Bifalgorithm post · Infotech governance policy ethics and law · Appendix D: Software licensing
GNU License
GNU License (Infotech governance policy ethics and law · Appendix D: Software licensing) — "Many programs are distributed under standard licenses. The advantag…
Ideas in this flowchart
- Standard licenses govern the distribution and use of many programs.
- They clarify what users are and are not permitted to do.
- After wide usage, their wording is likely to be accurate and legally binding.
- Using a standard license saves the author time and effort.
- A standard license may not match the author’s exact preferences.
- Most standard licenses allow third parties to sell the software.
- The GNU General Public License is the original and best-known standard license.
- The GPL permits commercial and non-commercial use and unrestricted redistribution.
- Redistribution is conditional on including the source code.
- The GPL permits derived works only when they are also licensed under the GPL.
- This condition prevents GPL software from becoming a proprietary product with secret source code.
- Examples include Linux, MySQL, GCC, EMACS, and hundreds of other programs.
