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Terminology and Background on Intellectual Property
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Copyright is the primary form of intellectual property associated with software. Patents and trademarks may also be relevant.
A license is a legal tool to transfer selected intellectual property rights from one party to another.
Creative works, including software, are subject to copyright protections from the moment of creation.
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Why You Should Choose a License
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The two basic categories of software licenses are proprietary and open-source.
Specifying a software licenses provides guidance for would-be contributors and users about how they can engage with the software.
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What is Open Source?
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The Open Source Initiative (OSI) is considered the arbiter of open-source licenses.
The four freedoms include: running the software for any purpose, studying and changing the source code, and distributing copies of the original or modified source.
A permissive license allows derivative works to be licensed differently than the original; a copyleft license requires that the derivative use the same license as the original.
Creative Commons is a licensing scheme for non-software works that is similar to the open-source spectrum for software.
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Why Choose Open Source Licensing?
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Philosophical reasons include consistency with the scientific method and openness of publicly funded research results. Another reason is that it facilitates building a community around your software.
Most software-related business models work as well for open-source software as for proprietary.
Open-source doesn’t guarantee that outsiders will engage with your software. You’ll need to work to build a community of contributors and users.
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Choosing an Open Source License
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There are many OSI-approved licenses already available covering most needs. Some publication or other venues require OSI-approved licenses.
The variants of the GNU GPL license are among the most popular copyleft licenses, while Apache, BSD, and MIT are among the most popular permissive licenses.
ChooseALicense.com has analyses of more than 40 open-source licenses along 13 different characteristics.
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Documenting Your Choice of License
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License and copyright information can be documented in a centralized manner (at the repository level) and within individual files.
Individual files should include enough information to identify that they are copyrighted and licensed and point the recipient to the details.
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