Jump to content

Policies/Licensing Policy: Difference between revisions

From KDE Community Wiki
Sitter (talk | contribs)
remove trailing whitespaces :@
Riddell (talk | contribs)
Approved at Akademy 2017
Line 1: Line 1:
This licence policy is designed to allow maximum code reuse with the community of KDE and beyond while making exceptions for the few cases which need it.
This licence policy is designed to allow maximum code reuse with the community of KDE and beyond while making exceptions for the few cases which need it.


All new source code and related data files in KDE repositories (SVN, GIT) must meet the following requirements:
All new source code and related data files in KDE repositories (SVN, Git) must meet the following requirements:
# All files must be in their preferred modifiable form, or alongside the file which is the preferred modifiable form.  In the 'alongside' case, there must be clear instructions for how to build using the preferred modifiable form.
# All files must be in their preferred modifiable form, or alongside the file which is the preferred modifiable form.  In the 'alongside' case, there must be clear instructions for how to build using the preferred modifiable form.
# All source files must contain a copyright header which identifies the copyright holder(s) together with an e-mail address that can be used to reach the copyright holder.
# All source files must contain a copyright header which identifies the copyright holder(s) together with an e-mail address that can be used to reach the copyright holder.
# Each source file must contain one of the licence headers listed below to state under which terms the software may be used, modified and redistributed.
# Each source file must contain one of the licence headers listed below to state under which terms the software may be used, modified and redistributed.
# ''Source files'' that are part of a library with a public API which is part of the KDE Platform (kdelibs, kdepimlibs, kde-runtime and KDE Frameworks) must be licensed under one of the following terms:
# ''Source files'' that are part of a library with a public API which is part of the KDE Platform (kdelibs, kdepimlibs, kde-runtime and KDE Frameworks) must be licensed under:
#* '''LGPL''' version 2.1, or version 3 or later versions approved by the membership of KDE e.V. [preferred]
#* '''[https://spdx.org/licenses/LGPL-2.1.html LGPL]''' version 2.1, or version 3 or later versions approved by the membership of KDE e.V.
#* '''LGPL''' version 2.1 as listed in {{path|kdelibs/COPYING.LIB}} or later
#:They may also be licensed under one of the following terms if it helps with license compatibility:
#* '''BSD license''' as listed below.<br/>Ensure that the BSD license '''does not contain the so called 'advertisement clause'.'''
#* '''[https://spdx.org/licenses/LGPL-2.1.html LGPL]''' version 2.1 or later
#* '''MIT license''' as listed below.
#* '''[https://spdx.org/licenses/BSD-2-Clause.html BSD license]''' as listed below.<br/>Ensure that the BSD license '''does not contain the so called 'advertisement clause' or terms similar to [https://github.com/facebook/react/blob/master/PATENTS Facebook's Additional Grant of Patent Rights].'''
#* '''X11 license''' as listed below.
#* '''[https://spdx.org/licenses/MIT.html MIT license]''' as listed below.
#* '''[https://spdx.org/licenses/X11.html X11 license]''' as listed below.
#:'''Note:''' each bulletpoint above is a single option, it can not be licenced under just part of one bulletpoint option
#:'''Note:''' each bulletpoint above is a single option, it can not be licenced under just part of one bulletpoint option
#:'''Note:''' code may not be copied from Qt into KDE Platform as Qt is LGPL 2.1 only which would prevent it being used under LGPL 3
#:'''Note:''' code may not be copied from Qt into KDE Platform as Qt is LGPL 3 only which would prevent it being used under LGPL 2.1
#:'''Note:''' the LGPL 2.1, 3 or approved by e.V. option is preferred and should be used unless there are special needs to improve code shareability
#:'''Note:''' the LGPL 2.1, 3 or approved by e.V. option is preferred and should be used unless there are special needs to improve code shareability
# Any other source files must be licensed under one of the terms listed under 4) or one of the following terms:
# Any other source files must be licensed under one of the terms listed under 4) or:
#* '''GPL''' version 2 or version 3 or later versions approved by the membership of KDE e.V. [preferred]
#* '''[https://spdx.org/licenses/GPL-2.0.html GPL]''' version 2 or version 3 or later versions approved by the membership of KDE e.V.
#* '''GPL''' version 2 or later
#:They may also be licensed under one of the following terms if it helps with license compatibility:
#* '''GPL''' version 3 or later
#* '''[https://spdx.org/licenses/GPL-2.0.html GPL]''' version 2 or later
#* '''GPL''' version 3 or later versions approved by the membership of KDE e.V.
#* '''[https://spdx.org/licenses/GPL-3.0.html GPL]''' version 3 or later
#* Code copied from Qt may be licenced under '''GPL''' version 2 or later versions
#* '''[https://spdx.org/licenses/GPL-3.0.html GPL]''' version 3 or later versions approved by the membership of KDE e.V.
#* Code copied from Qt may be licenced under '''GPL''' version 2 or later versions or under '''GPL''' version 3 or later versions depending on the licence of the relevant Qt code
#:'''Note:''' each bulletpoint above is a single option, it can not be licenced under just part of one bulletpoint option
