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Protective/copyleft (GPL) vs. permissive/BSD-style.

MIT

  • simple, most popular on github (51%).
  • software is provides as is - copyright holders are not liable for any claims or liabilities.
  • derivates can be produced, entitlement to commercial benefits from the sale thereof.
  • GPL compatible, but not viral like GPL.
  • future licensed software must contain a copy of the license and copyright notice.

Apache 2.0

  • second most popular on github (14%), also handles patents.
  • clearly defines rules regarding patent and redistribution rights
  • derivates must provide a copy of Apache 2.0 license. Derivates must retain all copyright, patent and attribution notices form the original SW sources.
  • Must notify users of code modifications.
  • If the original includes attribution notices (within a NOTICE file), derivates must also include the NOTICE file.

BSD

  • suitable for long-term research projects which require near-zero licensing costs and freedom to commercialize research results. Can help minimize legal and organizational overhead with open-source projects
  • 0-clause BSD: public domain license which doesn't even require attribution: Permission to use, copy, modify, and/or distribute this software for any purpose with or without fee is hereby granted.
  • 2-clause BSD (similar to MIT license):
    • Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
    • Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
  • 3-clause modified (BSD): +
    • Neither the name of the [organization] nor the names of its contributors may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software without specific prior written permission.
  • 4-clause BSD: +
    • All advertising materials mentioning features or use of this software must display the following acknowledgement: This product includes software developed by the [organization].

GPL

  • doesn't prohibit users from selling derivates, but it requires source code of the derivates also to be freely available (reciprocity obligation).