The text should be enclosed in the appropriate comment syntax for the file format. The gpl protects the average users freedom to run, study, modify and distribute software. The content on this website, of which is the author, is licensed under a creative commons attribution 4. Compliance costs and the apache license apache openoffice. Gpl, lgpl, apache, bsd, the great thing about open source code is the large amount of high quality code that is available and many embedded projects use foss code as it really speeds up development time. Xml commons contains some software and documentation that is covered under a number of different licenses. Gpl vs apachemit licenses the ethical dilemma in open. Bsd license problem gnu project free software foundation. Projects must use the apache license and header for code developed and released within the project, including license, notice, and source headers. Its list distinguishes between free software licenses that are compatible or incompatible with the fsfs copyleft gnu general public license. Open source is all about giving sourcecode for free, but both these camps differ on under what terms the code be given. The apache software foundation uses various licenses to distribute software and documentation, to accept regular contributions from individuals and.
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, including the linux kernel, the gnu tools and literally hundreds of. To inspect the license terms please consult the license and notice files in the root directory of the distribution. Compliance costs and the apache license the apache openoffice compliance advantages as you probably already know, you dont own software in the same way you own a chair or a desk. Tldrlegal provides generally good summaries of licenses. Xalan software license notice notice file corresponding to section 4d of the apache license. Jan 21, 20 apache is decent model when you have expertise and money, but do not have significant market share yet. The free software foundation prefers copyleft sharealike free software licensing rather than permissive free software licensing for most purposes.
These licenses help us achieve our goal of providing reliable and longlived software products through collaborative open source software development. The mit license is if youre afraid no one will use your code. Difference between different types of open sources licenses. Once the rights under apache license have been granted, you can continue to use them forever, theres no need of renewing it. Licensed works, modifications, and larger works may be distributed under different terms and without source code. Gpl vs apachemit licenses the ethical dilemma in open source the opinion in the foss world is quite divided on the matter of these two kinds of licensing or rather camps. 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. Java compilation software for jsp pages is provided by eclipse, which is open source software. The apache license, on the other hand, is favored by the big corporations for their open source projects. Gnu project the gnu operating system and the free software. Apache extras provides a home for apache related software which is not formally a part of the asf itself.
May 31, 2012 of these licenses, the apache license is seen pretty infrequently outside of apache software foundation software. Mit is often referred to as the x11 license, since many versions have been used by mit in the past. Log4j project licenses the apache software foundation. Ultimately, apache projects report to, and are responsible to, the apache software foundation board of directors, which mandates these policies for the asf as a whole. This is obviously not an indictment of the license itself, but it means developers will be less familiar with it. The gnulgpl is very popular among independent developers and companies which mainly deals with open source software. Where i work contracts and grants prefers that we use bsd because they. To apply the apache license to your work, attach the following boilerplate notice, with the fields enclosed by brackets replaced with your own. The apache software license was based in large part on bsd and mit style licenses. In this article, we take a look at the difference between this two licenses to find out why. Yet, many foss licenses, like the apache license, and all free software licenses allow commercial use of foss components. For software licensed under the apache license version 2. The differences between the gpl, lgpl and the bsd fosswire.
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. The apache software foundation has a long history of software innovation through collaboration. Various licenses and comments about them gnu project. The gpl is by far the best software license for endusers of the code. The apache license is a permissive free software license written by the apache software foundation asf. A permissive license whose main conditions require preservation of and license notices. Why corporations favors the apache license over the gpllgpl. Instead, you license the software from the publisher. Unless otherwise noted all files in xml commons are covered under the apache license version 2. You can freely use, modify, distribute and sell a software licensed under the apache license without worrying about the use of software. The apache license you are somewhat afraid of no one using your code, but you are also afraid of legal ambiguity and patent trolls. Bsdlicense spot the differences due to the helpful visualizations at a glance category. The apache license has some extra benefits over the bsd or mit x11 licensestyle licenses. Another goal is to write homebrew applications with a legal and free software development kit consisting of the library libxenon and the appropriate crosscompiler toolchain xenontoolchain.
