5 open-source license agreements

More and more developers and designers want to open-source their products so that others can do more on the basis of their code. The open-source community is also full of vigor. In the application field that we can think,
All have open source software (such as WordPress, Drupal
These open-source CMS ). However, many people do not know about open-source licenses. This article describes several license protocols commonly used in the open-source field and their differences.

What is a license agreement?

What is license? When you issue a license for your product, you are transferring your rights. However, you still have copyrights and patents (if you have applied for a license). The purpose of the license is, to the person who uses your product
Provide certain permissions.

Whether the product is distributed to the public for free or sold, it is very useful to develop a license agreement. Otherwise, for the former, you give up all your rights, no one is obligated to indicate your original
For the latter, you will have to spend more energy than development to handle user authorization issues one by one.

The open-source license Protocol makes this
It is easy for developers to contribute their own code to a project. It can also protect the identity of your original author, so that you can at least get recognized, the open-source license agreement also prevents others from using a product
Already exist. The following are the five major license protocols in the open source community.

GNU GPL

GNU General Public Licence (GPL) may be the most common license mode in the Open Source world. GPL
This guarantees the rights of all developers and provides users with the right to copy, distribute, and modify:

1. Free Replication
2. You can copy the software to your computer, your customer's computer, or anywhere. There is no limit on the number of copies.
3. Free Distribution
4. Download from your website, copy it to a USB flash drive, or print the source code out of the window (please do not do this for environmental protection ).
5. Can be used for profit
6. You can pay when distributing the software, but you must provide the gnu gpl of the software to your customers before charging.
   License Agreement to let them know that they can get the software for free from other channels, and the reason for your charges.
7. Freely changeable
8. If you want to add or delete a function, it's okay. If you want to use some code in another project, the only requirement is, projects that use this code must also use GPL
   Protocol.

It should be noted that the source code and binary files must be clearly provided during distribution. In addition, some protocols used for some programs have some problems and restrictions. You can take a look at them.
@ Pierrejoye: Practical Guide to GPL compliance. Use GPL
Protocol, you must include the relevant information in the source code, and the Protocol itself.

GNU lgpl

GNU has another protocol called lgpl (lesser General Public Licence), which reserves the right to the product
In general, lgpl is suitable for open-source class libraries or frameworks for non-GPL or non-open-source products. Because of GPL requirements, products that use GPL code must also use
GPL protocol. Developers are not allowed to use GPL code for commercial products. Lgpl bypasses this restriction.

BSD

BSD imposes fewer restrictions on Software Delivery than other open source protocols (such as gnu gpl. The Protocol has multiple versions. The main version is two. The new BSD Protocol and simple
BSD Protocol. These two protocols have been modified and are compatible with GPL and are recognized by open-source organizations.

New BSD
In terms of software distribution, the Agreement (term agreement 3) does not have any restrictions except for a copyright notice or disclaimer. In addition, the Agreement prohibits the developer from being endorsed as a derivative product, but is simple
This clause is removed from the BSD Protocol.

MIT

The MIT protocol can be the loose among several open-source protocols. The core terms are as follows:

The software and its related documents are free to everyone and can be disposed of at will, including use, copying, modification, merging, publishing, distribution, re-authorization, or sales. The only restriction is that the software must contain
Copyright and license tips.

This means that you can:

1. You can freely use, copy, modify, and use it for your own projects.
2. It can be distributed for free or used for profit.
3. The only restriction is that the license statement must be included.
4. The MIT protocol is the loose of all open-source licenses. It must include a license statement without any restrictions.

Apache

Apache protocol 2.0
Compared with other open-source protocols, in addition to providing users with a copyright license, there is also a patent license, for those developers involved in the patent content, this Protocol is most suitable (here is an article about this issue ).

The Apache protocol must be described as follows:

1. Permanent rights
2. Once authorized, it is permanently possessed.
3. Worldwide rights
4. Authorization in one country applies to all countries. If you are in the U. S., your license is authorized from India.
5. Free authorization with no royalty
6. No fees are incurred in the early and later stages.
7. No exclusive authorization
8. Anyone can be authorized
9. Authorization irrevocable
10. No one can cancel the authorization. For example, if you develop a derivative product based on the product code, you do not have to worry about being banned from using the code one day.
11. The distribution code includes some requirements, mainly because the developer should be recognized in the statement and contain the original license agreement.

Creative Commons

Creative Commons (CC) is not a strictly open source license. It is mainly used for design. Creative Commons
There are multiple protocols, each of which provides the corresponding authorization mode. The CC protocol mainly contains four basic forms:

1. Signature Right
   • It must be signed by the original author before modification, distribution, and replication can be performed.
2. Consistent
   • Works can also be modified, distributed, and copied on the basis of the CC protocol.
3. Non-commercial
   • Works can be modified, distributed, copied, but cannot be used for commercial purposes. However, the definition of business is vague. For example, some people think that non-commercial purposes mean that they cannot be sold, and some think that they cannot even be placed on
     Some people think that non-commercial websites are not profitable.
4. New works cannot be derived
   • You can copy, distribute, but cannot modify or create your own work on this basis.
5. These license forms can be used together. The most severe combination is "signatures, non-commercial use, and new works cannot be derived", which means you can share the work, but you cannot change or make a profit, and must be
   Original Author name. In this license mode, the original author still has full control over the work, and the loose combination is "signature", meaning that as long as the original author is signed, it can be freely disposed.

From: open-source Chinese community

 

In addition, you can read these articles:

• GNU General Public License (GPL)
• Detailed analysis of frequently used open source protocols
• GNU loose Public License (lgpl)
• Seven open source protocols that Java programmers must understand