If its worth money to you its important to get your licensing right. The boilerplate can be found at the end of the license. Jul 24, 2018 in the absence of distribution, a user is merely using the software, and since the act of running the gpl code is not subject to the license, one does not have to share their modifications to the code. If they make any use of your gpl code in their project for example linking to your library gpl will force them to opensource their entire project too when they distribute it this is why gpl known as a viral licence. A noncopyleft license is simply one that permits the code to be incorporated in a program. Aug 26, 2008 in this section, we explain the specific requirements placed upon distributors of gpld software. Most surveys indicate that the vast majority of open source projects use the mit license, the apache license, and the gpl or their variants. As you can see, the gpllgpl is the most popular license by a wide margin with over 45% of software being licensed under one or more versions.
The free software foundation considers the apache license, version 2. Lgpl may make your code more useful to others, while still protecting your work. It is a specific implementation of his copyleft concept. Gnu general public license this license, commonly known as the gpl, has two versions that are actively and widely used in many open source communities. The incompatibility of apache2 and gpl2 is well documented. In addition to clarifying the rules about licenses that are already gplcompatible, gplv3 is also newly compatible with a few other licenses. Mozilla is the custodian of the mozilla public license mpl, an open sourcefree software license. The software freedom law center provides practical advice for developers about including permissively licensed source.
Gnu gpl license terms open source softwares stack overflow. This license, commonly known as the gpl, has two versions that are actively and widely used in many open source communities. We will make several changes to gp, software to make it work with our device and are ok to make derived source code open source. The bestknown copyleft licenses are the gnu general public license gpl2 and its more recent cousin the gnu affero general public license agpl3, but there are others as well. A list of the most popular open source software licenses can be found here. It has also been designated as gpl compatible by the free software foundation fsf. Handbrake handbrake is an opensource, gpllicensed, multiplatform, multithreaded video transcoder, available. The purpose of the spdx license list is to enable easy and efficient identification of such licenses and exceptions in an spdx document, in. A practical guide to gpl compliance software freedom law. This graph shows how license usage has changed from 2010 to 2017. As of 2020, mit was the most popular software license found in one analysis, continuing from reports in 2015 that mit was the most popular software license on github, ahead of any gpl variant and other free and open source software foss licenses. This document attempts to draw together the main features of the gnu general public license v2 into a friendly and comprehensible digest and, in addition, to.
This page contains answers to commonly asked questions about the gnu general public license gpl, version 2. If you want to use or distribute code licensed under the mpl 2. You can therefore only license code under the lgpl2. In this blog we will start off by looking at two of the open source licenses we use at the hyve, apache 2. May 24, 2017 in our previous blog post you could read about open source software and why it is important to add a software license to your software. This is in distinction to permissive free software licenses, of which the bsd licenses and the mit license are widelyused lessrestrictive examples. The latest version of the gpl, version 3 what to do if you see a possible gpl violation translations. Note that this section refers heavily to specific provisions and language in gplv2 and gplv3. However below situation do exist for us in order to complete the whole package. It may be helpful to have a copy of each license open while reading this. According to the chart it would appear that the popularity of open source licensing has subsequently shifted to the mit and apache licenses. In this section, we explain the specific requirements placed upon distributors of gpld software.
It may be helpful to have a copy of each license open while reading this section. While the gpl is an open source license, it is fundamentally a free software license. Handbrake handbrake is an open source, gpl licensed, multiplatform, multithreaded video transcoder, available. You can therefore only license code under the lgpl 2. Learn more about this license, and discover what can and cannot be done under it. Original license means this artistic license as distributed with the standard version of the package, in its current version or as it may be modified by the perl foundation in the future. A practical guide to gpl compliance software freedom law center. Feb 24, 2020 most people have at least heard of open source software by nowand even have a fairly good idea of what it is. Spdx license list software package data exchange spdx. Gplv3 improved compatibility with several open source software licenses such as apache license, version 2. Open source license compatibility gplv3 and apache 2. The gnu general public licence gpl is probably one of the most commonly used licenses for opensource projects. If they make any use of your gpl code in their project for example linking to your library gpl will force them to open source their entire project too when they distribute it this is why gpl known as a viral licence. The free software foundation recommends taking the additional step of adding a boilerplate notice to the top of each file.
In addition to clarifying the rules about licenses that are already gpl compatible, gplv3 is also newly compatible with a few other licenses. Approximately 60% of all opensource software is under this license. To learn more about the free software foundations other licenses, please see our licenses page. The gpl is a copyleft license, which means that derivative work must be opensource and distributed under the same license terms.
We are planning to use an open source gnu gpl license software for distribution also with the hardware we sell. Gplv3 of june 29, 2007 contains the basic intent of gplv2 and is an open source license with a strict copyleft what types of licenses are there for open source software, and how do they differ. Source form means the source code, documentation source, and configuration files for the package. As much as i love the work of the free software foundation. Richard stallman created the gpl to protect the gnu software from being made proprietary. Jan 30, 2018 open source software projects and other developers can also use and distribute open source applications with the gpllicensed mysql client libraries under the terms of the foss license exception without causing the entire derivative work to be subject to the gpl. While the project strives to adhere to the preferred license, there are. The long and short of itif you use open source software within your software development project, any permissive license should be fine.
