The gpl license is copyleft, therefore you must disclose your source code and make your modified version of your code open source as well. The correct way of expressing that the module is dual licensed under a gpl v2 variant or mit license choice. Bsd licenses or the original bsd license and its two variants the modified bsd license 3clause, and the simplified bsd licensefreebsd license 2clause are a family of permissive free software licenses. Dual licensing usually refers to licensing software under both a proprietary license and an open source license, typically the gpl. An updates on this issue, we have secured the agreement of all the holders to relicense libusbwin32 library as dual license. Market segregation in proprietary software edit multilicensing is also used by distributors of nonfree software. Dual bsdgpl the module is dual licensed under a gpl v2 variant or bsd license choice. License compatibility and relicensing gnu project free. This file is provided under a dual bsdgplv2 license. You can change your license at any time unless youre using some codelibraryanything on license that forbids you to link with code on bsd license. Various licenses and comments about them gnu project.
The gnu general public licence, or gpl as its often called, is the most popular free software licence and its used by many different projects, including the linux kernel, the gnu tools and literally hundreds of others. Why you should use a bsd style license for your open. Prefixes may be used to indicate the number of licenses used, e. You can find the legal text for the gpl here, but heres a quick summary of what it means. Marshall kirk mckusick describes the evolution of the berkeley software distribution bsd license in twenty years of berkeley unix. This license type allows binary only modules without source code. For your repository to truly be open source, youll need to license it so that others are free to use, change, and distribute the software. Both of these are completely different than taking software which you were given under the terms of the gnu gpl, and redistributing it via the app store. Oct 10, 2011 the gnu gpl general public license covers over 50% of the free software projects including the linux kernel, busybox and many applications. Jan 24, 2019 bsd licenses or the original bsd license and its two variants the modified bsd license 3clause, and the simplified bsd licensefreebsd license 2clause are a family of permissive free software licenses.
Licenze varie e commenti relativi progetto gnu free software. Linus torvalds says gpl v3 violates everything that gplv2 stood for duration. I wrote software which i would like to release under the bsd license. The one important exception is the original bsd license, because of the obnoxious. What is the difference between a bsd and a gpl license. I have seen that there is a question about gpl and dual licensing, but i know copyleft can behave different depending on the shape of the software. Dual licensing usually refers to offering software under a proprietary license and an open source license. If i modify code that is dual licensed under the gpl and an mit. This is also known as the duallicense strategy of commercial open source. Us court upholds enforceability of gnu gpl as both a license. Otherwise, she is able to choose whichever license she likes. Why you should use a bsd style license for your open source project.
Historically, the gpl license family has been one of the most popular software licenses in the free and opensource software domain. You should also notice that your previous work before the release where you changed that license can be still used on old license. The dual licensing model answered a need for commercial. For those who must work with staticallylinked implementations of multiple software standards, the gpl is often a poor license, because it precludes using proprietary implementations of the standards.
With the gpl license, the software maintains more of the freedom than the programmers who work on it. The php license is a bsdstyle license which does not have the copyleft restrictions associated with gpl. Developers sometimes attempt to explicitly dual license their code under the gpl and a permissive license. Linux kernel licensing rules the linux kernel documentation. Aug 07, 2018 dual licensing emerged as an open source business model in the early 2000s, and it typically refers to the release of a software component under two licenses simultaneously. Would it make any sense then to duallicense the software under both bsd and gpl. This is a free software license, and it is compatible with gplv3. This license has the same disadvantages as the lgpl. Any modules in the kernel tarball with this license should really be dual bsdgpl.
When it is reasonable to expect the gpl license to be retained, it is also reasonable to require that the bsd license is retained when a gpl software contains bsdlicensed parts. In general, lax permissive licenses modified bsd, x11, expat, apache, python, etc. The exact variant of the bsd license can only be determined via the license information in the corresponding source files. Net license xnet zeroclause bsd free public license 1. There is much throwing around of misconceptions and untruths about licenses and their differences. It offers a mechanism that further terms can be added to the license, if these terms are not. These attacks are about freedom of sharing the code, and to what degree this should be allowed. When using or redistributing this software, you may do so under either license. The bsd license lets you freely modify and distribute your softwares code in the source or binary format as long as you retain a copy. If your repository is using a license that isnt listed on the choose a license website, you can request including the license. Does this mean that i can use the code and just apply the bsd license to it. Supporting services are not the only way that an open source business can make money.
Most surveys indicate that the vast majority of open source projects use the mit license, the apache license, and the gpl or their variants. This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but without any warranty. The gplv3 doesnt apply here, but clarifies the intent of the gpl authors. The ordinary gnu general public license and the gnu affero general public license are two different copyleft licenses, so they are naturally incompatible. When the readme of some software says this software is under the terms of the gnu lesser general public license as published by the free software foundation. Can i dual license the whole thing under gpl gpl programs and my stuff. If somebody would fork said project according to the gpl, i would, in. An updates on this issue, we have secured the agreement of all the holders to re license libusbwin32 library as dual license. License 8c8 substantially similar to the no warranty disclaimer below 15a16,19 alternatively, this software may be distributed under the terms of the gnu general public license gpl version 2 as published by the free software foundation. What you should know about contributor license agreements. The gpl license is conducive to liberating software.