#:'''Note:''' each bulletpoint above is a single option, it can not be licenced under just part of one bulletpoint option
#:'''Note:''' where a KDE repository contains files which are GPL 3+ it must be clearly marked by adding the full licence in a file called COPYING.GPL3 in the top directory of the repository
#:'''Note:''' where a KDE repository contains files which are GPL 3+ it must be clearly marked by adding the full licence in a file called COPYING.GPL3 in the top directory of the repository
#:'''Note:''' the GPL 2, 3 or approved by e.V. option is preferred and should be used unless there are special needs to improve code shareability
#:'''Note:''' Qt modules are either GPL2+ or GPL 3+, ensure the licence is compatible with your code before copying code from Qt
# ''Applications which are intended to be run on a server'' may be licenced under the '''[https://spdx.org/licenses/AGPL-3.0.html GNU AGPL 3.0]''' or later
#:'''Note:''' the GNU AGPL is the recommended licence for server software in KDE
# ''Translations'' of text from the files described in section 4 must be licenced under one of the terms in sections 4.  Translations of text from other files must be licenced under one of the terms in sections 4 or 5.
# ''Translations'' of text from the files described in section 4 must be licenced under one of the terms in sections 4.  Translations of text from other files must be licenced under one of the terms in sections 4 or 5.
# ''Icons'' in oxygen-icons and breeze must be licenced under the '''LGPL''' 3 or later versions approved by KDE e.V. Icons elsewhere can be licenced under any of the terms in section 4 or 5.
# ''Media files'' such as images may be licensed under the '''[https://spdx.org/licenses/CC-BY-SA-4.0.html CC-BY-SA-4.0]''' or compatible licence. 
# ''Documentation'' must be licensed under one of the following terms:
#:'''Note:''' Image files must be committed together with their preferred modifiable form such as SVG.
#* '''FDL''' versions 1.2 as listed in {{path|kdelibs/COPYING.DOC}} or later versions with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts.
#:'''Note:''' CC-BY-SA 4.0 can be one-way converted to GPL 3.
#* '''FDL''' versions 1.2 as listed in {{path|kdelibs/COPYING.DOC}} or later versions approved by KDE e.V. with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts.  
# ''Icons'' should be licenced as CC-BY-SA 4.0 or can also be licenced under any of the terms in section 4 or 5 or 8.  Icons in oxygen-icons and breeze-icons themes must be licenced under the '''[https://spdx.org/licenses/LGPL-3.0.html LGPL 3]''' or later versions approved by KDE e.V.
# Content on collaborative edited websites such as wikis must be licensed under the '''Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 4.0 International'''  or compatible licence.
# ''Documentation'' must be licensed under the '''[https://spdx.org/licenses/CC-BY-SA-4.0.html CC-BY-SA-4.0]''' or compatible licence
#:'''Note:''' CC-BY-SA 4.0 can be one-way converted to GPL 3.
# Documentation started before 2017 can be licensed under one of the following terms:
#* '''[https://spdx.org/licenses/GFDL-1.3.html FDL]''' versions 1.2 or later versions with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts.
#* '''FDL''' versions 1.2 or later versions approved by KDE e.V. with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts.
#:Note each bulletpoint above is a single option, it can not be licenced under just part of one bulletpoint option
#:Note each bulletpoint above is a single option, it can not be licenced under just part of one bulletpoint option
#:Documentation may additionally be licensed under any of the terms in section 4 or 5.
#:Documentation may additionally be licensed under any of the terms in section 4 or 5.
# ''CMake modules'' must be licenced under the BSD licence listed below
# ''CMake modules'' must be licenced under the BSD licence listed below
# ''Windows installer files'' using the WiX Toolset may be licenced under the Common Public Licence 1.0
# ''Windows installer files'' using the WiX Toolset may be licenced under the '''[https://spdx.org/licenses/CPAL-1.0.html Common Public Licence 1.0]'''
# ''Standalone media files'' such as images may be licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported licence at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ .   This does not apply to icons or anything which is likely to be mixed with content under our normal (GPL etc) licences.
# Other data included in KDE's codebase must be licenced under one of the terms in sections 4 or 5.
# Other data included in KDE's codebase must be licenced under one of the terms in sections 4 or 5.
# Contributors who have signed the Fiduciary License Agreement with KDE e.V. may licence files described in section 3 under LGPL 2.1 & 3 only and may licence other source files under GPL 2 & 3 only.
# As new versions of GNU licenses are published they will be discussed by the membership of KDE e.V. and accepted via an announcement on http://ev.kde.org whether we will adopy it.  This will depend on if adopting the licence would harm the future distribution of KDE, if the licence preserves freedom for our developers & users and a vote by the membership agrees to the acceptance of the new licence version.
# As new versions of GNU licenses are published they will be discussed by the membership of KDE e.V. and accepted via an announcement on http://ev.kde.org whether not adopting the licence would harm the future distribution of KDE, the licence preserves freedom for our developers & users and a vote by the membership agrees to the acceptance of the new licence version.


