Why corporations favors the apache license over the gpllgpl. The apache license has some extra benefits over the bsd or mit x11 licensestyle licenses. Nov 01, 2017 facebook recently relicensed its open source projects react, jest, flow, and immutable. This is in distinction to permissive free software licenses like the bsd licenses and the mit license. It seems to me that the chief difference between the mit license and gpl is that the mit doesnt require modifications be open sourced whereas the. As a permissive license, it puts only very limited restriction on reuse and has, therefore, high license compatibility. There are many open source licenses to choose from, some of them being mit, gnu gpl, apache 2.
Once a code base is distributed as gpl, its further derived versions cannot be distributed under mit, apache or bsd license but must be gpl only. Copyleft licenses like gpl are, generally speaking, bad for business. This page presents the opinion of some debianlegal contributors on how certain licenses follow the debian free software guidelines dfsg. Large companies tend to prefer apache to mit because it goes into a huge amount of detail about pretty much every situation that could come up and is full of legalese, as opposed to mit which is short and therefore somewhat vague. Its totally possible and not at all uncommon to combine apache 2. In the bsd licenses, they talk about source code and binary form, no mention of documentation. The text should be enclosed in the appropriate comment syntax for the file format. Software licensing gpl agpl bsd mit apache eula youtube. I can include mitlicensed code in a gpllicensed product, but can i include gpllicensed code in a mitlicensed product. In mit license, the word software with a capital s is explicitly defined as being this software and associated documentation files. Like the modified bsd and mit licenses, the apache 2. If youre looking for a reference table of every license on. In contrast to lgpl, gpl requires that you provide the code for all changes made to the software.
Its no secret many individuals and also companies use the mit license, because it is one of the most permissive free software licenses. Yet, many foss licenses, like the apache license, and all free software. What are the major consequences of using apache software over mit. It doesnt matter if you think theres nothing patentable in your code. Software and open source licensing mit technology licensing. Notice that the popular licenses featured on the home page gnu gplv3 and mit fall within this spectrum. The mit, bsd, and isc licenses are permissive licenses. The openbsd policy argues that when the license forces one. Apr 07, 2017 differences in distribution, linking, modification, private use of open source licenses like mit, gnu gpl, apache 2.
They require all modifications, and any software based on the open source. Ensures that the software and its derivatives remain licensed under the same license to keep the software free and open source. The apache license has some extra benefits over the bsd or mit x11 license style licenses. With open source licenses explained here, it should help you choose the right open source license for your project. As a permissive license, it puts only very limited restriction on reuse and has, therefore, high license compatibility it is compatible because it can be relicensed under other licenses. Assembling license and notice files this is a how to guide for apache committers assembling license and notice files for an apache product.
Top 10 apache license questions answered whitesource. This is a how to guide for apache committers assembling license and notice files for an apache product overview. Software licensing gpl agpl bsd mit apache eula duration. If the mit license was sensitive, it might develop an inferiority complex in light of the constant praise heaped on its younger sibling, the apache license, which conventional wisdom says has a real patent license.
Too often, i hear it said that the mit license has no patent license, or that it has merely some possibility of an implied patent license. The mit license is the least restrictive license out there. The compiled mattermost team edition server, including source code and binaries for the mobile and desktop apps, are offered under either an mit or apache version 2. This mit license permits reuse of software in proprietary projects, provided any future licensed software contains a copy of the license terms and. It allows users to use the software for any purpose, to distribute it, to modify it, and to distribute modified versions of the software under the terms of the license, without concern for royalties. Mit is one of the most permissive free software licenses. So, for instance, the mit license grants users the right to deal in the software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, andor sell copies of the software. Among the two gpl is the basis of open source software for programmers. The apache license is a permissive free software license written by the apache software foundation asf. Assembling license and notice files apache software foundation. It is descriptive guidance, and does not supplant or otherwise modify any of the terms within the license itself. Suppose nice office is released under dual license mit and. This dooms it to being appropriate for only trivial projects.
The modified bsd license is not bad, as lax permissive licenses go, though the apache 2. This document provides guidance to contributors of apache nifi to help properly account for licensing, notice, and legal requirements. Secondly, any code you see on this site, my github account, or receive from me in any way is, unless otherwise explicitly stated, distributed under the terms of the mit license above. Let us examine why these corporations stay away from gpl and favor the apache license. Wordpress was my first exposure to open source software.
Various licenses and comments about them gnu project. The terms state that users cant remove existing, patent, trademarks and attribution notices. The mit license also known as the x11 license or mit x license is a software license that was originally developed at the massachusetts institute of technology. In fact if i recall it motivated some of the changes in gpl3 in order to make it compatible with the apache license. The apache license is a permissive open source software license so you can release your modified version of the apache licensed product under any license of your choice. Mit license spot the differences due to the helpful visualizations at a glance category. Most surveys indicate that the vast majority of open source projects use the mit license, the apache license, and the gpl or their variants. The common understanding while i was working on apache code a while back was that you could incorporate bsd, mit, and similar licensed libraries but you could not do the same for gpl based licenses.
This is obviously not an indictment of the license itself, but it means developers will be less familiar with it. Various licenses and comments about them gnu project free. This is a comparison of free and opensource software licenses. The fsf free software foundation works to ensure that gpl protects the.