Under gpl you cant sublicense, meaning, you cant cha. You cant take gpl licensed parts and relicense them under the mit license, since that is against the gpl terms. If you have some code you are thinking of releasing under an open source license, and you want a quick overview of the broadstrokes differences between these licenses, you have come to the right place. A short name for the license or licenses if more than one license apply. Version 2 of the gpl, released in 1991, went on to become the most widely used freesoftware license. In this blog, i shall take on some of the bigger misconceptions. I would add a switch in the build system to enabledisable the component of my software that relies on gpled 3rd party code and document that, if the user builds the software with that option enabled, then she must choose the gpl license. The full text of the license should also appear packaged in the same archive as the source code. Jun 21, 2016 most surveys indicate that the vast majority of open source projects use the mit license, the apache license, and the gpl or their variants. While this may seem like a conflicting approach, it has become a popular means by which licensors gain the economic benefits associated with commercial licensing while leveraging the community benefits associated.
The choice of licence comes down to personal preference, and both approaches can have good or bad. Nov 08, 2015 linus torvalds says gpl v3 violates everything that gplv2 stood for duration. The second author who added the bsd gpl ed dual license only has the authority to release the the code which he or she added under the bsd gpl dual license. Something isnt eiher free or permissively free it is either restricted or free. In summary, the license was intended to allow liberal modification and redistribution terms for berkeley unix code. Gpl is labeled free software while bsd is labeled permissive free which is orwell newspeak obfuscation. You cant take gpl licensed parts and re license them under the mit license, since that is against the gpl terms. Licensee also provides the licenses api and gives us insight into how repositories on github are licensed. This license is sometimes referred to as the 3clause bsd license. Of the nine most popular licensesthe gpl, mit, and apache are on that list at the top. Dual licensing schemes should code be dual licensed under the gpl and a permissive license.
Multilicensing is the practice of distributing software under two or more different sets of terms and conditions. We have set up a special kind of explicit compatibility between them. Us court upholds enforceability of gnu gpl as both a. Its list distinguishes between freesoftware licenses that are compatible or incompatible with the fsfs copyleft gnu general public license.
Why dash uses the mit license and not a copyleft gpl. This document makes a case for using a bsd style license for software and data. The following license idents are currently accepted as indicating free software modules gpl gnu public license v2 or later gpl v2 gnu public license v2 gpl and additional rights gnu public license v2 rights and more dual bsdgpl gnu public license v2 or bsd license choice dual mitgpl gnu public license v2 or mit license choice dual mplgpl gnu. Clearly, if software is released under an open source licence it is not practicable to charge for the software as your neighbour can give it away for free. Can i release my software under gpl and later after rewriting the gpl library change license to bsd. The two licenses are very different from each other. Prominent free software programs licensed under the gpl include the linux kernel and the gnu compiler collection gcc.
The dual licensing model answered a need for commercial organizations that wanted to find a way to make open source development economically viable. Public repositories on github are often used to share open source software. Conditions in freesoftware licenses edit there exists an ongoing debate within the freesoftware community regarding the fine line between what restrictions can be applied and still be called free. Chemisor, a bsd advocate, is of the opinion that a linguistic misunderstanding may be the root of the disagreements over the difference licensing philosophies. Having been a free software user and supporter for many years, i am disheartened by some of the comments made in the mysqloracle debate regarding the gnu public license gpl and other licenses. This may mean multiple different software licenses or sets of licenses. Us court upholds enforceability of gnu gpl as both a license and a contract. Open source licenses are licenses that comply with the open source definition in brief, they allow software to be freely used, modified, and shared.
The php license is a bsd style license which does not have the copyleft restrictions associated with gpl. The original code remains only licensed under the bsd license, but that was ok because the bsd license is compatible with the gpl but not vice versa. This essay argues that developers of freelibre open source software floss, aka ossfs should use an existing widelyused license compatible with the general public license gpl, particularly the gpl, lgpl, mitx, or bsdnew licenses. Other examples are perl, which is duallicensed under the gpl or artistic license, and ruby, whose license contains explicit gpl dual licensing. Open source stack exchange is a question and answer site for people organizing, marketing or licensing open source development projects. It would seem, and another poster confirms, that this change has. It consists of the gpl, plus an exception allowing linking to software not under the gpl. With the bsd licenses, the programmers maintain more of the freedom with what they are allowed to do with derivative code. Furthermore, if you own the rights to something, you can distribute it under both the gpl and in the app store duallicensing is not new.
