Can I update the wording in a BSD license?

Question

I translated code from MATLAB to Python and the original has this license:

All rights reserved.

Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:

* Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this
  list of conditions and the following disclaimer.

* Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice,
  this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation
  and/or other materials provided with the distribution
THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS"
AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE
IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE
DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT OWNER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE
FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL
DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR
SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER
CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY,
OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE
OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

It's a 2-clause BSD license but differs slightly from other versions, like using bullets instead of numbers and saying "COPYRIGHT OWNER" instead of "COPYRIGHT HOLDER".

• OSI's version says "THE COPYRIGHT HOLDER OR CONTRIBUTORS"
• GitHub's version says "THE COPYRIGHT HOLDER OR CONTRIBUTORS"
• Wikipedia's version says "THE COPYRIGHT OWNER OR CONTRIBUTORS".
• FSF's version says "THE FREEBSD PROJECT OR CONTRIBUTORS"
• This version says "THE COPYRIGHT HOLDER OR CONTRIBUTORS"
• This version says "THE COPYRIGHT OWNER OR CONTRIBUTORS"
• etc.

Can I just use the official modern wording in my derivative work, with the original author at the top, or do I really have to copy the original license verbatim?

Answer 1

You are bound by the original license without changes. And that is carried over to your derivative work, which includes porting a project from one language to the other.

However, the BSD license is a permissive license. Thus while you need to keep the copyright notice with respect to the original, you are free to distribute your own version under your own license (as long as that does not contradict the previous one). Thus in your case you can distribute under your own, but keep and distribute the original license notice with a remark that it applies (only) to the original your work is based on. Effectively you then would have two licenses, your updated one which applies to the project as-is, and the original one which gives the copyright notice as intended by the project your work is based on.

Answer 2

Whether a license resembles other licenses is irrelevant to the terms of that license.

Some licenses explicitly include a clause naming the license, and referring to an external authority for updated versions of that license. For instance, the GPL v3 contains among others this provision:

If the Program specifies that a certain numbered version of the GNU General Public License “or any later version” applies to it, you have the option of following the terms and conditions either of that numbered version or of any later version published by the Free Software Foundation.

(Note that even this clause does not allow you to replace the license with alternative wording found on Wikipedia, or anywhere else, it has to be published by the Free Software Foundation, and has to have a higher version number.)

The license you quote has no such wording. It says:

Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.

There is no provision for you to reword the copyright notice, conditions, or disclaimer, or for you to replace them with a version taken from elsewhere.

Answer 3

The only right you have to distribute the code is under that exact license. Sure, it's similar to the 2 clause BSD license but it is not the 2 clause BSD license; you have no right to change the licensing for code you are not the copyright holder of, however much you might like to make things "tidier".

Related: How can a "crayon" license be a problem?