open source license

from The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (8 July 2008)
Open source license

   <legal> Any document that attempts to specify {open source}
   usage and distribution of software.  These licenses are
   usually drafted by experts and are likely to be more legally
   sound than one a programmer could write.  However, loopholes
   do exist.

   Here is a non-exhaustive list of open source licenses:

   1. {Public Domain} - No license.

   2. {BSD} License - An early open source license

   3. {General Public License} (GPL) - The {copyleft} license of
   the {Free Software Foundation}.  Used for {GNU} software and
   much of {Linux}.

   4. Artistic License
   (http://my-opensource.org/Artistic.txt) Less restrictive
   than the GPL, permitted by {Perl} in addition to the GPL.

   5. Mozilla Public Licenses (http://mozilla.org/MPL/).
   (MPL, MozPL) and Netscape Public License (NPL).

   ["Open Sources", pub. O'Reilly, full text
   (http://oreilly.com/catalog/opensources/book/perens.html)].

   (1999-11-28)