It lets people do almost anything they want with your project, like making and distributing closed source versions. Comparison of free and opensource software licenses wikipedia. The gnu gpl requires that when you use gpllicensed software to make some other software, the resulting software also has to be opensourced with the same license if its released to. A federal court has ruled that an opensource license is an.
Gplv3 improved compatibility with several open source software licenses such as apache license, version 2. 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. The only thing we ask is that people submit their improvements and modifications back to us so that all winmerge users may benefit. Gpl is provided through the free software foundation, a nonprofit corporation that works to provide free software for the gnu project. 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. Developing software and releasing the software as open source under the gnu general public license making modifications or improvements to existing gnulicensed software both activities are permitted. This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful. In this article, well take a look at some popular open source licenses and what they entail. What is open source software, and why does it matter. Yes, we have based the sspl on the gnu general public license, version 3, but it is a new license introduced.
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 gnu general public license, often shortened to gnu gpl or simply gpl, lists terms and conditions for copying, modifying and distributing free. The gnus general public license is the most popular open source. Gnu general public license version 2 open source initiative. The actual definition open source was based on the debian free software guidelines, written and adapted in the us primarily by bruce perens in 19981999 and now used by the open source initiative. Top 10 gnu gpl license questions answered whitesource. The gnu gpl allows users to change and share all versions of a program. They want others to be able to build on and share their code. Wordpress is an open source software project, and a fierce believer in the values of the open web. Aug 27, 2019 sometimes the term open source os is used interchangeably with public domain pd software, but theyre not the same thing. A primer on open source software for business people and. Choose a license that is recognized as an open source software license by the open source initiative osi, a free software license by the free software foundation fsf, and is acceptable to widelyused linux distributions such as being a good license for fedora. Licence zabbix the enterpriseclass open source network.
Winmerge is open source software under the gnu general public license this means everybody can download the source code and improve and modify it. Gpl is the acronym for gnus general public license, and its one of the most. Both public domain and open source software allow users to access and alter the source code of the software for the program itself. Gnu gpl general public license is the most known among open.
How open source licenses work and how to add them to your. Marco fioretti answers a techrepublic members questions about charging fees for software thats made available under the gnu gpl license version 2 or 3. 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. Many developers and designers want to release their work into the world as opensource projects. The licenses for most software and other practical works are designed to take away your freedom to share and change the works. Without an open source license, the software component is unusable by. Jun 09, 2016 the gnu general public license gnu gpl or simply gpl is a widely used open source software license, originally written by richard stallman for the gnu project. On november 27, three linuxusing technology powers. Big four linux companies shift opensource licensing. Its generally appropriate for libraries and projects that want to allow linking from nongpl and nonopensource. Richard stallman created the gpl to protect the gnu software from becoming proprietary, and it is a specific implementation of his copyleft. Gnu general public license version 3 open source initiative.
Nov 19, 20 marco fioretti answers a techrepublic members questions about charging fees for software thats made available under the gnu gpl license version 2 or 3. Releasing software as open source or contributing software to. This is a comparison of free and open source software licenses. The result is that any software that uses any gpl open source. Wordpress uses the gnu public license, which provides a platform for technical expansion and. Sep 15, 2017 ultimately, both open source and free software advocates are developing the same type of software, but they disagree on the messaging. The open source variant that has received the most attention and that has caused the most sleepless nights among commercial software developers, investors and those involved in mergers and. Gnu general public license gpl the gnus general public license is the most popular open source license around. Some modules we make are using more permissive licenses, though, for example, the. Jan 24, 2019 weve put together a quick list explaining the most commonly used open source licenses. The gnu affero general public license version 3 agplv3 is a copyleft license nearly identical to the gplv3. The gnu general public license gpl is a free, copyleft license used primarily for software. How to choose the best license for your open source software.
The gnu gplv3 also lets people do almost anything they want with your project, except distributing. Licenses available for open source software include the gnu general publice license gpl, apache license, mit license example of open source software are mozilla firefox, gimp, libreoffice, apache web server, gnu linux os, android, vlc media player. Both licenses have the same copyleft scope, but materially differ in one important way. We provide the source code of the gpl programs until five 5 years after the discontinuation of same model of this projector product. The creative commons attributionsharealike international license version 4. Open source software software distributed with a license that allows anyone to use, view, modify, and share the softwares source code. Big four linux companies shift opensource licensing policies. To get around this, licenses such as the gnu affero general public license agpl have a stipulation that users who access the software over a network are also entitled to receive the source code. Difference between different types of open sources licenses. It means more than just access to the source code it.
Finding a good open source alternative isnt always about licensing or source code availability. The gpl license grants the users irrevocable rights to use, modify and redistribute software even commercially under the condition that software or its derivatives retain the gpl license and that the source code is included or. We recommend that people consider using the gnu agpl for any software which will commonly be run over a network. The following licenses are sorted by the number of conditions, from most gnu agplv3 to none unlicense. 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. Open source licenses are licenses that comply with the open source definition in brief, they allow software to be freely used, modified, and shared. You must make sure that they, too, receive or can get the source code. Advantages they are freethe software are free to use, modify and redistribute the source code. The new bsd license 3clause license allows unlimited redistribution for any purpose as long as its notices and the licenses disclaimers of warranty are maintained. How to choose the best license for your open source. The only way that this is possible from a legal perspective is through the open source licensing system. Gplv2the gnu general public license allows for free usage, modification, and distribution of covered code, but the original license must remain intact and covers both the original.
