Licensing - Revision history

Perspectoff: /* Other resources */

2010-02-27T17:48:50Z

Other resources

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	There is a vast array of proprietary licenses, all different. You never know what your limitations for software are unless you read every word. Most are attempts by lawyers to have an opportunity to create a lawsuit in the future. Some may be called "free" licenses but have many limitations which you will not be aware of until you are in the middle of a lawsuit. No license outside of the GPLv3 license is recommended for software that is truly meant to remain in the free and open source realm. Be careful when committing your organization to a mission-critical software package with a proprietary license. Also see this outstanding article on the [http://www.h-online.com/open/The-Open-Source-Enterprise-Trap--/features/112992 "Open Source Enterprise Trap"].		There is a vast array of proprietary licenses, all different. You never know what your limitations for software are unless you read every word. Most are attempts by lawyers to have an opportunity to create a lawsuit in the future. Some may be called "free" licenses but have many limitations which you will not be aware of until you are in the middle of a lawsuit. No license outside of the GPLv3 license is recommended for software that is truly meant to remain in the free and open source realm. Be careful when committing your organization to a mission-critical software package with a proprietary license. Also see this outstanding article on the [http://www.h-online.com/open/The-Open-Source-Enterprise-Trap--/features/112992 "Open Source Enterprise Trap"].

	==Other resources ==		== Other resources ==
	* This page was originally adapted from [http://~~ubuntuguide~~.org/~~wiki/Ubuntu:~~All#Licenses ~~Ubuntuguide~~]'s intro to licenses.		* This page was originally adapted from [http://kubuntuguide.org/All#Licenses Kubuntuguide]'s intro to licenses.

Perspectoff at 20:12, 4 February 2010

2010-02-04T20:12:58Z

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	Here are some commonly used licenses (for software) that have attempted to grapple with these issues.		Here are some commonly used licenses (for software) that have attempted to grapple with these issues.

	=Intro=		== Intro ==
	The VistA community includes a large community of volunteers and as such represents a very large altruistic effort. This includes companies who decide to contribute their own software into the public domain for free use. The continued success of sharing depends on licenses that keep software free and usable for anyone who wants to use it. However, there must be a method for VistA users and developers to make money, as well. Licensing helps protect each of these efforts. See the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free-software_license Wikipedia Free Software Licensing article] and the [http://www.gnu.org/licenses/licenses.html GNU operating system licensing page] for more complete information.		The VistA community includes a large community of volunteers and as such represents a very large altruistic effort. This includes companies who decide to contribute their own software into the public domain for free use. The continued success of sharing depends on licenses that keep software free and usable for anyone who wants to use it. However, there must be a method for VistA users and developers to make money, as well. Licensing helps protect each of these efforts. See the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free-software_license Wikipedia Free Software Licensing article] and the [http://www.gnu.org/licenses/licenses.html GNU operating system licensing page] for more complete information.

Perspectoff: /* Other resources */

2010-02-04T20:12:25Z

Other resources

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:12, 4 February 2010
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	==Other resources ==		==Other resources ==
	* This page was originally adapted from [http://ubuntuguide.org/wiki/Ubuntu:All#Licenses Ubuntuguide]'s ~~brief~~ intro to licenses.		* This page was originally adapted from [http://ubuntuguide.org/wiki/Ubuntu:All#Licenses Ubuntuguide]'s intro to licenses.

Perspectoff: /* Proprietary licenses */

2010-02-04T20:12:03Z

Proprietary licenses

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:12, 4 February 2010
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	==Proprietary licenses==		==Proprietary licenses==
	There is a vast array of proprietary licenses, all different. You never know what your limitations for software are unless you read every word. Most are attempts by lawyers to have an opportunity to create a lawsuit in the future. Some may be called "free" licenses but have many limitations which you will not be aware of until you are in the middle of a lawsuit. No license outside of the GPLv3 license is recommended for software truly meant to remain in the free and open source realm. Be careful when committing your organization to a mission-critical software package with a proprietary license. Also see this outstanding article on the [http://www.h-online.com/open/The-Open-Source-Enterprise-Trap--/features/112992 "Open Source Enterprise Trap"].		There is a vast array of proprietary licenses, all different. You never know what your limitations for software are unless you read every word. Most are attempts by lawyers to have an opportunity to create a lawsuit in the future. Some may be called "free" licenses but have many limitations which you will not be aware of until you are in the middle of a lawsuit. No license outside of the GPLv3 license is recommended for software that is truly meant to remain in the free and open source realm. Be careful when committing your organization to a mission-critical software package with a proprietary license. Also see this outstanding article on the [http://www.h-online.com/open/The-Open-Source-Enterprise-Trap--/features/112992 "Open Source Enterprise Trap"].

