Other Comparison of free and open-source software licenses

tdocs2

Well-Known Member
Licensed User
Longtime User
Greetings.

As software developers, we are always concerned with the implications of using a "royalty free" piece of software on software developed by us that will be intended as closed-source software or software released under a proprietary software license (especially if you want to sell a license to your software - remember you sell a license (perpetual or time limited like a subscription) to use the software and not the software source itself - obvious example B4A).

In this link in wikipedia, you will find a "complete?" list of free software licenses. Some of these are also used in computer graphics, etc. One obvious one to avoid is the GNU if you want your app to be "closed source". I have seen open source systems that are "free" but the company charges the user a monthly maintenance fee for support, implementation, and upgrades...

Attribution is invariably required and often in a specific format.

Disclaimer: I am not an expert in this field and certainly I am not an attorney. This information is being given in an attempt to raise awareness and help others. You (with or without your attorney) are responsible for the implications of the terms of a license.

Hope this is of help although many members would be quite familiar with these issues.

Sandy

PS: Unfortunately we live in a litigious world where fair reparation is not always the objective.
 
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