body: I've been researching user-readable software licenses, and it strikes me that even as they get simpler and cut words, they always start with a wordy passive-voice construction:
  
  
  MIT: `Permission is hereby granted ... to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software")`
  
  
  ISC: `Permission ... is hereby granted`
  
  
  BSD: `Redistribution ... are permitted`
  
  
  Zlib: `Permission is granted to anyone`
  
  
  Why do the licenses use this same sort of wording even as they simplify in other places? Is there a legal advantage to using it in favor of the more obvious *you may*?
  
  
  
title: Why do software licenses use passive voice?