== GPL Header ==
== GPL Header ==
[https://spdx.org/licenses/GPL-2.0.html GPL-2+3+KDEeV]
<pre>
<pre>
Copyright <year>  <name of author> <e-mail>
Copyright <year>  <name of author> <e-mail>
Line 44: Line 53:
modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as
modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as
published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of
published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of
the License, or (at your option) any later version.
the License or (at your option) version 3 or any later version
accepted by the membership of KDE e.V. (or its successor approved
by the membership of KDE e.V.), which shall act as a proxy
defined in Section 14 of version 3 of the license.


This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
Line 55: Line 67:
</pre>
</pre>


or for later versions approved by KDE e.V.
== LGPL Header ==
 
[https://spdx.org/licenses/LGPL-2.1.html LGPL-2.1+3+KDEeV]
<pre>
<pre>
Copyright <year>  <name of author> <e-mail>
Copyright <year>  <name of author> <e-mail>


This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as
modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public
published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of
License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either
the License or (at your option) version 3 or any later version
version 2.1 of the License, or (at your option) version 3, or any
accepted by the membership of KDE e.V. (or its successor approved
later version accepted by the membership of KDE e.V. (or its
by the membership of KDE e.V.), which shall act as a proxy
successor approved by the membership of KDE e.V.), which shall
defined in Section 14 of version 3 of the license.
act as a proxy defined in Section 6 of version 3 of the license.


This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
GNU General Public License for more details.
Lesser General Public License for more details.


You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public  
along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
License along with this library.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
</pre>
</pre>


== GPL 3 or later ==
== Alternative Licenses Allowed for License Compatibility ==
 
[https://spdx.org/licenses/GPL-2.0.html GPL-2.0+]
Any repository which has this must be clearly marked with a copy of the GPL 3 in a file called COPYING.GPL3 in the top directory
 
<pre>
<pre>
Copyright <year>  <name of author> <e-mail>
Copyright <year>  <name of author> <e-mail>
Line 86: Line 96:
This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as
modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as
published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 3 of
published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of  
the License, or (at your option) any later version.
the License, or (at your option) any later version.