	==Other resources ==		==Other resources ==
	* This page was originally adapted from [http://ubuntuguide.org/wiki/Ubuntu:All#Licenses Ubuntuguide]'s brief intro to licenses.		* This page was originally adapted from [http://ubuntuguide.org/wiki/Ubuntu:All#Licenses Ubuntuguide]'s brief intro to licenses.

Perspectoff: /* LGPL license */

2010-02-04T20:11:22Z

LGPL license

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	Nevertheless, the use of this license allows companies that may already have an established product (with a license that is otherwise not fully GPL-compatible) to incorporate an LGPL-licensed module into their product (and still retain their original non-GPL license). They are merely prohibited from extending their license to the LGPL-licensed module itself, so it remains in the free open source realm.		Nevertheless, the use of this license allows companies that may already have an established product (with a license that is otherwise not fully GPL-compatible) to incorporate an LGPL-licensed module into their product (and still retain their original non-GPL license). They are merely prohibited from extending their license to the LGPL-licensed module itself, so it remains in the free open source realm.

	Linus Torvalds (creator of the Linux kernel) has advocated this license as the one that best allows open source companies to make money from their products.		Linus Torvalds (creator of the Linux kernel) has advocated that this license is the one that best allows open source companies to make money from their products yet still have a mechanism to give back to the community.

	==Proprietary licenses==		==Proprietary licenses==

Perspectoff: /* LGPL license */

2010-02-04T20:10:34Z

LGPL license

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:10, 4 February 2010
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	Nevertheless, the use of this license allows companies that may already have an established product (with a license that is otherwise not fully GPL-compatible) to incorporate an LGPL-licensed module into their product (and still retain their original non-GPL license). They are merely prohibited from extending their license to the LGPL-licensed module itself, so it remains in the free open source realm.		Nevertheless, the use of this license allows companies that may already have an established product (with a license that is otherwise not fully GPL-compatible) to incorporate an LGPL-licensed module into their product (and still retain their original non-GPL license). They are merely prohibited from extending their license to the LGPL-licensed module itself, so it remains in the free open source realm.

			Linus Torvalds (creator of the Linux kernel) has advocated this license as the one that best allows open source companies to make money from their products.

	==Proprietary licenses==		==Proprietary licenses==

Perspectoff: /* LGPL license */

2010-02-04T20:09:17Z

LGPL license

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	The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_Lesser_General_Public_License Lesser GPL] license intends that the software module or package is free to use in any environment, including in commercial and proprietary software packages. This allows companies to develop proprietary packages which include LGPL-licensed modules, from which they can make a profit. The disadvantage is that their products (which benefit from the LGPL-licensed modules) are not required in turn to be in the public domain. (Many companies often later donate their entire package into the public domain, however, after they no longer make a profit from them.)		The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_Lesser_General_Public_License Lesser GPL] license intends that the software module or package is free to use in any environment, including in commercial and proprietary software packages. This allows companies to develop proprietary packages which include LGPL-licensed modules, from which they can make a profit. The disadvantage is that their products (which benefit from the LGPL-licensed modules) are not required in turn to be in the public domain. (Many companies often later donate their entire package into the public domain, however, after they no longer make a profit from them.)

	Nevertheless, the use of this license allows companies that may already have an established product (~~but without~~ a ~~full~~ GPL-compatible ~~license~~) to incorporate an LGPL-licensed module into their product ~~yet~~ still retain their original license. They ~~just~~ are prohibited from extending their license to the LGPL-licensed module itself, so it remains in the free open source realm.		Nevertheless, the use of this license allows companies that may already have an established product (with a license that is otherwise not fully GPL-compatible) to incorporate an LGPL-licensed module into their product (and still retain their original non-GPL license). They are merely prohibited from extending their license to the LGPL-licensed module itself, so it remains in the free open source realm.

