Gnu general public license gpl the gnus general public license is the most popular open source license around. To make it free software, you need to release it under a free software license. Final gpl 3 liable to be compatible with the apache license, lowering barriers between opensource projects. This can help answer the most common question, which is whether a license is gpl compatible.
At the right are the strongly protective strong copyleft licenses, which prevent the software from becoming proprietary. Feel free to add licenses, with a link to their text and if possible a link to a related message in the debianlegal archive or link to. In this figure, the boxes are the names of different floss licenses. This means you can combine a module which was released under that license with a gpl covered module to make one larger program. Free software licensing resources free software foundation. The free software foundation considers the apache license, version 2. The wxwidgets license is a gplcompatible free software license. Software freedom law center guide to gpl compliance 2nd edition. Oct 31, 2014 rather than resolving the conflict within the scope of one license, the free software foundation experimented over an extended period with licenses for such copylefted services software that could be made partially compatible with gnu gpl. The scope of licensed rights in the two licenses is similar but not identical. This information allows us to check for the following issues. Permissive free software licence wikipedia, the free. Gpl compatible the general public license gpl is a popular license, many of the most common free software licenses, such as the original mitx license, the bsd license, and lgpl, are gplcompatible.
We normally use the gnu general public license gnu gpl, specifying version 3 or any later version, but occasionally we use other free software licenses. The free software foundation maintains a list of licenses, categorized as gpl compatible, gpl incompatible, and non free. The gnu general public license version 3 was declared a bysacompatible license for version 4. The licenses were originally written by richard stallman, former head of the free software foundation fsf, for the gnu project, and grant the recipients of a computer program the rights of the free software definition. Of course, the results of these mixings would not be compatible with each other, since one would be under the gpl and the other would be under a closed. Which means that anything licensed under boost is easily subsumed by the gpl. Wheeler on september 27, 2007 vaughannichols, steven j. Compatible licenses gplv3 wiki free software foundation. Gnu general public license version 2 most software distributed under the gplv2 allows for the software to be distributed under later versions of the gpl. The free software foundation recognizes the wtfpl as a gplcompatible free software license but does not recommend its use.
This is a simple, permissive noncopyleft free software license, incompatible with the gnu gpl because of its requirements that apply to all documentation in the distribution that contain acknowledgements. The free libre open source software floss license slide by david a. The fsf encourages users to be specific when referring to the license by name i. We offer savannah hosting to free software packages, as free software packages. While the affero gpl v3 is listed as compatible with gpl v3 i. The fall of gpl and the rise of permissive opensource licenses. Should you use a gnu gpl or mit open source license. In addition to clarifying the rules about licenses that are already gplcompatible, gplv3 is also newly compatible with a few other licenses. License compatibility and relicensing gnu project free. Aug 07, 2009 the free software license fsl divided into two distinct categories, gpl compatible and gpl incompatible. Creative commons license vs gpl difference and comparison. Various licenses and comments about them gnu project.
The following licenses are free software licenses, but are not compatible with the gnu gpl. This includes the most popular floss license, the gnu general public license gpl. Berkeley database license aka the sleepycat software product license. We hope we will never need to make a gnu gpl version 4, but nothing is. Various licenses and comments about them gnu project free. Gplcompatible free software licenses approved by the free software foundation. Most of the gpl compatible open source licenses are also proprietary compatible. Gpl means nothing for images since it too has not been defined to refer to images.
The software freedom law center provides practical advice for developers about including permissively licensed source. Apache 2 software can therefore be included in gplv3 projects, because the gplv3 license accepts our software into gplv3 works. There are a large number of free libre open source software floss licenses, but only a few are widely used. However, gplv3 software cannot be included in apache projects. In general we say that several licenses are compatible if there is a way to. On thursday, october 8, creative commons cc announced the addition of the gnu general public license version 3. The mit license is compatible with many copyleft licenses, such as the gnu general public license gpl. Gnu general public license gpl version 3 gnugpl gnugplv3.
Is free for noncommercial use license compatible with. Lots of great free software is available under this license, with strong communities surrounding it. These licenses are incompatible with the gnu gpl version 3 gnu general public license version 2 most software distributed under the gplv2 allows for the software to be distributed under later versions of the gpl. Fsf maintains a list of gplcompatible free software licenses containing many of the most common. Whether it causes any particular practical problems. The freelibre open source software floss license slide. Many of the most common free software licenses, especially the permissive licenses, such as the original mitx license, bsd licenses in the threeclause and twoclause forms, though not the original fourclause form, mpl 2.
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 free software foundation maintains a list of licenses, categorized as gpl compatible, gpl incompatible, and nonfree. Feb 24, 2020 the free software foundation recognizes the wtfpl as a gpl compatible free software license but does not recommend its use. Apache 2 software can therefore be included in gplv3 projects, because the gplv3. It is compatible because it can be relicensed under other licenses. Licensing kinds of fsl with gplcompatible chipkidz. In case youre wondering, heres a definition of free software. The free software foundation, which refers to the license as the modified bsd license, states that it is compatible with the gnu gpl. An update to the fsfs list of free software licenses lists the new apache license, version 2. The following licenses qualify as free software licenses, and are compatible with the gnu gpl. This license is a free software license, compatible with the gpl thanks to the relicensing option in section 4cii. These licenses are compatible with the gnu gpl version 2. But because gplv3 was written specifically for licensing software, it does have some differences from bysa, which are explained in more detail below.
Creative commons licenses are several licenses released on december 16, 2002 by creative commons, a u. A lax license does nothing to interfere with putting the code into proprietary software. Compatibility means that a person can now take a work they received under the terms of cc bysa 4. Unfortunately, the apache software foundation believes apache license version 2. The gplv3 is also compatible with later versions of the gpl iff the holder activates this feature. Cnri python open source gpl compatible license agreement. Lets say we have project foo licensed under boost, and project bar licensed under gpl and which wants to use foo. Mit licensed software can be relicensed as gpl software, and integrated with other gpl software, but not the other way around. This includes all free software licenses, as well as all proprietary software licenses. The licenses were originally written by richard stallman, former head of the free software foundation fsf, for the gnu project, and grant the recipients of a. The reference for this list can be found at gnus various licenses and comments about them page. See the full analysis and comparison for more information. This is a lax, permissive noncopyleft free software license, compatible with the gnu gpl.
That is, their code can be combined with a program under the gpl without conflict, and. May 25, 2002 whether it qualifies as a free software license. These licenses are incompatible with the gnu gpl version 3. Top 10 microsoft public license mspl questions answered. Richard stallman created the gpl to protect the gnu software from becoming proprietary, and it is a specific implementation of his copyleft. Jan 24, 2019 weve put together a quick list explaining the most commonly used open source licenses. Gpl software certification program free software foundation. Licenses common to free and opensource software foss are not necessarily compatible with each other, and this can make it. It is the minimal set of changes needed to correct the vagueness of the artistic license 1. Learn more about free software licenses and related issues. The apache software foundation is a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to open source software development. 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.
1147 1314 586 296 332 505 977 687 1393 718 1058 1200 553 676 1290 756 191 927 1059 605 838 297 1120 1071 1302 21 1137 652 892 886 850