License To Code

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What open source projects are OK to use in a comercially distributed product?

Good

Bad

Some licenses are explicitly not OK to use. For example, the copyleft licenses cannot be used in a closed source project. The following list is not exhaustive. Just because a license is not on the list does not automatically mean that it safe to use.

Dual Licenses

It is possible for a project to have more than one license specified. Unless specified otherwise in their licensing, all clauses from all licenses apply. This means that, to be safe, each license needs to be on the approved list.

Other Licenses

Any other license must be evaluated on a case by case basis.

More Information

The Open Source Initiative has lots of useful information about OSS licensing. Choose A License does a great job of breaking down the most common licenses comparing the differences between them.

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