Since its very strict in a lot of areas, its incompatible with many other licenses. A permissive license is simply a non copyleft open source license one that guarantees the freedoms to use, modify, and redistribute, but that permits proprietary derivatives. The other camp points out that the gpl is a complex monster and that it is virulent in nature. If a whole software package contains very little codeless than 300 lines is the benchmark we useyou may as well use a lax permissive license for it, rather than a copyleft license like the gnu gpl. Universal permissive license added to license list free software. Microsoft and apple seem to be allowed to take bsd or similar licensed code and distribute it under a proprietary license.
Examples include the gnu allpermissive license, mit license, bsd licenses, apple public source license and apache lic. Categories of free and nonfree software gnu project. The fsf has made a handy reference page about what licenses are permissive and allow re licensing, as well as the chart below specifically for gnu gpl version 3. All developers can feel free to use it in similar situations. This license is based on the terms of the expat and modified bsd licenses. Wtfpl is a gplcompatible permissive license most commonly used as a free software license. If you wanted to set up a blog, which software would be most helpful. Open source licenses are licenses that comply with the open source definition in brief, they allow software to be freely used, modified, and shared. A permissive free software licence is a free software licence for a ed work that offers freedoms such as publishing a work to the public domain.
In general, lax permissive licenses modified bsd, x11, expat, apache, python, etc. Logiciel libre cours 4 licenses stefano zacchiroli. Universal permissive license added to license list free. In advanced free software legal and policy circles, a disturbing number of conversations treat it as given that fewer new projects are choosing copyleft licenses, and more are going the route of lax permissive. Not unlike software in the public domain, these noncopyleft licenses usually grant software freedom to users, but they do not go to any effort to uphold that software freedom for users. Outline 1 free software licensing 2 license bestiary lax permissive licenses public domain scopelimited reciprocal licenses reciprocal licenses 3 selected licensing topics gpl v. Which of the following are true about compiled programming languages. Examples include the gnu all permissive license, mit license, bsd licenses, apple public source license and apache license. Why to prefer permissive license over copyleft license. Various licenses and comments about them gnu project. Many of the software packages used within flyem have permissive licenses. Which of the following pieces of software deal with file sharing. Because of that, it is a free software license, compatible with the gnu gpl, but not a strong copyleft. The title is an abbreviation of do what the fuck you want to public license.
Gnu gpl, lgpl, apache licence types and differences. Lax permissive licenses include the x11 license and the two bsd licenses. Copies of all gpl licensed software published by the fsf can be obtained from us without making any representation about where you live or what you intend. A permissive software license, sometimes also called bsdlike or bsdstyle license, is a.
To illustrate this tension, we can compare two examples from the permissive licensing spectrum. The permissive software license, sometimes also called bsdlike or bsdstyle license, is a free software license with minimal requirements on how the software can be redistributed. Can allow software to be used inside closed source software, are not approved by the fsf, and dont have a copyleft provision. In contrast, copyleft licences like the gnu general public license require copies and derivatives of the source code to be made available on terms not more restrictive than those of the original licence. This one is basically my response to some typical arguments ive seen from people who seem to loathe permissive licensing. The previous post gave a short introduction into the topic of software licenses, focusing on the gpl vs. Frequently asked questions about the gnu licenses gnu.
Ill write this in dialog style, hoping that this makes it a little lighter to. Permissive software license simple english wikipedia. What the rise of permissive open source licenses means. Which of the following are examples of desktop software. The fall of gpl and the rise of permissive opensource. There are variations, of coursethe lgpl, for example, is a weak copyleft. This page is maintained by the free software foundations licensing and compliance lab. If you are distributing a gpl licensed product with images, such as a wordpress theme or plugin, your best bet is to opt for using images with the cc0 or. Without an open source license, the software component is unusable by. The software freedom law center sflc has prepared this document for developers who wish to incorporate permissive licensed 1 code into gpld projects.