Sometimes the term open source os is used interchangeably with public domain pd software, but theyre not the same thing. Definition of gpl or general public license also known as gnu gpl, the open source free software license adapted by wordpress other free software. Nov 02, 2016 the gnu general public license exists to protect the liberties of software creators and users alike. There are many different licenses used by open source projects, depending on which the developers prefer for their program. 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 gnu general public license gnu gpl or simply gpl is a widely used open source software license, originally written by richard stallman for the gnu project. Understanding opensource and free software licensing medium. 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. Comparison of free and opensource software licenses. Sometimes, its about finding a tool that works better for you than what you were using previously. The gnu general public license gnu gpl or gpl is a series of widely used free software licenses that guarantee end users the freedom to run, study, share, and modify the software.
Mar 24, 2010 both have been verified as gplcompatible free software licenses, and have been accepted as open source licenses by the open source initiative. Gpl the gnu public license, a software license that allows. Nov 27, 2017 the gnu public license version 2 gplv2 is arguably the most important open source license for one reason. In this article, well take a look at some popular open source licenses and what they. There are lots of websites out there that dont publish their source code, and we all use them every day. The gnu general public license is a free, copyleft license for software and other kinds.
May 11, 2017 the gnu gpl requires that when you use gpllicensed software to make some other software, the resulting software also has to be opensourced with the same license if its released to the public. The creative commons attributionsharealike international. Oct 17, 2017 the license of your source code must be compatible with the license of the open source code you are linking to. Apr 07, 2017 gnu lesser general public license it grants fewer right to work than gnu gpl. The gnu affero general public license is based on the gnu gpl, but has an additional term to allow users who interact with the licensed software over a network to receive the source for that program. This projector product includes the open source software programs which apply the gnu general public license version 2 or later version gpl programs. By contrast, the gnu general public license is intended to guarantee your freedom to share and change all versions of a. The following licenses are in use for r or associated software such as packages. Both public domain and opensource software allow users to.
The gnu license is the most popular open source license. Feb 24, 2020 gplv2the gnu general public license allows for free usage, modification, and distribution of covered code, but the original license must remain intact and covers both the original project and. Zabbix is a 100% open source software and is released under gnu general public license gpl version 2. Source code is basically a list of commands that dictate how the program executes. A short guide to open source licenses smashing magazine. Top 10 best open source softwares that rocks world wide web. Developing software and releasing the software as open source under the gnu general public license making modifications or improvements to existing gnu licensed software both activities are permitted under the ut system administrative policy referenced above.
The gpl, or gnu general public license, is widely used by many open. The actual definition open source was based on the debian free software guidelines, written and adapted in the us primarily by bruce perens in 19981999 and now used by the open source initiative osi 1 to determine whether or not a software license can be considered open source. Some modules we make are using more permissive licenses, though, for example, the blender cycles rendering engine is available as apache 2. 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.
Weve put together a quick list explaining the most commonly used open source licenses. A federal court has ruled that an opensource license is. Open source software license gnu gpl this projector product includes the open source software programs which apply the gnu general public license version 2 june 1991 gpl programs. Compare free and opensource software, public domain and freeware with examples. For instance, if your code is proprietary, you wont be allowed to use a library under the gpl license. Explaining and understanding the gnu general public license. For a list of licenses not specifically intended for software, see list of free content licenses. The gnu general public license is a free, copyleft license for software and other kinds of works. Open source alternatives to grammarly for word processing. Gnu general public license gpl the gnus general public license is the most popular open source. The gnu gpl is the most widely used free software license and has a strong copyleft requirement. Sspl is a perfectly serviceable opensource license, and like gpl and agpl, rather than prohibit software from being run as a service, sspl requires that you opensource all programs that.
May 30, 2019 sspl is a perfectly serviceable open source license, and like gpl and agpl, rather than prohibit software from being run as a service, sspl requires that you open source all programs that you use. Jun 29, 2007 the gnu general public license is a free, copyleft license for software and other kinds of works. Are you basing the sspl on an osirecognized open source license. Zabbix is a 100% opensource software and is released under gnu general public license gpl version 2. This is a comparison of free and opensource software licenses. The gnu affero general public license is a free, copyleft license for software and other kinds of works, specifically designed to ensure cooperation with the community in the case of network server software. The gnu public license version 2 gplv2 is arguably the most important opensource license for one reason. Learn more about this license, and discover what can and cannot be done under it. What is gnu general public license gnu gpl or simply gpl. Releasing software as open source or contributing software. Wordpress uses the gnu public license, which provides a platform for technical expansion and encourages adaptation and innovation. Gnu affero general public license version 3 open source.