In addition, two forms of the bsd,the revised three paragraphand the simplified two paragraph bsd license,as well as the mozilla public license are also listed. Software can become incompatible with secondary licenses in one of two ways. The original license was used for the berkeley software distribution bsd, a unixlike operating system after which it is named. Gnu project the gnu operating system and the free software. The modified bsd license is not bad, as lax permissive licenses go, though the apache 2. According to alan cox, a license of bsd without advertisement clause is not a suitable free software license. The bsd basically says heres the source code, do whatever you want with it, but if you have problems, its. In 1965, adr developed the first licensed software product independent of a. Maintaining permissivelicensed files in a gpllicensed. Bsd is both a license and a class of license generally referred to as bsdlike. The choice of licence comes down to personal preference, and both approaches can.
There is no problem merging programs that have the same license, if it is a. In most cases when open source code is licensed under two licenses, the. In case of gpl bsd, i dont think you could have any problems. In case of gplbsd, i dont think you could have any problems. The original bsd license is also one of the first freesoftware licenses, dating to 1988. The software freedom law center provides practical advice for developers about including permissively licensed source. Multilicensing is commonly done to support free software business models in a commercial environment. Why dash uses the mit license and not a copyleft gpl license. Unfortunately, i am linking to a library which is based on gpl. Gpl and bsd sasecurity wiki fandom powered by wikia. If i really had to do what youre asking, i would release two separate versions, one licensed gpl.
By releasing your code under gnu gpl 3 or later, you permit your code to upgrade. If i use libraries in a non open source program will the license be gpl or bsd. The original version has since been revised, and its descendants are referred to as modified bsd licenses. By the time gplv3 came out in 2007, a lot had changed in the ways that companies were distributing software. Is dual licensing a software that contains gpl programs. Some files have been contributed under other compatible licenses and carry additional requirements and information. The open source ruby gem licensee compares the repositorys license file to a short list of known licenses. If you publish code under a copyleft license such as the gpl and then accept external contributions under that license, you are no longer the sole owner and cannot include the gpl licensed contributions in the closed source version. Multilicensing notably duallicensing is not that uncommon. Paper dual licensing in open source software industry by mikko valimaki.
Apache 2 software can therefore be included in gplv3 projects, because the gplv3 license accepts our software into gplv3 works. Used originally by the bsd operating system, it covers a fair amount of software. The original iteration of the gpl license was unveiled in 1989. The gpl thus minimizes the number of programs that can be built using a. In 1989, version 1 of the gnu general public license gpl was published. Right now i do not have time to rewrite that library. The bsd license is very permissive open source license. I would like to publish a software under a selfwritten bsd like license, and under the gplv3. Gpl was the first copyleft license for general use. The differences between the gpl, lgpl and the bsd fosswire.
Source code using modified bsd or mpl will give the text of the license at the top. The term dual licensing is most properly used to refer to giving the recipient a choice of being a licensee under license a or license b. Any modules in the kernel tarball with this license should really be dual bsd gpl. It can also be read as a bsd versus gpl open source license introduction and summary. The original bsd license was used for its namesake, the berkeley software distribution bsd, a unixlike operating system. Apr 16, 2020 the original iteration of the gpl license was unveiled in 1989. Sep 27, 2007 4 should code be dual licensed under the gpl and a permissive license. Oracles mysql is an example of an open source project with such a dual license approach. That the first two are legal has no bearing on the. Gpl is a copyleft license so it requires derivative works to be released under the same license and programs linked with a library released under the gpl must also be released under the gpl. Alternatively, this software may be distributed under the terms of the gnu. The cla also could authorize the open source project to distribute the contribution simultaneously under separate licenses, such as an open source and proprietary licenses, depending on whether the code will be used commercially. It is a lax, permissive noncopyleft free software license, compatible with the gnu gpl. The free software foundation considers the apache license, version 2.
The three ive chosen are the best representativesof the academic permissive. The second iteration, gplv2, came out two years later in 1991. Software licensing gpl agpl bsd mit apache eula youtube. In this scenario, one option is a proprietary software license, which allows the possibility of creating proprietary applications derived from it, while the other license is a copyleft free software opensource license, thus requiring any derived work to be released under the. The second author who added the bsdgpled dual license only has the authority to release the the code which he or she added under the bsdgpl dual license. Apr 10, 2019 the bsd license is very permissive open source license. Why you should use a bsd style license for your open source. This is the original bsd license, modified by removal of the advertising clause. This is a lax, permissive free software license, compatible with the gnu gpl. The gnu affero general public license agpl came out in 2008, as a response to some of those changes. Dual licensing emerged as an open source business model in the early 2000s, and it typically refers to the release of a software component under two licenses simultaneously. Various licenses and comments about them gnu project free. Jun 15, 2012 relationships between the gpl licences and other software are carefully explained in the gpl faq.
1264 688 1079 1562 544 460 36 1127 773 188 806 306 782 78 398 1520 1425 1021 778 89 75 567 777 412 447 307 1032 1507 581 1527 1277 558 63 309 1435 572 30 175 895 1259 1395 684 990 104 188 837 371 360