Line 98: Line 108:
</pre>
</pre>


or for later versions approved by KDE e.V.
===GPL 3+KDEeV===
[https://spdx.org/licenses/GPL-3.0.html GPL-3.0+KDEeV]
 
Any repository which has this must be clearly marked with a copy of the GPL 3 in a file called COPYING.GPL3 in the top directory


<pre>
<pre>
Line 106: Line 119:
modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as
modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as
published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 3 of
published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 3 of
the License or any later version accepted by the membership of
the License or any later version accepted by the membership of  
KDE e.V. (or its successor approved by the membership of KDE
KDE e.V. (or its successor approved by the membership of KDE
e.V.), which shall act as a proxy defined in Section 14 of
e.V.), which shall act as a proxy defined in Section 14 of
Line 120: Line 133:
</pre>
</pre>


== LGPL Header ==
===GPL 3+===
[https://spdx.org/licenses/GPL-3.0.html GPL-3.0+]
 
<pre>
<pre>
Copyright <year>  <name of author> <e-mail>
Copyright <year>  <name of author> <e-mail>


This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public
modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as
License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either
published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 3 of  
version 2.1 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
the License, or (at your option) any later version.


This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
Lesser General Public License for more details.
GNU General Public License for more details.


You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public
You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
License along with this library.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
</pre>
</pre>


or for later versions approved by KDE e.V.
===LGPL 2.1===
[https://spdx.org/licenses/LGPL-2.1.html LGPL-2.1]


<pre>
<pre>
Line 145: Line 161:
This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public
modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public
License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either
License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either  
version 2.1 of the License, or (at your option) version 3, or any
version 2.1 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
later version accepted by the membership of KDE e.V. (or its
successor approved by the membership of KDE e.V.), which shall
act as a proxy defined in Section 6 of version 3 of the license.


This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
Line 156: Line 169:
Lesser General Public License for more details.
Lesser General Public License for more details.


You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public
You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public  
License along with this library.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
License along with this library.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
</pre>
</pre>


== BSD License ==
=== BSD ===
[https://spdx.org/licenses/BSD-2-Clause.html BSD-2-Clause]
<pre>
<pre>
Copyright <year>  <name of author> <e-mail>
Copyright <year>  <name of author> <e-mail>
Line 186: Line 200:
</pre>
</pre>


A third requirement is sometimes included: "3. The name of the author may not be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software without specific prior written permission."  
A third requirement is sometimes included: "3. The name of the author may not be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software without specific prior written permission."


The advertising clause requiring mention in adverts must never be included.
The advertising clause requiring mention in adverts must never be included.  The Facebook patent grant must never be included.


== X11 License ==
=== X11 License ===
[https://spdx.org/licenses/X11.html X11]
<pre>
<pre>
Copyright <year>  <name of author> <e-mail>
Copyright <year>  <name of author> <e-mail>
Line 217: Line 232:


== MIT license ==
== MIT license ==
[https://spdx.org/licenses/MIT.html MIT]
<pre>
<pre>
Copyright <year>  <name of author> <e-mail>
Copyright <year>  <name of author> <e-mail>


Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software
Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining
and its documentation for any purpose and without fee is hereby
a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the
granted, provided that the above copyright notice appear in all
"Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including
copies and that both that the copyright notice and this
without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish,
permission notice and warranty disclaimer appear in supporting
distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to
documentation, and that the name of the author not be used in
permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to
advertising or publicity pertaining to distribution of the
the following conditions:
software without specific, written prior permission.


The author disclaim all warranties with regard to this
The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included
software, including all implied warranties of merchantability
in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
and fitness.  In no event shall the author be liable for any
 
special, indirect or consequential damages or any damages
THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND,
whatsoever resulting from loss of use, data or profits, whether
EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF
in an action of contract, negligence or other tortious action,
MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT.
arising out of or in connection with the use or performance of
IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY
this software.
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.
</pre>
</pre>
= Changelog =
== July 2017 ==
* Note that Qt is LGPL 3 not 2.1
* Code copied from Qt can be GPL 3 as well as GPL 2, check comparible with your code
* Allow AGPL for web apps
* Encourage AGPL for web apps
* Allow icons to be CC-BY-SA 4
* Allow media files to be CC-BY-SA 4 and no longer allow CC-BY-SA 3
* Note CC-BY-SA 4 is LGPL 3 compatible
* Documentation to be CC-BY-SA 4
* MIT text now one of the more standard variants (modern style with sublicence)
* Links to SPDX licences
* Dissallow Facebook's additional grant of patent rights
* require (L)GPL2+3+eV with option of other stuff to give a clear indication of which is preferred
* remove licence option of GPL2+3 only for FLA signers, nobody uses it and it's the same as GPL2+3+eV
* Note images must have SVG committed with it
* re-order license headers to make 2+3+KDEeV the main option


