3 ms·
Ask HN: what's the best guide to code licenses you've come across?
I've got a working grasp of open-source code licences, but I'm determined to get my head more fully around them, so that I can be 100% confident about the side-effects of using open-source projects with a given licence.
I want to end up with a good, working grasp of GPL (incl versions), AGPL, BSD, MIT and as many other [relatively] common setups as I can, and be able to explain them quickly and correctly to others. To get me on the road to that, it'd be great to get a few pointers to good/trusted sources of knowledge that are relatively easily graspable.
I am not a lawyer, and I am busy making things, so summaries/grids/lookup tables are particularly welcome. :o)
- xxqs 15y agoit's very easy: GPL: nobody can distribute your software as a closed-source system. Nobody can also link your software with non-opensource ones. BSD, MIT, Apache: anyone is allowed to do anything with your code, provided that reference to your name is preserved. If you code an open-source product, but it's intended for enterprise integration with lots of non-opensource components, go for a non-GPL licence, like MIT. In most other cases, GPL is everything you need. For non-software products that you want to share, use Creative Commons licenses.
- ecaron 15y agoFor non-software products that you want to share, use Creative Commons licenses. That selection in itself isn't easy, which is probaby why they have a page dedicated to that decision: http://creativecommons.org/choose/ http://creativecommons.org/choose/
- xxqs 15y agoof course, every such decision needs research and reading. Nothing is easy :)
- ecaron 15y agoI've found Jeff Atwood's article on the topic to be the most useful selector of when what license is appropriate: http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2007/04/pick-a-license-any-license.html http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2007/04/pick-a-license-any-...
- xxqs 15y agogood one, missing only one important license: CDDL
- bkyan 15y agoDon't forget MPL2 at http://www.mozilla.org/MPL/2.0/ http://www.mozilla.org/MPL/2.0/
- apo 15y agoBy far the best work on this subject has been written by Lawrence Rosen in his book "Open Source Licensing": http://www.rosenlaw.com/oslbook.htm http://www.rosenlaw.com/oslbook.htm Free to read online - or buy a hardcopy. Unlike less useful works, Rosen actually provides a model for thinking about open source models. Even if you only care about commercial software licensing, this this information in this book will be valuable.