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Last modified by chrisby on 2025/01/11 10:03
From version 2.65
edited by chrisby
on 2025/01/01 11:53
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To version 2.59
edited by chrisby
on 2025/01/01 11:46
Change comment: There is no comment for this version

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42 42  The FSF sees several problems with permissive licenses:
43 43  
44 44  * Permissive code allows vendors to include it in their proprietary products. Software that is partially open source does not necessarily make it more secure. For example, in a product that is 99% open source, the remaining 1% proprietary part may contain all the malicious code. This means that the partially open source product poses the same dangers as a 100% proprietary product. 100% open source code running on your own machine is a necessary condition to achieve freedom and security.
45 -* Another problem is that vendors can reuse permissive code without any obligation to share improvements. The vendor writes new proprietary or closed source code based on the open source code and keeps those improvements for himself. This means that the work of the open source community can be used for the vendor's financial benefit without anything being given back. Worse, the proprietary product may outcompete the original open source project, reducing its impact and harming the open source ecosystem. This is called "proprietary capture" or "open core hijacking".
45 +* Another problem is that vendors can reuse permissive code without any obligation to share improvements. The vendor writes new proprietary or closed source code based on the open source code and keeps those improvements for himself. This means that the work of the open source community can be used for the vendor's financial benefit without anything being given back. Worse, the proprietary product may outcompete the original open source project, reducing its impact and harming the open source ecosystem. This is called "proprietary capture" or "open-core hijacking".
46 46  * There is also the problem of fragmentation. Multiple vendors may each create their own proprietary product based on the same permissive code. Instead of collaborating and contributing back to the common core project, they are inefficiently duplicating their efforts.
47 47  
48 48  **Copyleft Licenses**
49 49  
50 -To address the problems with proprietary software, the FSF primarily promotes copyleft licenses, which require that any derivative works of the software be licensed under the same terms as the original code. The term "derivative work" is legally vague, but a common understanding is that it means a new work based on the original copyleft code that incorporates it at the source level. This ensures that when contributions are made to a copyleft project, or when copyleft code is directly reused in another project, the resulting work must be released under the same copyleft license. This prevents vendors from incorporating copyleft code into proprietary products, and ensures that any derivative works remain open source. In addition, copyleft licenses require that the source code be made available to users so that they can modify, build, and control the software themselves.
50 +To address the problems with proprietary software, the FSF primarily promotes copyleft licenses, which require that any derivative works of the software be licensed under the same terms as the original code. A derivative work is a new work based on the original copyleft code that incorporates it at the source level. This ensures that when contributions are made to a copyleft project, or when copyleft code is reused in another project, the resulting work must also be released under the same copyleft license. This prevents vendors from incorporating copyleft code into proprietary products, and ensures that any derivative works remain open source. In addition, copyleft licenses require that the source code be made available to users so that they can modify, build, and control the software themselves.
51 51  
52 52  **OSI Position**
53 53  
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61 61  
62 62  **Do permissive or copyleft licenses provide the most freedom?**
63 63  
64 -* The answer depends on your definition of freedom. Permissive licenses emphasize freedom of choice, allowing you to do whatever you want with the code, including reusing it in proprietary products. Copyleft licenses emphasize user freedom in a more political sense by ensuring that derivative works remain free and open, and by protecting users from proprietary restrictions that could violate the four essential software freedoms. Thus, both permissive and copyleft licenses provide freedom, but they focus on different aspects of it.
64 +* The answer depends on your definition of freedom. Permissive licenses emphasize freedom of choice, allowing you to do whatever you want with the code, including reusing it in proprietary products. Copyleft licenses emphasize user freedom by ensuring that derivative works remain free and open, and by protecting users from proprietary restrictions that could violate the four essential software freedoms. Thus, both permissive and copyleft licenses provide freedom, but they focus on different aspects of it.
65 65  
66 66  **Does a permissive or copyleft project lead to more contributions?**
67 67