Are specific FLOSS licenses required?
No specific FLOSS license is required, but it needs to be a FLOSS license, and the license needs to be clearly marked. We strongly encourage the use of existing widely-used licenses that are compatible with most FLOSS software – and strongly discourage creating new licenses. FLOSS components are much less useful if they cannot be easily combined with other FLOSS components. Incompatibility is much less likely if you use a common FLOSS license (e.g., GPL, LGPL, BSD-new, or MIT licenses), or release it to the public domain. See Make Your Open Source Software GPL-Compatible. Or Else. for more about why selecting a common FLOSS license is important, and what those common licenses are. The FLOSS license slide shows how some common FLOSS licenses are compatible.
Related Questions
- My customer in the UK is requesting copies of all licenses pertaining to them. Can I send a copy of an approved DSP5 overseas?
- Who is responsible for music licenses for rented/leased areas such as meeting/banquet rooms, reception halls, or ballrooms?
- Our background music service provider says they pay for all copyright licenses. Why would I still need a SESAC license?
