• Proprietary (property) Software
  • COPYLEFT (Copyright Disclaimer)
  • GNU GPL General Public License (GPL)
  • GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL)
  • X11, Expat and BSD licenses (FreeBSD,OpenBSD,NetBSD)
  • FreeWare (proprietary software), ShareWare (restricted software)
  • Public Domain Software

EULA(End-User License Agreement)

  • You cannot see what the license agreement is without opening the box of the software.
  • You cannot install the software without confirming the software agreement.
  • It does not allow sharing the source code of the software.
  • . . .

Copy left (Copyright Disclaimer)

Copyleft is a common method of making a program (or other work) free software, with all modified and improved versions of the program also being free software. gnu.org



The copyright waiver guarantees the freedom of every user. Protects the program and its modified versions from becoming proprietary software. The concept of copyright waiver was first introduced in 1985 by Richard Stallman in the GNU Manifesto.

GNULicenses produced by GPL, LGPL, FDL are copyrighted licenses.

Free Software Licenses

GNU GPL (General Public License) / General Public License

The GNU General Public License (GNU GPL or GPL) is a widely used free software license. The first version was penned in 1989 by Richard Stallman for the GNU Bill. Current version GPLv3 type.

What's Allowed

  • Commercial Use
  • Distributing
  • Changing
  • Special Use
  • Use of Patents: this license entitles contributors to obtain patents.

Terms of Use

  • You have to open source the software you use.
  • You must keep a copy of the license where you will use it.
  • New software must be licensed under the same license or compatible license.
  • You must indicate changes in the software.

GPLv2 ve GPLv3 The main differences between:

  • GPLv2 was released in 1991 and is still used today. GPLv3 was released in 2007.
  • GPLv2 is not as protective of patents as GPLv3. A GPLv2 licensed software does not grant the right to use a patent. GPLv3, on the other hand, limits patent holders from using their patents against their users.
  • GPLv2 mandates that only the source code of the software be distributed. GPLv3, on the other hand, requires distribution of the source code and compiled version of the software.
  • GPLv2 specifies that changes should be reported only during distribution of the software. GPLv3 specifies that changes made during the use of the software should also be reported.

LGPL (GNU Lesser General Public Lice)

Lesser General Public Licenseis commonly used for libraries, provided that the source code of the target software that uses it is open. does not require.

If LGPL software is modified and redistributed, the source code of the parts where the changes were made should be presented to the user.

AGPL (GNU) Afero General Public Lice)

The GNU Affero General Public License has an additional requirement for users interacting with the licensed software over a network to obtain the source code.

LPG s Easy going Free Software Licenses

  • GNU General Public License (GPL) (GNUGPL v3/v2)
  • GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPLv3/v2.1)
  • GNU Affero General Public License (AGPL)
  • GNU All-Permissive License (GNUAllPermissive)
  • Apache License, Version 2.0 (apache2)
  • Artistic License 2.0 (ArtisticLicense2)
  • Clarified Artistic License (ClarifiedArtistic)
  • Berkeley Database License (BerkeleyDB)
  • Boost Software License (Boost)
  • Modified BSD license (ModifiedBSD)
  • CeCILL version 2 (CeCILL)
  • The Clear BSD License (clearbsd)
  • Cryptix General License
  • eCos license version 2.0 (eCos2.0)
  • Educational Community License 2.0 (ECL2.0)
  • Eiffel Forum License, version 2 (Eiffel)
  • EU DataGrid Software License (EUDataGrid)
  • Expat License
  • FreeBSD license (FreeBSD)
  • Freetype Project License (freetype)
  • . . . . .

