License proliferation
Encyclopedia
License proliferation refers to the problems created when additional software licenses are written for software packages
. License proliferation affects the free software community
. Often when a software developer would like to merge portions of different software programs they are unable to do so because the licenses are incompatible
. When software under two different licenses can be combined into a larger software work, the licenses are said to be compatible. As the number of licenses increases, the probability that a Free and open source software
(FOSS) developer will want to merge software together that are available under incompatible licenses increases. There is also a greater cost to companies that wish to evaluate every FOSS license for software packages that they use. Strictly speaking no one is in favor of license proliferation. Rather the issue stems from the tendency for organizations to write new licenses in order to address real or perceived needs for their software releases.
(FSF) who maintains the GNU General Public License
(GPL) also maintains a list of the licenses that are compatible with the GPL. Another popular FOSS license is the Apache License
. The Apache Foundation has a page discussing the fact that the Apache License is listed compatible with the GPLv3 but only one way -- Apache software can be included in GPLv3 software but not vice versa.
As of 2008, many people create a custom new license for their newly released program, without knowing the requirements for a FOSS license and without realizing that using a nonstandard license can make that program almost useless to others.
took a unique position on license proliferation. Specifically, in 2006, Google announced that its code hosting site, Google Code
, would accept projects licensed only under the following licenses:
In 2008, Google further announced that they also highly recommend choosing the Apache License or version 3 of the GPL (GPLv3) for projects.
In a reversal of these stricter stances, in 2010, Google finally announced that it would simply mirror OSI's position and merely require that projects hosted on Google Code be licensed under an OSI-approved license.
(OSI) consider themselves the keepers of what licenses can be called open source. They maintain a list of licenses that are OSI Approved Licenses, and early in their history, contributed some to license proliferation by assisting in the production and approving vanity licenses. Indeed, some including Mark Shuttleworth
argue that the OSI is largely responsible for the license proliferation problem by continuing to accept new licenses. The OSI License Proliferation Project has prepared a License Proliferation Report.
, president of FSF, and Bradley M. Kuhn
, former Executive Director, have argued against license proliferation since 2000, when they instituted the FSF license list, which urges developers to license their software under GPL compatible free software license(s), though multiple GPL-incompatible free software licenses are listed with a comment stating that there is no problem using and/or working on a piece of software already under the licenses in question while also urging readers of the list not to use those licenses on software they write.
Software package (installation)
In package management systems, which are commonly used with Linux-based operating systems, a package is a specific piece of software which the system can install and uninstall....
. License proliferation affects the free software community
Free software community
The free-software community is an informal term that refers to the users and developers of free software as well as supporters of the free-software movement. The movement is sometimes referred to as the open-source software community or a subset thereof...
. Often when a software developer would like to merge portions of different software programs they are unable to do so because the licenses are incompatible
License compatibility
License compatibility refers to the problem with licenses applied to works subject to copyright, particularly licenses of software packages, which can contain contradictory requirements, rendering it impossible to combine source code from such packages or content from such works in order to create...
. When software under two different licenses can be combined into a larger software work, the licenses are said to be compatible. As the number of licenses increases, the probability that a Free and open source software
Free and open source software
Free and open-source software or free/libre/open-source software is software that is liberally licensed to grant users the right to use, study, change, and improve its design through the availability of its source code...
(FOSS) developer will want to merge software together that are available under incompatible licenses increases. There is also a greater cost to companies that wish to evaluate every FOSS license for software packages that they use. Strictly speaking no one is in favor of license proliferation. Rather the issue stems from the tendency for organizations to write new licenses in order to address real or perceived needs for their software releases.
Compatible licenses
The Free Software FoundationFree Software Foundation
The Free Software Foundation is a non-profit corporation founded by Richard Stallman on 4 October 1985 to support the free software movement, a copyleft-based movement which aims to promote the universal freedom to create, distribute and modify computer software...
(FSF) who maintains the GNU General Public License
GNU General Public License
The GNU General Public License is the most widely used free software license, originally written by Richard Stallman for the GNU Project....
(GPL) also maintains a list of the licenses that are compatible with the GPL. Another popular FOSS license is the Apache License
Apache License
The Apache License is a copyfree free software license authored by the Apache Software Foundation . The Apache License requires preservation of the copyright notice and disclaimer....
. The Apache Foundation has a page discussing the fact that the Apache License is listed compatible with the GPLv3 but only one way -- Apache software can be included in GPLv3 software but not vice versa.
Vanity licenses
Vanity licenses is a term that refers to a license that is written by a company or person for no other reason than to write their own license. If a new license is created that has no obvious improvement or difference over another more common FOSS license it can often be criticized as a vanity license.As of 2008, many people create a custom new license for their newly released program, without knowing the requirements for a FOSS license and without realizing that using a nonstandard license can make that program almost useless to others.
Google's stance
From 2006-2010, GoogleGoogle
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
took a unique position on license proliferation. Specifically, in 2006, Google announced that its code hosting site, Google Code
Google Code
Google Code is Google's site for developer tools, APIs and technical resources. The site contains documentation on using Google developer tools and APIs—including discussion groups and blogs for developers using Google's developer products....
, would accept projects licensed only under the following licenses:
- Apache LicenseApache LicenseThe Apache License is a copyfree free software license authored by the Apache Software Foundation . The Apache License requires preservation of the copyright notice and disclaimer....