The gpl is the template for all licenses with a strict copyleft as well as version 2 gnu. Can i use an open source library licensed under apache. Gpl was the first copyleft license for general use. Differences in distribution, linking, modification, private use of open source licenses like mit, gnu gpl, apache 2. Apr 07, 2017 differences in distribution, linking, modification, private use of open source licenses like mit, gnu gpl, apache 2. Open source software projects and other developers can also use and distribute open source applications with the gpllicensed mysql client libraries under the terms of the foss license exception without causing the entire derivative work to be subject to the gpl. Lots of great free software is available under this license, with strong communities surrounding it.
I want to use some open source softwares in my website for commercial use. As a free software license, much of the stewardship and support for the gpl has been driven by the free software foundation. May 11, 2014 as you can see, the gpl lgpl is the most popular license by a wide margin with over 45% of software being licensed under one or more versions. Gnu general public license version 2 open source initiative. Unter gpl lizenzierte software darf fur alle zwecke ausgefuhrt werden auch.
Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met. The free software foundation fsf is now officially set to revise version 2 of the license and has announced the gpl version. This license agreement is between beopen, having an office at 160 saratoga avenue, santa clara, ca 95051, and the individual or organization licensee accessing and otherwise using this software in source or binary form and its associated documentation the software. Tldrlegal software licenses explained in plain english. 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. The spdx license list is a list of commonly found licenses and exceptions used in free and open source and other collaborative software or documentation. A quick guide to gplv3 gnu project free software foundation. The next 3 licenses are all gpl compatible in some way meaning 67% to 87% or more of all open source code is gpl compatible and can be added to gpl licensed projects. Or, you may accidentally make your software incompatible with the free software definition or the open source definition, or with the other commonlyused free software licenses that mpl 2. Wordpress is an open source software project, and a fierce believer in the values of the open web. This general public license applies to most of the free software.
However, gplv3 software could only be combined and share code with gplv2 software if the gplv2 license used had the optional or later clause and the. The gpl is one of the most popular open source license. By not fully understanding this unique license feature, open source software developers may inadvertently create ambiguity. Dont believe the hype, agpl open source licensing is toxic. This license agreement applies to any software library which contains a notice. If your software is a combinedderivate work withof apache2 software, you cannot license that software under the gpl2 and therefore cannot license it under the lgpl2. 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.
Difference between different types of open sources licenses. Approximately 70% of the projects in the software repository sourceforge use the gpl v2. Apache 2 software can therefore be included in gplv3 projects, because the gplv3. Not at allthere are many other free software licenses. This can be further shortened to gpl, when it is understood that the gnu gpl is the one intended. Most people have at least heard of open source software by nowand even have a fairly good idea of what it is. 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. The gpl family of licenses is unique among open source licenses in how past, current, and future versions of the license may apply to the software program. Is it legal to do that under the gpl license terms.
If you have licensed software youve written under gpl version 2, and you are the original licensor of that software, you may wish to relicense your software under gpl version 3. It comes in several versions but for a new project, you should consider the most recent, which is the gpl 3 at the time of this writing. Sep 05, 2017 this is why, by black ducks own analysis of over two million open source projects, permissive licenses power over 50% of all open source projects and even more if we recognize that gpl 2. You must make sure that they, too, receive or can get the source code. This general public license applies to most of the free software foundations software and to any other program whose authors commit to using it. The incompatibility of apache 2 and gpl 2 is well documented. Top 10 gnu gpl license questions answered whitesource. Wordpress uses the gnu public license, which provides a platform for technical expansion and encourages adaptation and innovation.
The most widespread such license is the gnu general public license, or gnu gpl for short. The free software foundation, license steward of the lgpl, regards this license as. The faq for the current version of the gpl is here. Infecting means derived program violate gpl, infected means gpl program violate its own license. Gpl is the acronym for gnus general public license, and its one of the most popular open source licenses. Supporting a strong copyleft, the gpl is probably the most protective free software license. By contrast, the gnu general public license is intended to guarantee your freedom to share and change free softwareto make sure the software is free for all its users. In our previous blog post you could read about open source software and why it is important to add a software license to your software. Nov 10, 2005 the gnu general public license v2 gpl v2 for short is the most commonly used open source licence. But after 14 years of use, its keepers say its time for a refresh. Gpl is the cornerstone of the free software movement and the guiding license of linux and open source software.
That means you are free to download, reuse, modify, and distribute any files hosted in s git repositories under the terms of either the gpl version 2 or version 3, and to run drupal in combination with any code with any license that is compatible with either versions 2 or 3, such as the affero general public license agpl version 3. This is why, by black ducks own analysis of over two million open source projects, permissive licenses power over 50% of all open source projects. The gpl grants and guarantees a wide range of rights to developers who work on opensource projects. The apache software foundation is a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to open source software development. Gnu library general public license version 2 open source initiative. Basically, it allows users to legally copy, distribute and modify software. A short guide to open source licenses smashing magazine. However, the language of the license text was strongly amended and is much more comprehensive in response to technical and legal changes and. Gpl program is infecting and infected the parent and the child non gpl process proprietary and even other open source license from the perspective of law. In reading it, it is clear that usage of the gpl 2. The majority of the netbeans ide code is available under a dual license consisting of the common development and distribution license cddl v1. The android open source project aosp uses a few open source initiative approved open source licenses for our software. If your software is a combinedderivate work withof apache 2 software, you cannot license that software under the gpl 2 and therefore cannot license it under the lgpl 2.
Gnu general public license, version 2 spdx short identifier. The common development and distribution license cddl and gnu public license v. What are the most important open source licenses, and what type of. Software unter solchen lizenzen kann als freie oder open source software. The gpl the gnu general public license the most popular copyleft licence, sometimes gets a hostile press, often for reasons that dont reflect its real and positive effects.
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