Trademark-Use on Your License

Apache License 2.0

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Apache 2.0 is a permissive license similar in spirit to MIT but with two key additions: an explicit patent grant from contributors, and an explicit requirement to document significant changes. It does not grant trademark rights.

The patent grant makes Apache 2.0 preferable for projects with many contributors or corporate sponsors — it reduces the risk of patent lawsuits against downstream users. Apache 2.0 is not compatible with GPL-2.0, but is compatible with GPL-3.0 and later.

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

CC BY 4.0 is Creative Commons’ most permissive licence that still requires attribution. Anyone may share, remix, adapt, and build on the material for any purpose, including commercial, provided they give appropriate credit, link to the licence, and indicate if changes were made.

It is a good default for text, images, video, and datasets when you want the widest possible reuse but still want recognition. For pure databases in the EU, ODbL-1.0 addresses sui generis rights CC BY does not fully cover.

Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

CC BY-SA 4.0 is the copyleft Creative Commons licence. Anyone may share, remix, adapt, and build on the material for any purpose, including commercial, provided they give appropriate credit and license their adaptations under the same licence or a CC-approved compatible licence.

It is the right choice for content that should stay in the commons even as it is remixed. Wikipedia uses CC BY-SA 4.0 in combination with the GNU Free Documentation License.

Creative Commons Zero 1.0 Universal

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

CC0-1.0 is a public-domain dedication. The author waives, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, all copyright and related rights — and in jurisdictions where waiver is not possible, grants an equivalent unconditional licence.

CC0 does not grant patent or trademark rights. For software, the FSF considers CC0 free and GPL-compatible, but OSI has not formally approved it.

For content, media, and data, CC0 is the most permissive option. For software specifically, many projects prefer MIT or the Unlicense.

Elastic License 2.0

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Elastic License 2.0 (ELv2) is a short source-available license with three simple restrictions: you cannot provide the software as a managed service, you cannot circumvent license keys, and you cannot remove or alter licensing or copyright notices.

Everything else — use, modification, distribution, private use, commercial use in your own products — is allowed. ELv2 is much shorter than BUSL and does not have a conversion date.

ELv2 is not OSI-approved.

Mozilla Public License 2.0

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

MPL-2.0 applies copyleft at the file level: if you modify an MPL-2.0 file, that file stays under MPL-2.0, but new files can be under a different license. This makes it easier to combine MPL-2.0 code with proprietary code than GPL or LGPL.

It includes an explicit patent grant and retaliation clause. It is compatible with both GPL and Apache-style licenses, which makes MPL-2.0 a common choice for projects that want some copyleft protection without scaring off commercial users.