2.0 - Artistic LicenseArtistic LicenseThe Artistic License refers most commonly to the original Artistic License , a software license used for certain free and open source software packages, most notably the standard Perl implementation and most CPAN modules, which are dual-licensed under the Artistic License and the GNU General Public...
/GPLGNU General Public LicenseThe GNU General Public License is the most widely used free software license, originally written by Richard Stallman for the GNU Project....
(often used by the PerlPerlPerl is a high-level, general-purpose, interpreted, dynamic programming language. Perl was originally developed by Larry Wall in 1987 as a general-purpose Unix scripting language to make report processing easier. Since then, it has undergone many changes and revisions and become widely popular...
community) - GNU General Public LicenseGNU General Public LicenseThe GNU General Public License is the most widely used free software license, originally written by Richard Stallman for the GNU Project....
3.0 - GNU General Public LicenseGNU General Public LicenseThe GNU General Public License is the most widely used free software license, originally written by Richard Stallman for the GNU Project....
2.0 - GNU Lesser General Public LicenseGNU Lesser General Public LicenseThe GNU Lesser General Public License or LGPL is a free software license published by the Free Software Foundation . It was designed as a compromise between the strong-copyleft GNU General Public License or GPL and permissive licenses such as the BSD licenses and the MIT License...
- MIT LicenseMIT LicenseThe MIT License is a free software license originating at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology . It is a permissive license, meaning that it permits reuse within proprietary software provided all copies of the licensed software include a copy of the MIT License terms...
- New BSD License
- Mozilla Public LicenseMozilla Public LicenseThe Mozilla Public License is a free and open source software license. Version 1.0 was developed by Mitchell Baker when she worked as a lawyer at Netscape Communications Corporation and version 1.1 at the Mozilla Foundation...
1.1 - Eclipse Public LicenseEclipse Public LicenseThe Eclipse Public License is an open source software license used by the Eclipse Foundation for its software. It replaces the Common Public License and removes certain terms relating to litigations related to patents....
In 2008, Google further announced that they also highly recommend choosing the Apache License or version 3 of the GPL (GPLv3) for projects.
In a reversal of these stricter stances, in 2010, Google finally announced that it would simply mirror OSI's position and merely require that projects hosted on Google Code be licensed under an OSI-approved license.
OSI's stance
Open Source InitiativeOpen Source Initiative
The Open Source Initiative is an organization dedicated to promoting open source software.The organization was founded in February 1998, by Bruce Perens and Eric S. Raymond, prompted by Netscape Communications Corporation publishing the source code for its flagship Netscape Communicator product...
(OSI) consider themselves the keepers of what licenses can be called open source. They maintain a list of licenses that are OSI Approved Licenses, and early in their history, contributed some to license proliferation by assisting in the production and approving vanity licenses. Indeed, some including Mark Shuttleworth
Mark Shuttleworth
Mark Richard Shuttleworth is a South African entrepreneur who was the second self-funded space tourist. Shuttleworth founded Canonical Ltd. and as of 2010, provides leadership for the Ubuntu operating system...
argue that the OSI is largely responsible for the license proliferation problem by continuing to accept new licenses. The OSI License Proliferation Project has prepared a License Proliferation Report.
FSF's stance
Richard StallmanRichard Stallman
Richard Matthew Stallman , often shortened to rms,"'Richard Stallman' is just my mundane name; you can call me 'rms'"|last= Stallman|first= Richard|date= N.D.|work=Richard Stallman's homepage...
, president of FSF, and Bradley M. Kuhn
Bradley M. Kuhn
Bradley M. Kuhn is a free software activist from the United States.Kuhn is currently Executive Director of the Software Freedom Conservancy. Until 2010 he was the FLOSS Community Liaison and Technology Director of the Software Freedom Law Center . He previously served as the Executive Director of...
, former Executive Director, have argued against license proliferation since 2000, when they instituted the FSF license list, which urges developers to license their software under GPL compatible free software license(s), though multiple GPL-incompatible free software licenses are listed with a comment stating that there is no problem using and/or working on a piece of software already under the licenses in question while also urging readers of the list not to use those licenses on software they write.
FSFE's stance
Ciarán O'Riordan argues that the main thing that the FSF can do to prevent license proliferation is to reduce the reasons for making new licenses in the first place, in an editorial entitled How GPLv3 tackles license proliferation. Generally the FSF Europe consistently recommends the use of the GNU GPL as much as possible, and when that is not possible, to use GPL-compatible licenses.External links
- Open source license proliferation, a broader view by Raymond Nimmer
- Larry Rosen argues that different licenses can be a good thing Larry RosenLawrence RosenLawrence Rosen is an attorney and computer specialist. He is a founding partner of Rosenlaw & Einschlag, a Californian technology law firm, specializing in intellectual property protection, licensing and business transactions for technology companies...
- Licensing howto by Eric S. RaymondEric S. RaymondEric Steven Raymond , often referred to as ESR, is an American computer programmer, author and open source software advocate. After the 1997 publication of The Cathedral and the Bazaar, Raymond was for a number of years frequently quoted as an unofficial spokesman for the open source movement...
- License proliferation for Medical Software by Fred Trotter Advocates that for Health Software, only the Google seven should be used.