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https://github.com/bitboxer/do-not-harm

The do not harm license
https://github.com/bitboxer/do-not-harm

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The do not harm license

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README 

        
# Do-Not-Harm License



This license is a modified [MIT license](http://opensource.org/licenses/MIT).

It adds a clause that the software should not be used to harm humans or living

beings.



## Do-Not-Harm-Humans



> Copyright (c) year copyright holders

>

> Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy

> of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal

> in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights

> to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell

> copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is

> furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

>

> * No human must purposefully be harmed using this software

>

> * The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in

> all copies or substantial portions of the Software.

>

> THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR

> IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,

> FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE

> AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER

> LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,

> OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN

> THE SOFTWARE.



## Do-Not-Harm-Living-Beings



> Copyright (c) year copyright holders

>

> Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy

> of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal

> in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights

> to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell

> copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is

> furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

>

> * No living being must purposefully be harmed using this software

>

> * The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in

> all copies or substantial portions of the Software.

>

> THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR

> IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,

> FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE

> AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER

> LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,

> OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN

> THE SOFTWARE.



# FAQ



## But this breaks Freedom 0!



Yes, this license breaks freedom 0: The freedom to run the program for any purpose.



It breaks it on purpose. In lots of countries freedom of speech does not include

hate speech. And I don't think that the freedom to run my code should also mean

that it's totally okay to use software I create in a predator drone to kill people.



## Is this license compatible with the GPL?



No, it breaks Freedom 0. On purpose.



## But you can't enforce the "do not harm"



It depends. But I want to make a stand and show where I draw the line what I

think is okay.



## Can't you clarify what "harmed" means?



No. I don't want that. Everyone should know what that means.



## Why two different licenses ?



Some people don't want to harm every living being. Some just care about

humans. It's up to you what you want to use.



## But there is already a Do no Evil License!



The [Do-No-Evil License](http://www.noevils.org/licenses/donoevil-1.0.html) is

not specific enough for my taste. What is evil? In some countries death penalty

or torture is not considered evil. I wanted to be more precise because of that.

But be aware that there are cases who could be considered "evil" and do not harm people.

It's up to you what you want to use.



## But what if harming one saves thousands?



Yes, ethics is difficult. I am aware of that. There is a reason why something like

the [Trolley Problem](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trolley_problem) exists.

This license is here to start a discussion. To raise awareness about the problems

we are facing right now. This question is part of that discussion.



## I have questions about this!



Feel free to open an [issue](https://github.com/bitboxer/donoharm/issues) here on Github!