Choosing an
 Open Source Software
 License 

What is Open Source software? • Can be freely
 - accessed
 - used
 - changed
 - shared 

Can Open Source software be used for commercial purposes? • YES • All Open Source software can be used for commercial purpose; the Open Source Definition guarantees this. • You can even sell Open Source software. 

Can I strip out the copyrights on Open Source code and put in my own? • NO • This isn't even about Open Source, really: in general, you should not remove a valid copyright notice, no matter what license it specifies. Copyright notices are legal notices; they are also a source of information about the provenance of source code, and if that information is stripped out, recipients of downstream copies have no easy way to rediscover it. 

MIT License • Simple & Permissive • The MIT License is a permissive license that is short and to the point. It lets people do anything they want with your code as long as they provide attribution back to you and don’t hold you liable. • jQuery and Rails use the MIT License. 

MIT License Required •License and copyright notice
 Permitted •Commercial Use •Distribution •Modification •Private Use •Sublicensing
 Forbidden •Hold Liable 

General Public License • Sharing Improvements • The GPL is a copyleft license that requires anyone who distributes your code or a derivative work to make the source available under the same terms. • Linux, Git, and WordPress use the GPL. 

General Public License Required •Disclose Source •License and copyright notice •State Changes
 Permitted •Commercial Use •Distribution •Modification •Private Use •Patent Grant
 Forbidden •Hold Liable •Sublicensing 

Creative Commons License • Great for documentation • A Creative Commons License lets people do anything they want with your content as long as they provide attribution back to you. • This presentation is licensed under a Creative Commons License, built from other content licensed under a Creative Commons License 

Creative Commons License Required •License and copyright notice •State Changes
 Permitted •Commercial Use •Distribution •Modification •Private Use
 Forbidden •Hold Liable 

Choosing an
 Open Source Software
 License Some material taken from ChooseALicense.com
 Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License Some material taken from OpenSource.org Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License Any original content Dual licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License
 and the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License