[[Category:Policies]]
[[Category:Policies]]

Revision as of 13:34, 27 July 2017

This licence policy is designed to allow maximum code reuse with the community of KDE and beyond while making exceptions for the few cases which need it.

All new source code and related data files in KDE repositories (SVN, Git) must meet the following requirements:

  1. All files must be in their preferred modifiable form, or alongside the file which is the preferred modifiable form. In the 'alongside' case, there must be clear instructions for how to build using the preferred modifiable form.
  2. All source files must contain a copyright header which identifies the copyright holder(s) together with an e-mail address that can be used to reach the copyright holder.
  3. Each source file must contain one of the licence headers listed below to state under which terms the software may be used, modified and redistributed.
  4. Source files that are part of a library with a public API which is part of the KDE Platform (kdelibs, kdepimlibs, kde-runtime and KDE Frameworks) must be licensed under:
    • LGPL version 2.1, or version 3 or later versions approved by the membership of KDE e.V.
    They may also be licensed under one of the following terms if it helps with license compatibility:
    Note: each bulletpoint above is a single option, it can not be licenced under just part of one bulletpoint option
    Note: code may not be copied from Qt into KDE Platform as Qt is LGPL 3 only which would prevent it being used under LGPL 2.1
    Note: the LGPL 2.1, 3 or approved by e.V. option is preferred and should be used unless there are special needs to improve code shareability
  5. Any other source files must be licensed under one of the terms listed under 4) or:
    • GPL version 2 or version 3 or later versions approved by the membership of KDE e.V.
    They may also be licensed under one of the following terms if it helps with license compatibility:
    • GPL version 2 or later
    • GPL version 3 or later
    • GPL version 3 or later versions approved by the membership of KDE e.V.
    • Code copied from Qt may be licenced under GPL version 2 or later versions or under GPL version 3 or later versions depending on the licence of the relevant Qt code
    Note: each bulletpoint above is a single option, it can not be licenced under just part of one bulletpoint option
    Note: where a KDE repository contains files which are GPL 3+ it must be clearly marked by adding the full licence in a file called COPYING.GPL3 in the top directory of the repository
    Note: Qt modules are either GPL2+ or GPL 3+, ensure the licence is compatible with your code before copying code from Qt
  6. Applications which are intended to be run on a server may be licenced under the GNU AGPL 3.0 or later
    Note: the GNU AGPL is the recommended licence for server software in KDE
  7. Translations of text from the files described in section 4 must be licenced under one of the terms in sections 4. Translations of text from other files must be licenced under one of the terms in sections 4 or 5.
  8. Media files such as images may be licensed under the CC-BY-SA-4.0 or compatible licence.
    Note: Image files must be committed together with their preferred modifiable form such as SVG.
    Note: CC-BY-SA 4.0 can be one-way converted to GPL 3.
  9. Icons should be licenced as CC-BY-SA 4.0 or can also be licenced under any of the terms in section 4 or 5 or 8. Icons in oxygen-icons and breeze-icons themes must be licenced under the LGPL 3 or later versions approved by KDE e.V.
  10. Content on collaborative edited websites such as wikis must be licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 4.0 International or compatible licence.
  11. Documentation must be licensed under the CC-BY-SA-4.0 or compatible licence
    Note: CC-BY-SA 4.0 can be one-way converted to GPL 3.
  12. Documentation started before 2017 can be licensed under one of the following terms:
    • FDL versions 1.2 or later versions with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts.
    • FDL versions 1.2 or later versions approved by KDE e.V. with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts.
    Note each bulletpoint above is a single option, it can not be licenced under just part of one bulletpoint option
    Documentation may additionally be licensed under any of the terms in section 4 or 5.
  13. CMake modules must be licenced under the BSD licence listed below
  14. Windows installer files using the WiX Toolset may be licenced under the Common Public Licence 1.0
  15. Other data included in KDE's codebase must be licenced under one of the terms in sections 4 or 5.
  16. As new versions of GNU licenses are published they will be discussed by the membership of KDE e.V. and accepted via an announcement on http://ev.kde.org whether we will adopy it. This will depend on if adopting the licence would harm the future distribution of KDE, if the licence preserves freedom for our developers & users and a vote by the membership agrees to the acceptance of the new licence version.