	==Proprietary licenses==		==Proprietary licenses==

Perspectoff: /* LGPL license */

2010-02-04T20:07:30Z

LGPL license

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:07, 4 February 2010
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	==LGPL license==		==LGPL license==
	The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_Lesser_General_Public_License Lesser GPL] license intends that the software module or package is free to use in any environment, including in commercial and proprietary software packages. This allows companies to develop proprietary packages which include LGPL-licensed modules, from which they can make a profit. The disadvantage is that their products (which benefit from the LGPL-licensed modules) are not required to be in the public domain ~~in turn~~. (Many companies often later donate their entire package into the public domain, however, after they no longer make a profit from them.)		The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_Lesser_General_Public_License Lesser GPL] license intends that the software module or package is free to use in any environment, including in commercial and proprietary software packages. This allows companies to develop proprietary packages which include LGPL-licensed modules, from which they can make a profit. The disadvantage is that their products (which benefit from the LGPL-licensed modules) are not required in turn to be in the public domain. (Many companies often later donate their entire package into the public domain, however, after they no longer make a profit from them.)

	Nevertheless, the use of this license allows companies that may already have an established product (but without a full GPL-compatible license) to incorporate an LGPL-licensed module into their product yet still retain their original license. They just are prohibited from extending their license to the LGPL-licensed module itself, so it remains in the free open source realm.		Nevertheless, the use of this license allows companies that may already have an established product (but without a full GPL-compatible license) to incorporate an LGPL-licensed module into their product yet still retain their original license. They just are prohibited from extending their license to the LGPL-licensed module itself, so it remains in the free open source realm.

Perspectoff: /* LGPL license */

2010-02-04T20:07:03Z

LGPL license

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:07, 4 February 2010
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	==LGPL license==		==LGPL license==
	The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_Lesser_General_Public_License Lesser GPL] license intends that the software module or package is free to use in any environment, including in commercial and proprietary software packages. This allows companies to develop proprietary packages which ~~includes~~ LGPL-licensed modules, from which they can make a profit. The disadvantage is that their products (which benefit from the LGPL-licensed modules) are not required to be in the public domain in turn. (Many companies often later donate their entire package into the public domain, however, after they no longer make a profit from them.)		The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_Lesser_General_Public_License Lesser GPL] license intends that the software module or package is free to use in any environment, including in commercial and proprietary software packages. This allows companies to develop proprietary packages which include LGPL-licensed modules, from which they can make a profit. The disadvantage is that their products (which benefit from the LGPL-licensed modules) are not required to be in the public domain in turn. (Many companies often later donate their entire package into the public domain, however, after they no longer make a profit from them.)

	Nevertheless, the use of this license allows companies that may already have an established product (but without a full GPL-compatible license) to incorporate an LGPL-licensed module into their product yet still retain their original license. They just are prohibited from extending their license to the LGPL-licensed module itself, so it remains in the free open source realm.		Nevertheless, the use of this license allows companies that may already have an established product (but without a full GPL-compatible license) to incorporate an LGPL-licensed module into their product yet still retain their original license. They just are prohibited from extending their license to the LGPL-licensed module itself, so it remains in the free open source realm.

Perspectoff: /* BSD license */

2010-02-04T20:06:20Z

BSD license

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:06, 4 February 2010
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	==BSD license==		==BSD license==
	The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BSD_licenses BSD license] is similar to a public domain license. There are currently many confusing iterations of the BSD license, mostly regarding attribution notices and advertising provided with software derivatives. The BSD license allows the option of otherwise-licensed free open source restrictions ''or'' proprietary restrictions~~, allowing~~ a mix of otherwise-licensed proprietary modules and open sourced-licensed modules to co-exist in the same package. This flexibility has made the BSD license popular with complex distributions (such as the Mac OS X operating system, for example~~, which is based on BSD Unix~~).		The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BSD_licenses BSD license] is similar to a public domain license. There are currently many confusing iterations of the BSD license, mostly regarding attribution notices and advertising provided with software derivatives. The BSD license allows the option of propagation of either (otherwise-licensed) free open source restrictions ''or'' proprietary restrictions. It therefore allows a mix of (otherwise-licensed) proprietary modules and open sourced-licensed modules to co-exist in the same package. This flexibility has made the BSD license popular with complex distributions (such as the (BSD Unix-based) Mac OS X operating system, for example).

	==LGPL license==		==LGPL license==