The upl is a lax, noncopyleft license that is compatible with the gnu gpl. Increasingly permissive or increasingly dismissive. Universal permissive license added to license list. It is a lax, permissive noncopyleft free software license, compatible with the gnu gpl. What the rise of permissive open source licenses means cio. Packages like libjpeg, hdf5, freetype 2, libpng, and boost have their own licenses but are very similar to the bsd license and can be grouped in that category. It allows redistribution and modification of the work under any terms. License compatibility and relicensing free software foundation. The gnu allpermissive license is a lax, permissive noncopyleft free software license, compatible with the gnu general public license, recommended by the free software foundation for readme and other small supporting files under 300 lines long.
And a license that is short cannot also be comprehensive, so even if it is relatively recently updated, it must still leave many issues unaddressed. The gnu all permissive license is a lax, permissive noncopyleft free software license, compatible with the gnu general public license, recommended by the free software foundation for readme and other small supporting files under 300 lines long. This feature of proprietary software licenses means that certain. Gpl refers to latest version and bsd refer to original bsd 3clause bsd 3clause bsd license has no form of copyleft, so you are well within your rights to rebrand it, as long as you maintain its notice in other words. These licenses permit almost any use of the code, including distributing proprietary binaries with or without changing the source code. Permissive opensource software licenses continue to gain popularity at the expense of copyleft licenses, according to a forthcoming report. If that is not possible for any reason, cc0 also provides a lax, permissive license as a fallback. Examples include the gnu allpermissive license, mit license, bsd licenses. This license is typical of what are often called lax, highly permissive licenses. The mit license is a permissive free software license originating at the massachusetts institute of technology mit in the late 1980s. Mit license a short and simple permissive license with conditions only requiring preservation of and license notices. Another mistake, which has occasionally been seen since about 2008, is to assume that free software refers only to software licensed under copyleft licenses, since that is how the fsf typically releases software, while open source refers to software released under socalled permissive i. It is compatible because it can be relicensed under other licenses. The fall of gpl and the rise of permissive opensource licenses.
The free software foundation invented the term copyleft. Can i take code which is licensed under a permissive open source license like the bsd license and distribute it under a copyleft free software license like the gpl. Permissive software license wikimili, the best wikipedia. The gnu camp taunts permissive licenses as being lax for not. Whats the difference between permissive and copyleft. A quick guide to software licensing for the scientistprogrammer. Various licenses and comments about them gnu project free. The gnu camp taunts permissive licenses as being lax for not providing the protection that they want. The previous post gave a short introduction into the topic of software licenses. A permissive software license, sometimes also called bsdlike or bsdstyle license, is a freesoftware license with minimal requirements about how the software can be redistributed. This license is sometimes referred to as the 3clause bsd license.
If youre the authorinventor of some software, a story or whatever product. A quick guide to software licensing for the scientist. The gnu gpl general public license is one specific set of distribution terms. As a public domain like license, the wtfpl is essentially the same as dedication to the public domain. In fact, licenses are usually of such little interest that 85%of the projects on github fail to have one however, one aspect of licensing never fails to stir partisan responses. What you really need to know posted on march 26, 2015 september 11, 2018 by team level up steve ballmer, microsofts former ceo, infamously described open source software oss as a cancer that attaches itself in an intellectual property sense to everything it touches and viral, that last one. Examples include the gnu all permissive license, mit license, bsd licenses, apple public source license and apache lic. The gpl is still the worlds most popular opensource license but its declining in use, while permissive licenses. The mit license is compatible with many copyleft licenses, such as the gnu general public license. Copyleft licenses may be useful in accommodating upstream encumbered code or preferred by researchers seeking to assure perpetual open access, but their reciprocity. Permissive licenses may grant the user some rights but only copyleft.
The upl contains provisions dealing explicitly with the grant of patent. How to choose a license for your own work gnu project. Most discussions of free software licenses bore listeners. You can support our efforts by making a donation to the fsf. Frequently answered questions open source initiative.
Licensed works, modifications, and larger works may be distributed under different terms and without source code. Noncopyleft free software license added to license list we recently updated our list of various licenses and comments about them to include the universal permissive license upl. The permissive licenses, on the other hand, do not treat freeriding as harmful. Bsd is a lax, permissive, noncopyleft, free software license so it is compatible with the gpl so. Note that the direction of flow is always from the permissive licenses to the copyleft licenses, and not the other way.
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