What is foss licensesapache, bsd, gpl, lgpl explained. The gpl lgpl licenses mean free as in free speech, not free beer. Created by the free software foundation fsf, which has made. For example, if you distribute copies of the library, whether gratis or for a fee.
What are the essential differences between the bsd and mit. Gpl, also known as copyleft, grants permission to reuse or modify the source code to make derivative works, but if you distribute your program to others, it requires you to license your. The lgpl allows proprietary code to be linked to the gnu c library, glibc. If you use it as in include an unmodified lgpl library in your code, you do not have to license your code lgpl, but you do have to clearly state that it contains lgpl code.
Many of the most common free software licenses, such as the. Another difference between the bsd licenses and the mit license is how they deal with the meaning of software. Difference between gpl and lgpl compare the difference. Difference between different types of open sources licenses. The gnu lesser general public licence the lgpl is similar to the gpl, but is more designed for software libraries where you want to allow nongpl applications to link to your library and utilise it. It can also be read as a bsd versus gpl open source license introduction and.
If youre a software developer, you probably use open source components and libraries to build. Bsd license problem gnu project free software foundation. This is a lax, permissive free software license, compatible with the gnu gpl, which we. However, all things being equal, he prefers the general public license. We recommend that programs that use qt also acknowledge these contributions, and quote these license. If a bsd licensed program becomes orphaned, a company can simply take.
Mpl, epl, cddl etc therefore gpl may not be the best license for all situations, on the other side bsd license doesnt encourage collaboration because it allows open source software to be used as property software. Differences between gpl and lgpl when using licensed software. Bsd license is a very simple license that requires that all the code licensed under the bsd licensed. Prevents lockin is the primary reason people pick mit license over the. It basically allows developers to modify or recalibrate source code according to. What is the difference between a bsd and a gpl license. They essentially say if you make a derivative work of this, and distribute it to others under certain circumstances, then you have to provide the source code under this license. Mit applies to the documentation associated with the software, bsd doesnt. From this family, the most common licenses are the 3clause bsd license and the 2clause license. The gpl, lgpl, and mozilla licenses understanding open.
Various licenses and comments about them gnu project. The free software foundation considers the apache license, version 2. Gpl and lgpl open source licensing restrictions stack. The bsd license is intended to encourage product commercialization. Gnu lesser general public license free software license published by the free software foundation fsf. Bsd, and apache licenses that focus more on making sure that the code itself including any changes made to it and distributed along with it always remains free these are the less permissive free software licenses such as the gpl and lgpl. Affero gpl, which facilitates programs running on servers, and the lgpl. Unfortunately, i am linking to a library which is based on gpl. Keep in mind, however, that the lgpl related requirements kick in only when you start distributing your software. Gpl vs lgpl gpl and lgpl are software licenses that protect the freedom of the users to share andor change open source software. If you want to give your software away for free, use bsd.
The apache license, on the other hand, is favored by the big corporations for their open source projects. Choosing a license the hitchhikers guide to python. If you want your application to be a standalone executable, you have to. Bsd, unlike other licenses, does not require that source code be distributed at all. Qt contains some code that is not provided under the gnu lesser general public license lgpl or the qt commercial license, but rather under specific licenses from the original authors the qt company gratefully acknowledges these and other contributions to qt. 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. The osi recommends a mix of permissive and copyleft licences, the apache license 2. Gpl vs bsd, a matter of sustainability numerodix blog.
Why you should use a bsd style license for your open. Software licensed with any gnu license can be used and modified everywhere, without any. The differences between the gpl, lgpl and the bsd bsd is how i spell free bsd or gpl. Comparison of free and opensource software licences wikipedia. The mozilla public license mpl is a free and open source software license developed and maintained by the mozilla foundation. Why corporations favors the apache license over the gpllgpl. Second, if i distribute something that uses an lgpllicensed library, i must. The x11 license and the modified bsd license are more or less equivalent. With lgpl software, if you use it as in modify and redistribute it, then yes, you have to license your modifications under the lgpl. The 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.
In mit license, the word software with a capital s is explicitly defined as being this software and associated documentation files. I wrote software which i would like to release under the bsd license. With the gpl license, the software maintains more of the freedom than the programmers who work on it. The gpl licenses gplv3, gplv2, lgpl, affero gpl all contain some kind of sharealike license. The software freedom law center provides practical advice for developers about including permissively licensed source. A prime example of a weak copyleft license is the lgpl. Various licenses and comments about them gnu project free. Why you should use a bsd style license for your open source project. Gnu lgpl vs gpl lsoftware icensing short transcript. Gnu gpl, lgpl, apache licence types and differences. Open source licenses grant permission for anybody to use, modify, and share licensed software for any purpose, subject to conditions preserving the provenance and openness of the software.
The differences between the gpl, lgpl and the bsd fosswire. Software licenses in plain english lookup popular software licenses summarized ataglance. Holders of the mit license can produce, without restrictions, any. The main difference is that bsd berkeley software distribution is a permissive nonprotective license, while gpl is a copyleft protective license. The gnus general public license, or gpl, is one of the foundation open source licenses. Bsd licensed code can be sold or included in proprietary products without restriction on future behavior. Berkeley software distribution style licenses have been used to govern the development of exceptional open source projects such as apache. Most of them are equivalent except for details of wording, but the license used for bsd until 1999 had a special problem.
Can i release my software under gpl and later after rewriting the gpl library change license to bsd. This is the answer, and this is what fsf means by it has a copyleft that is not strong. If you use a library that is lgpl, and you statically link with that library, your software must be released with a compatible license. The 3clause modified bsd license includes a nonendorsement clause, which says users dont have the right to market software using bsd. Paraview uses a permissive bsd license that enables the broadest possible audience, including commercial organizations, to use the software, royalty free, for most purposes. However, because my software is not in the public domain, or under a bsd style free license, there are certain requirements. Right now i do not have time to rewrite that library. We generally recommend the latest version of the lgpl. Tldrlegal software licenses explained in plain english. Most software with licenses have restricted freedom when it comes to modifications and distribution, but gpl and lgpl. Strong copyleft licenses are inherently viral, weak copyleft licenses are not. Long before the term open source was used, software was. The gnu lgpl is very popular among independent developers and companies which mainly deals with open source software. See this page for clarification on the different kinds of licenses.
Apache 2 software can therefore be included in gplv3 projects, because the gplv3 license accepts our software. What is the difference between gpl, agpl and lgpl licenses. In this article, we take a look at the difference between this two licenses. It is a weak copyleft license, characterized as a middle ground between permissive free software licenses and the gnu general public license. Why should i release my code under bsd license and why not. There are many variants of simple noncopyleft free software licenses, such as the expat license, freebsd license, x10 license, the x11 license, and the two bsd berkeley software distribution licenses.