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Governing Law and Venue.</span><span style="font-size:11pt;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline"> The University is a State of Maryland agency and is not authorized to accept the governing law(s) and/or venue(s) of other jurisdictions. </span></p></li></ol><br><ol start="7" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px"><li dir="ltr" style="margin-left:15px;list-style-type:decimal;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Indemnification.</span><span style="font-size:11pt;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline"> The University is prohibited by law from incurring unfunded liabilities, and Maryland courts have specifically held that indemnification provisions give rise to an unfunded liability. Maryland law imposes personal civil and criminal penalties, including prison time, on a State employee who agrees to a contract term that creates an unfunded liability. In addition, any tort claims against the University are subject to the provisions of and the limitations of liability contained in the Maryland Tort Claims Act.</span></p></li></ol><br><ol start="8" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px"><li dir="ltr" style="margin-left:15px;list-style-type:decimal;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:rgb(47,84,150);background-color:transparent;font-style:italic;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Insurance.</span><span style="font-size:11pt;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-style:normal;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline"> The University</span><span style="font-size:12pt;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-style:normal;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline"> </span><span style="font-size:11pt;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-style:normal;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">is self-insured pursuant to Annotated Code of Maryland, State Finance and Procurement Article, Title 9, and cannot purchase commercial insurance for items covered by the State of Maryland self-insurance program. For the majority of tort claims, this program of self-insurance limits the liability of the State and its units to $400,000 to a single claimant for injuries arising from a single incident or occurrence.  </span></p></li></ol><br><ol start="9" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px"><li dir="ltr" style="margin-left:15px;list-style-type:decimal;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:rgb(47,84,150);background-color:transparent;font-style:italic;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Intellectual Property Ownership.</span><span style="font-size:11pt;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-style:normal;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline"> The University retains ownership of its intellectual property for the benefit of its faculty, students, and research sponsors and does not by virtue of Company’s standard terms and conditions grant any ownership or license in its intellectual property.   </span></p></li></ol><br><ol start="10" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px"><li dir="ltr" style="margin-left:15px;list-style-type:decimal;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-style:italic;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Liability. </span><span style="font-size:11pt;background-color:transparent;font-style:normal;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">The University is not authorized to accept liability above the limits set by the Maryland General Assembly. </span></p></li></ol><br><ol start="11" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px"><li dir="ltr" style="margin-left:15px;list-style-type:decimal;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:rgb(47,84,150);background-color:transparent;font-style:italic;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Sovereign Immunity.</span><span style="font-size:11pt;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-style:normal;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline"> The University is part of the State of Maryland, a sovereign governmental entity. Nothing contained in the agreement constitutes a waiver of the State’s sovereign immunity.  </span></p></li></ol><br><ol start="12" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px"><li dir="ltr" style="margin-left:15px;list-style-type:decimal;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:rgb(47,84,150);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Trademarks/Use of University’s Name.</span><span style="font-size:11pt;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline"> The University retains all rights in its trademarks and service marks. </span></p></li></ol><br><ol start="13" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px"><li dir="ltr" style="margin-left:15px;list-style-type:decimal;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:rgb(47,84,150);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Warranties.</span><span style="font-size:11pt;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline"> The University is prohibited by law from incurring unfunded liabilities; warranties create such an unfunded liability. Therefore, any term purporting to contain a warranty by the University is rejected.</span></p></li></ol><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Regardless of whether Company agrees to the foregoing proposed modifications, however, any terms and conditions that are inconsistent with Maryland law, including but not limited to the types of provisions identified above, are rejected and no University employee has authority to accept such terms and conditions. </span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">This message is being sent via email with proof of delivery. Unless an authorized representative of your company advises otherwise in writing, the University of Maryland will deem your receipt of this message to be acknowledgment of the foregoing.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline"><br></span></p><div><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div>Mike Landavere (he/him/his)</div><div><font face="sans-serif">Director of Information Technology</font></div><div style="font-family:sans-serif">College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences</div><div style="font-family:sans-serif">University of Maryland</div><div style="font-family:sans-serif"><font style="color:rgb(136,136,136);font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><i>Connect with UMD Science</i>: <a href="http://www.cmns.umd.edu/" style="color:rgb(17,85,204)" target="_blank">Web</a> | <a href="http://www.twitter.com/umdscience" style="color:rgb(17,85,204)" target="_blank">Twitter</a> | <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/umdscience/" style="color:rgb(17,85,204)" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a> | </font><a href="https://www.instagram.com/umdscience/" style="color:rgb(17,85,204);font-family:Calibri,sans-serif" target="_blank"><font color="#1055cc">Instagram</font></a><font style="color:rgb(136,136,136);font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"> </font><span style="color:rgb(136,136,136);font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">| </span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/umdcmns" style="color:rgb(17,85,204);font-family:Calibri,sans-serif" target="_blank">Facebook</a><br></div></div></div></div></div></div><div><div style="font-size:12.8px"><div><br></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><br></div>
</blockquote></div><br clear="all"><br><span class="gmail_signature_prefix">-- </span><br><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><br>--<br>Andreas Neumann<br></div><a href="http://QGIS.ORG" target="_blank">QGIS.ORG</a> board member (treasurer)<br></div></div>