GPL Header

GPL-2+3+KDEeV

Copyright <year>  <name of author> <e-mail>

This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as
published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of
the License or (at your option) version 3 or any later version
accepted by the membership of KDE e.V. (or its successor approved
by the membership of KDE e.V.), which shall act as a proxy 
defined in Section 14 of version 3 of the license.

This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
GNU General Public License for more details.

You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.

LGPL Header

LGPL-2.1+3+KDEeV

Copyright <year>  <name of author> <e-mail>

This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public
License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either
version 2.1 of the License, or (at your option) version 3, or any
later version accepted by the membership of KDE e.V. (or its
successor approved by the membership of KDE e.V.), which shall
act as a proxy defined in Section 6 of version 3 of the license.

This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
Lesser General Public License for more details.

You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public 
License along with this library.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.

Alternative Licenses Allowed for License Compatibility

GPL-2.0+

Copyright <year>  <name of author> <e-mail>

This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as
published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of 
the License, or (at your option) any later version.

This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
GNU General Public License for more details.

You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.

GPL 3+KDEeV

GPL-3.0+KDEeV

Any repository which has this must be clearly marked with a copy of the GPL 3 in a file called COPYING.GPL3 in the top directory

Copyright <year>  <name of author> <e-mail>

This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as
published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 3 of
the License or any later version accepted by the membership of 
KDE e.V. (or its successor approved by the membership of KDE
e.V.), which shall act as a proxy defined in Section 14 of
version 3 of the license.

This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
GNU General Public License for more details.

You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.

GPL 3+

GPL-3.0+

Copyright <year>  <name of author> <e-mail>

This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as
published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 3 of 
the License, or (at your option) any later version.

This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
GNU General Public License for more details.

You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.

LGPL 2.1

LGPL-2.1

Copyright <year>  <name of author> <e-mail>

This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public
License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either 
version 2.1 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.

This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
Lesser General Public License for more details.

You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public 
License along with this library.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.

BSD

BSD-2-Clause

Copyright <year>  <name of author> <e-mail>

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.

THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE AUTHOR ``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 AUTHOR 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.

A third requirement is sometimes included: "3. The name of the author may not be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software without specific prior written permission."

The advertising clause requiring mention in adverts must never be included. The Facebook patent grant must never be included.

X11 License

X11

Copyright <year>  <name of author> <e-mail>

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
X CONSORTIUM 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.

Except as contained in this notice, the name of the X Consortium shall not be
used in advertising or otherwise to promote the sale, use or other dealings
in this Software without prior written authorization from the X Consortium.

MIT license

MIT

Copyright <year>  <name of author> <e-mail>

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.

Changelog

July 2017

  • Note that Qt is LGPL 3 not 2.1
  • Code copied from Qt can be GPL 3 as well as GPL 2, check comparible with your code
  • Allow AGPL for web apps
  • Encourage AGPL for web apps
  • Allow icons to be CC-BY-SA 4
  • Allow media files to be CC-BY-SA 4 and no longer allow CC-BY-SA 3
  • Note CC-BY-SA 4 is LGPL 3 compatible
  • Documentation to be CC-BY-SA 4
  • MIT text now one of the more standard variants (modern style with sublicence)
  • Links to SPDX licences
  • Dissallow Facebook's additional grant of patent rights
  • require (L)GPL2+3+eV with option of other stuff to give a clear indication of which is preferred
  • remove licence option of GPL2+3 only for FLA signers, nobody uses it and it's the same as GPL2+3+eV
  • Note images must have SVG committed with it
  • re-order license headers to make 2+3+KDEeV the main option