A GUIDE TO OPEN-SOURCE LICENSES
What You Need to Know
Whether you produce open-source software or just use it to get your
job done, keeping track of the legal permissions and restrictions
specified by each different license can be a big hassle--and could
get you in trouble if you're not careful. To help you keep things
in order, here's a quick review of some of the more popular open- source licenses and their most notable features:
Artistic License
- The source code of programs under this license
must be made available to anyone who requests it.
- Aggregate distributions of more than one program can be sold.
- Derivative works need not be under the same license
but must be "freely available," as defined in the license.
- Linking with proprietary software is permitted as long
as it is through function calls.
Apache License
- Essentially no restrictions except that redistributions
must contain the copyright notice.
GNU General Public License (GPL)
- Source code must be made available.
- Users may make copies and/or redistribute the software.
- Distributors can charge for the software.
- Derivative works must be distributed under the same license.
- Any software, including the libraries, can't be linked
with proprietary software.
GNU Library General Public License (LGPL)
- Software can be linked with proprietary software.
- All other items are the same as the standard GPL.
Mozilla Public License
- Source code must be made available.
- Derivative works must be distributed under the
same license.
- The license author, Bruce Perens, actually recommends
that people not use this license for their own projects
because it was designed for Netscape, for a "specific
business situation."
Original BSD License
- Any advertising of products based on this license must
acknowledge the authors (the University of California).
Public Domain
- This is not truly a license, but rather the
complete absence of one, since the author has
explicitly surrendered all rights or the rights have
expired.
- You may do with this product as you wish, including
license your own version of it under your name.
X License
- The advertising clause from the original BSD license
no longer applies.
Open Source Licensing
Started by
StankDawg
, May 05 2003 07:25 AM
No replies to this topic
#1
Posted 05 May 2003 - 07:25 AM
This was mentioned in another thread so I thought I would post it.
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