Licences

The choice of software licence determines how code can be shared, modified, and monetised. For organisations, a deep understanding of licence implications is essential to avoid legal risks (such as the unintended copyleft effect) and to protect their IP strategy.

This section analyses the most common open-source licences as well as modern hybrid models (such as BSL and Fair Source) and evaluates them in their strategic context.

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Table of Contents

• AGPL: Source availability for network services: AGPL keeps modified service code under the same licence when remote users access the service.
• Apache 2.0: Commercial certainty for proprietary products: Apache 2.0 permits closed source embedding and includes an explicit patent grant.
• BSD: Maximum code freedom with few obligations: BSD licences permit broad use, modification and sale without copyleft requirements.
• BSL and Fair Source: Shared source with controlled commercial use: BSL and Fair Source restrict managed-service competition and later convert to open source.
• GPLv3: Reliable source access for recipients: GPLv3 keeps distributed modifications under the same licence and addresses patents and hardware locks.
• MIT: Simple use for commercial software: MIT permits proprietary combinations and broad reuse, with patent coverage handled separately.