Clarify code and package release license
tellarin opened this issue · comments
This looks like a great library! But it seems to be missing a LICENSE statement, which blocks people from both leveraging it and contributing back.
Could you please specify in the repo under which license the code and released packages fall under? A clear standard license is of great value for the community.
Thanks.
Thanks for the quick reply.
A license means under what legal terms other people can use your code. For example, they can only use and not change it, use it in any way they want, use it only for education purposes, not allowed to re-distribute the code, etc.
You can read more about source-code licenses in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_license and https://opensource.org/licenses.
The way GitHub represents the source-code license for a project is by having a LICENSE file in the root of the repository that contains the full license text that applies to the repo code. Many (most?) open-source projects use either the MIT or BSD licenses, which are the most flexible ones and allow basically any use. Others prefer licenses that have extra clauses and restrictions.
Once you decide wich license you think is best, just create the LICENSE file in the repo containin its full text. Based on your reply above, it seems MIT or BSD would be OK.
For reference, from the OSI website, the text of the BSD v3 license would be the one below. You just need to change the year and your name as copyright holder.
Copyright <YEAR> <COPYRIGHT HOLDER>
Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:
1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
3. Neither the name of the copyright holder nor the names of its contributors may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software without specific prior written permission.
THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT HOLDER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
For reference, from the OSI website, the text of the MIT license would be the one below. You just need to change the year and your name as copyright holder.
Copyright <YEAR> <COPYRIGHT HOLDER>
Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.
You should chose any license that fits your needs the best.
Cheers!
Awesome! This will greatly help lots of people.
Congrats again on the great lib! Hope it lives a long and popular life. 💯