LPG s Incompatible Free Software Licenses

  • Affero General Public License version 1
  • Academic Free License, all versions through 3.0
  • Apache License, Version 1.1
  • Apache License, Version 1.0
  • Apple Public Source License (APSL), version 2
  • BitTorrent Open Source License
  • Original BSD license
  • CeCILL-B version 1
  • CeCILL-C version 1
  • Common Development and Distribution License
  • Common Public Attribution License 1.0 (CPAL)
  • Common Public License Version 1.0
  • Condor Public License
  • Eclipse Public License v1.0/v2.0
  • European Union Public License v1.1 /v1.2
  • Fraunhofer FDK AAC license
  • Gnuplot license
  • IBM Public License, Version 1.0
  • Jabber Open Source License, Version 1.0
  • LaTeX Project Public License 1.3a / v1.2
  • . . . . .

Not Free Software Licenses

  • no license
  • Aladdin Free Public License
  • Anti-996 License
  • Anti-Capitalist Software License
  • Apple Public Source License (APSL), version 1.x
  • Artistic License 1.0
  • AT&T Public License
  • Code Project Open License, version 1.02
  • Common Clause
  • CNRI Digital Object Repository License Agreement
  • eCos Public License, version 1.1
  • The Hippocratic License 1.1
  • GPL for Computer Programs of the Public Administration.
  • Hacktivismo Enhanced-Source Soft. Lic Ag.
  • Jahia Community Source License
  • The JSON License
  • Old license of ksh93
  • License of Lha
  • Microsoft's Shared Source CLI, C#, Jscript L
  • NASA Open Source Agreement
  • . . . . .

Source : gnu.org

For more information gnu.org You can visit the website..

License texts: GPLv3, GPLv2, GPLv1

BSD (Bbalcony Software Distribution) Licenses

  • It does not require notification of changes made during the distribution of the software. Instead, changes made during the distribution of the software require that only the source code of the software be distributed. BSD licenses facilitate the free use of the software and allow hiding changes made during use of the software.
  • BSD 3-Clause License: This license requires distribution of the source code of the software and distribution of the modified software under the same license. However, changes made during the use of the software do not need to be reported.
  • BSD 2-Clause License: This license mandates that only the source code of the software be distributed. The modified software need not be distributed under the same license.
  • BSD 0-Clause License: This license does not require the distribution of the source code of the software and the distribution of the modified software under the same license. This license allows the most customization of the free use of the software.

Modified BSD License (ModifiedBSD)

It is the original BSD license, which was replaced by the removal of the promotional material.

  • Compatible with the GNU GPL,
  • flexible, tolerant,
  • A non-copyleft free software license.

open bsd License

Based on modified BSD license and does not grant any patent licenses An express condition has been added.

  • Compatible with GPLv2 and GPLv3

berkeleydb (Berkeley Database License)

  • Compatible with the GNU GPL.

Expat License / MIT License (Massachusetts Iinstitute of Ttechnology)

MIT License License of published codes owned (property) allows it to be used in software if that software also distributes the license.

  • Compatible with GPL
  • not copyleft

MPL (Mozilla Public Lice)

In principle, MPL tries to combine the possibilities of the BSD license with the GNU General Public License.

  • Partially Copyleft

CDDL (Cummon Development and Ddistribution Lice)

  • It was created by Sun Microsystems, based on the Mozilla Public License (MPL).
  • Although incompatible with the GPL, it is intended to license Released products under GPL compatible licenses.

Apache 2.0 License

It is a free software license released by the Apache Software Foundation (ASF).

  • GPLv3 uyumlu island
  • not copyleft
  • It does not require distribution to be free or open source.

Free Document Licenses

  • GNU Free Documentation License LDF
  • FreeBSD Documentation License
  • Apple's Common Documentation License, Version 1.0
  • Open Publication License, Version 1.0

Not Free Document Licenses

  • Open Content License, Version 1.0

    This license is not free, as it includes restrictions on asking money for copies.
  • Creative Commons NonCommercial, any version

    This license is not free, as it includes restrictions on asking money for copies.
  • Creative Commons Noderivatives, any version
    This license is not free because it contains restrictions on the distribution of modified versions.

OSI (Open Source Initiative)

OSI, non-profit organization that certifies Open Source licenses.

For details: OSI license list…

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