Difference between different types of open sources licenses. The mit license is if youre afraid no one will use your code. Yet, many foss licenses, like the apache license, and all free software licenses allow commercial use of foss components. Its also arguable whether the licenses mentioned other than apache have an implicit patent grant. A short guide to open source licenses smashing magazine. Feb 14, 2018 software licensing gpl agpl bsd mit apache eula duration. We welcome enquiries from maintainers considering particular licenses, but we. 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. The gnulgpl is very popular among independent developers and companies which mainly deal with open source software. Tldrlegal provides generally good summaries of licenses. Why so little love for the patent grant in the mit license. The following licenses are sorted by the number of conditions, from most gnu agplv3 to none unlicense. So, youre working on that cool new project for a while and youre ready now to make the critical move from closed source to open source. Heres the second post in our open source software license faq series.
The apache license is an open source software license released by the apache software foundation asf. May 31, 2012 the licenses seen most often are the following. Of these licenses, the apache license is seen pretty infrequently outside of apache software foundation software. The mit license is a permissive free software license originating at the massachusetts institute of technology mit in the late 1980s. The apache software foundation uses various licenses to distribute software and documentation, to accept regular contributions from individuals and corporations, and to accept larger grants of existing software products. It is similar to the bsd license, which was first used for the berkeley source distribution, a version of unix that was developed at the. It is no wonder facebook went with mit instead of apache2. The tlo will discuss open source licensing strategies with the authors. What permissive licenses mit, bsd, apache allow is for developers to build on top of open source code but then release proprietary, closedsource applications, not giving to their users the same freedom they as developers had in. Mit license expat explained in plain english tldrlegal. The comparison only covers software licenses with a linked article for details, approved by at least one expert group at the fsf, the osi, the debian project or the fedora project. With mit you can do whatever you like, you only need to make sure youre following this one rule.
The difference between the gpl and the lgpl is that with the lgpl, the entire work doesnt have to have the same license. Generally, mit recommends either the bsd license or the gplv2 or lgplv2 licenses. You can freely use, modify, distribute and sell a software licensed under the apache license without worrying about the use of software. What are the essential differences between the bsd and mit. The apache license you are somewhat afraid of no one using your code, but you are also afraid of legal ambiguity and patent trolls. Linus torvalds says gpl v3 violates everything that gplv2 stood for duration. Nov 08, 2015 linus torvalds says gpl v3 violates everything that gplv2 stood for duration. When comparing mit license vs gplv2, the slant community recommends mit license for most people.
Among other things, were often asking joe about software licensing issues. As of 2015, according to black duck software and github, the apache license is the third most popular license in the foss domain after mit license and gplv2. If youre looking for a reference table of every license on, see the appendix. Mit license vs gplv2 detailed comparison as of 2020 slant.
The apache license, on the other hand, is favored by the big corporations for their open source projects. The osis open source criteria focuses on the availability of the source code and the advantages of an unrestricted and community driven development model. The license file communicates the licensing of all content in an apache product distribution. The apache software license was based in large part on bsd and mit style licenses. It is possible for example to take mit, apache or bsd license code, modified and distributed under gpl.
Nonjudgmental guidance on choosing a license for your open source project. The gnulgpl is very popular among independent developers and companies which mainly deals with open source software. Comparison of free and opensource software licenses wikipedia. Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files the software, to deal in the software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, andor sell copies of the software, and to permit. Jan 17, 2020 permissive licenses include the mit and apache 2. What are the essential differences between the bsd and mit licences. Our licensing benefits it organizations and end users seeking an open source, selfhosted alternative to proprietary saas solutions for team messaging. It lets people do almost anything they want with your project, like making and distributing closed source versions. For that reason, i would only use the apache license if i was absolutely sure i wanted it and nothing else.
It always contains the text of the apache license, and sometimes more. There are no restrictions against commercial use and the apache 2. And another brief read about the top things to know about the apache license. The mit opensource license is permissive in nature and also one of the. Apache license spot the differences due to the helpful visualizations at a glance category. To apply the apache license to your work, attach the following boilerplate notice, with the fields enclosed by brackets replaced with your own identifying information.
Weve compiled a list of your top 10 questions about the gpl license in the last post. The osi recommends a mix of permissive and copyleft licenses, the apache license 2. The gnu gplv3 is the most popular copyleft license but is steadily losing market share compared to permissive licenses. It is compatible because it can be relicensed under other licenses. 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. An open source license protects contributors and users. The apache license is a free and open source software foss licensing agreement from the apache software foundation asf. The guidance in this document is meant to compliment apache software foundation guides and policies.
May 26, 2014 when and wherever possible, however, i will always use the mit license for my code and will only use a gpl license if given no other option. This detailed guide gives you an effective open source licenses comparison. Most of these opinions were formed in discussions on the debianlegal mailing list in response to questions from potential package maintainers or licensors. Jun 25, 2019 the difference between the gpl and the lgpl is that with the lgpl, the entire work doesnt have to have the same license. The openbsd project does not consider the apache license 2. Oct 16, 2019 according to research by white source, the most popular permissive licenses are mit and apache 2. Differences in distribution, linking, modification, private use of open source licenses like mit, gnu gpl, apache 2. However, it is risky to recommend use of the bsd license, even for special cases such as small programs, because confusion could easily occur and lead to use of the flawed original bsd license. While open sourcing a project, one needs a license so that the terms distribution, linking, modification, private use, etc. Once the tlo has approved release of the software via an open source license, you may then post or distribute your software under such open source license.
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