Freedom From Restriction, Freedom Of A Restriction: A Comparison Of Some Open Source Software Licenses

Abstract

There is a multitude of licenses out there for a software developer to choose from, but a lot of programmers would prefer to not have to have a legal degree in order to understand them and would rather just have their code out in the public being used. This paper examines a few of the more popular and common software licenses available and compares their conditions from the perspective that a developer wanted to scratch their proverbial itch, have their code be used and maybe even get credit for it. This paper attempts to clarify which license a developer would benefit from the most if they just want to have their code used, have their name out there and not be sued if anything breaks.