Apache grants you a right to use any patents the code may use. Sqlcipher license information sqlciphers community edition is open source software available under a permissive license that allows its use in both open source and commercial products. Companies of all sizes should consider forming such open source projects when it is. The terms state that users cant remove existing, patent, trademarks and attribution notices. Apache fop comes with a number of libraries all of which are currently coming from within the apache software foundation. Works based on this software may be used with a proprietary license, or it may be licensed as closed source software. All products that include sqlcipher including those that use the commercial edition binaries must abide by the sqlcipher license, as well as the licenses for. For more information on the apache software foundation, please see. The orginal software and related information is available at.
Why you should use a bsd style license for your open. For that reason, i would only use the apache license if i was absolutely sure i wanted it and nothing else. The content on this website, of which is the author, is licensed under a. Apache licensing and distribution faq apache software. 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. 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. Alternately, this acknowledgment may appear in the software itself, if and wherever such thirdparty acknowledgments normally appear. Adherents of gplstyle licensing continue to insist that all software should be free and the license must manacle any attempts to extend it with proprietary software. The group open source initiative osi defines and maintains a list of approved opensource licenses. Xalan software license notice notice file corresponding to. Subject to the terms and conditions of this license, each contributor hereby grants to you a perpetual, worldwide, nonexclusive, nocharge, royaltyfree, irrevocable except as stated in this section patent license to make, have made, use, offer to sell, sell, import, and otherwise transfer the work, where such license applies only to those. Bsd allows for the proprietary use of software, and allows the specific software to be used along with proprietary products. If you want to use a lax, permissive noncopyleft free software license, it is much better to use the modified bsd license, the x11 license or the expat license.
The full license text can also be accessed via the web from the apache licenses page. Non software enterprises like banks or states and folk like your dad benefit a lot from gpl license. Bsd license example license for template files apache. A 72% market share for the leading permissive licenses, at least among github users. Some of the licenses can be applied only to s and not patents. What are the real life implications for an apache 2 license. Comparison of free and opensource software licences. Top 10 apache license questions answered whitesource. Even if rights are granted for one country, automatically, theyre granted in all countries. Of course, it isnt free enough for a open source read proprietary software peon like. The apache software license asl is a license scheme for free and opensource computer software foss written by the apache software foundation asf. The common understanding while i was working on apache code a while back was that you could.
How should i apply the apache license to my own software. I can take program a and use it, read the source, modify it e. Even better, for a substantial program, use the apache 2. Feb 23, 20 tldrlegal provides generally good summaries of licenses. Asl allows projects and software to be freely downloaded and used, may it be in whole or in part, for personal, company or commercial purposes and without concern for. Like other open source licenses, the apache license explicitly allows you to copy and redistribute the covered product, without any license fees or royalties. May i reuse and modify the asf contributor license agreements clas for my own purposes. The following table compares various features of each license and is a general guide to the terms and conditions of each 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. Another goal is to write homebrew applications with a legal and free software development kit consisting of the.
An effort towards porting linux and related open source operating systems to the xbox 360. When you want to refer specifically to one of the bsd licenses, please always state which one. This license has been superseded by the apache license, version 2. Contributors provide an express grant of patent rights. Portions of this software are based upon public domain software originally written. Projects must not include software with unapproved or restricted licenses in apache project releases unless following explicit exceptions. All software produced by the apache software foundation or any of its projects or subjects is licensed according to the terms of the documents listed below. The apache license is recognised by the open source initiative as a popular and widely deployed licence with a strong community. Or you could mention the noncopyleft license which we recommend over the other noncopyleft licenses. Osi agrees with fsf on all widely used freesoftware licenses, but differ from fsfs list, as it approves.
All of these licenses assume youre afraid of being sued. The asf and its projects release their software products under the apache license. It allows users to use the software for any purpose, to distribute it, to modify it, and to distribute. Mit license spot the differences due to the helpful visualizations at a glance category. The names apache and apache software foundation must not be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software without prior written permission. Understanding the facebook vs apache software foundation. The license assures your freedom to remove powered by svg edit in your modified version.