“The Open Source Initiative recognized 18 different licenses as
Open Source Software licenses. If a program adheres to one of these
licenses, then it can officially be considered Open Source. Each
one of these licenses have a time and place in the Open Source
world, and each one has it’s own unique history. I am going to put
all 18 of these licenses on equal ground (even though I adore the
GPL), because they are recognized as equals by the Open Source
Initiative. So rather than comparing and contrasting 18 licenses in
one article, I’ll break it up, and review a couple of different
licenses each month. The first two I will be evaluating will be the
General Public License (GPL) and the Mozilla Public License
(MPL).”
“The GNU General Public License was created by Richard Stallman
to protect the legal right of free software. Free software in the
eyes of the GNU is having access to all the code a program
contains, including code that just links to GPL covered code. When
a program is released under the GPL, it indefinitely retains
certain attributes. Under the GPL, a program must provide users
with the program’s source code if asked, and in return, the author
may obtain the source code to any modifications made to the
program.”
“If a program is GPL’d, all code must be attainable by any
individual who wishes to inspect it. It is important to note that
all source must be surrendered. This includes any code that uses
GPL code, or is linked to a GPL program. This feature often
discourages people who need to include some proprietary software,
because they must forfeit the proprietary code, or be in violation
of the GPL, and face a lawsuit. Also included in the GPL is a
clause designed to protect the author of free software, by stating
that GPL software has no warranty.”