Patent Analytics and Patent Searching. General Public License. Version 3, 29 June 2007 Copyright © 2007 Free Software Foundation, Inc. < Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies of this license document, but changing it is not allowed. Preamble The GNU General Public License is a free, copyleft license for software and other kinds of works.
The licenses for most software and other practical works are designed to take away your freedom to share and change the works. When we speak of free software, we are referring to freedom, not price. To protect your rights, we need to prevent others from denying you these rights or asking you to surrender the rights. For example, if you distribute copies of such a program, whether gratis or for a fee, you must pass on to the recipients the same freedoms that you received. Developers that use the GNU GPL protect your rights with two steps: (1) assert copyright on the software, and (2) offer you this License giving you legal permission to copy, distribute and/or modify it. 0. 1. 2.
Open Source Licenses. About Open Source Licenses Open source licenses are licenses that comply with the Open Source Definition — in brief, they allow software to be freely used, modified, and shared. To be approved by the Open Source Initiative (also known as the OSI), a license must go through the Open Source Initiative's license review process. Popular Licenses The following OSI-approved licenses are popular, widely used, or have strong communities (as defined in the 2006 Proliferation Report): All Approved Licenses Many other licenses are also OSI-approved, but fall into other categories, such as special-purpose licenses, superseded licenses, or retired licenses.
Questions? The OSI maintains a FAQ, which includes a lot of useful background on open source licensing, including: For more information about open source licenses and in particular about the Open Source Initiative's approval process, see: Esp@cenet — Home page. The European Patent Office Homepage. United States Patent and Trademark Office Home Page. The Public Patent Foundation.