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... there came one question up in my mind?

Can ActiveState forbid me to use python versions downloaded from this page https://www.python.org/downloads/?

Especially for Windows and Linux?

I ask, because they are listed as authors in the license.txt.

Taken from here: https://www.python.org/ftp/python/3.9.0/python-3.9.0-embed-win32.zip

Copyright (c) 1993-1999 Ioi Kim Lam. Copyright (c) 2000-2001 Tix Project Group. Copyright (c) 2004 ActiveState

This software is copyrighted by the above entities and other parties. The following terms apply to all files associated with the software unless explicitly disclaimed in individual files.

The authors hereby grant permission to use, copy, modify, distribute, and license this software and its documentation for any purpose, provided that existing copyright notices are retained in all copies and that this notice is included verbatim in any distributions. No written agreement, license, or royalty fee is required for any of the authorized uses. Modifications to this software may be copyrighted by their authors and need not follow the licensing terms described here, provided that the new terms are clearly indicated on the first page of each file where they apply.

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    Hey Nikolai, Zak from ActiveState here. Even if we could, we wouldn't want to forbid you (or anyone) from downloading community releases of Python.
    – Zak
    Dec 3, 2020 at 18:29
  • Hey Nikolai – I don't think I understand. What do you mean?
    – Zak
    Dec 3, 2020 at 20:43
  • Why are you asking this? Specifically: where has AS made the statement, "You are not allowed to use Python!"
    – RonJohn
    Dec 4, 2020 at 4:09
  • Crosspost on Law.SE: law.stackexchange.com/q/58852 (no answers currently)
    – amon
    Dec 4, 2020 at 10:23
  • I originally asked on stackoverflow. First answer was to post on law.stackexchange, there I was also discouraged. second comment was to post here. Dec 4, 2020 at 16:03

1 Answer 1

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Not by virtue of exercising the copyright on their contributions, no. They could if you were an employee of theirs, or if they had some other valid grounds for being able to forbid you, but not simply by virtue of their copyright.

ActiveState have already unilaterally granted you the right to use that code through the above licensing declaration. Like all free licences, that licence is irrevocable once you've relied on it, which you have done by availing yourself of a copy. The PSF could suddenly decide to cease distribution of Python altogether, but that wouldn't affect the licence status of copies already distributed.

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