I currently have an open source project that is licensed under GPLv3. I'd like to dual license it, so I can offer it for commercial use. Are there any resources for choosing or creating a commercial software license?
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6@MorganHerlocker Clause 6 of the Open-Source Definition rejects such licenses. About "even for the owner": IANAL, but if he's the sole owner of the copyright, he can license it pretty much any way he sees fit. – luiscubal Apr 28 '13 at 23:33
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1Nothing in open source licenses prohibits dual licensing. eg. http://www.mysql.com/about/legal/licensing/oem/ – Tim Malone May 04 '16 at 05:40
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Would be great for users if there is any well known commercial license. Today's long and difficult to comprehend licences are scary. – Tomas Tintera Mar 18 '19 at 14:29
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I think Binpress' license generator is excellent:
- Adjust the options below to fit your business needs.
- Once you hit "Generate License" at the bottom, you will be given a unique address to your generated license.
- If you leave an Email address and name, you can edit your license at any time (optional).
Thomas Owens
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Earlz
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Original answer refers to non working website. Here is working alternative https://eulatemplate.com/ which allows you to generate your customized EULA license based on pre-existing licenses from selected companies.
plastique
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Nice website. But it has no option for the type of license (like personal, workstation, volume, floating etc.). – Silicomancer Mar 07 '19 at 09:51
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I think most people just copy the EUA from some big software package from a big scary company.
Remember to replace Microsoft/Orace/whoever with your own name! There was the case of a database+programming language tools company big in the 90s that famously forgot!
Martin Beckett
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1I agree. Those companies pay a lot of lawyers a lot of money, so they must have a good contract. But I prefer a more "friendly" agreement to make the customer more comfortable. – xpda Aug 24 '11 at 02:44
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19Little known fact: Most companies copyright their publicly available licenses(EULAs, Privacy Policies, etc) and even if they don't explicitly copyright it, it's still "assumed" to be copyrighted under US law (note, IANAL) – Earlz Aug 29 '11 at 16:51
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1Yes that's why it was particularly embarrassing for the company that did the copy+paste! – Martin Beckett Aug 29 '11 at 19:03
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What you want is a free software license without copyleft?
Because, GNU GPL, GNU LGPL and GNU FDL, allow commercial use.
If you want to link with proprietary software, then use the GNU LGPL.
If copyleft is not desired I suggest you to use the lib/libpng license.
You may just put the license as a comment on those source code files. Or cite properly elsewhere.
From the FSF and GNU view proprietary software is a unethical thing: It's take away people freedom and commonly impose Digital Restrictions Management (DRM).
Some useful links to know more about this ethical issue:
http://www.gnu.org/philosophy
http://upgradefromwindows8.com
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Creative Commons. GNU. And you can find hundreds of examples at Law school web sites and even use existing EULA content and edit it to suit your needs. ALWAYS have your efforts reviewed by a competent attorney.
Skatterbrainz
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4Creative Commons and the GPL are both copyleft licenses that protect users. I'm looking for a license that allows companies to use the code the same way they would use proprietary code, but protects my copyright and the project's ability to remain open source. – Sean Fujiwara Aug 19 '11 at 21:31
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@ChrisHepner Computers were not meant to play games. There is nothing that would prevent you from using CC for software, you just need to make clear if the license applies to the source code, to the binary, or to both. – Mecki Mar 30 '19 at 18:40