For a simpler comparison across the most common licenses see
free-software license comparison. The following table compares various features of each license and is a general guide to the terms and conditions of each license, based on seven subjects or categories. Recent tools like the European Commissions' Licensing Assistant, makes possible the licenses selection and comparison based on more than 40 subjects or categories, with access to their
SPDX identifier and full text. The table below lists the permissions and limitations regarding the following subjects: •
Linking -
linking of the licensed code with code licensed under a different license (e.g. when the code is provided as a
library) •
Distribution - distribution of the code to third parties •
Modification - modification of the code by a licensee •
Patent grant - protection of licensees from patent claims made by code contributors regarding their contribution, and protection of contributors from patent claims made by licensees •
Private use - whether modification to the code must be shared with the community or may be used privately (e.g. internal use by a corporation) •
Sublicensing - whether modified code may be licensed under a different license (for example a
copyright) or must retain the same license under which it was provided •
TM grant - use of trademarks associated with the licensed code or its contributors by a licensee In this table, "
permissive" means the software has minimal restrictions on how it can be used, modified, and redistributed, usually including a warranty disclaimer. "
Copyleft" means the software requires that its source code be made available to each user and that all provisions in the license be preserved in derivative works. Other licenses that don't have information: ==Approvals==