International Grades - Open Technologies

Licensing can be confusing, yet it is an integral part of developing works for public consumption.

What is a license?

A license is a permit that states what you want to allow other people to do with your work.

How do I write a license?

You don't. Always choose a standard license. This ensures that your work is compatible with the work done by other people who have similar ideas as you.

This guide will help you choose the right license for your work.

Ok, how do I pick a license?

Essentially, there are two things you need to know:

Is it a software project?

Are you writing a program or a macro script? There are specialist licenses designed for software and you should use one of those.

Do you want a reciprocal license?

A reciprocal license essentialy says, "you can use this work, but only if you share alike". This is explained in more detail below.

With the following table you can find the license we recommend for you:

.c, .b, .r, .br { text-align:center; } .b { border-bottom: 1px solid #000; } .r { border-right: 1px solid #000; } .br { border-bottom: 1px solid #000; border-right: 1px solid #000; } .bl { border-bottom: 1px solid #000; border-left: 1px solid #000; }

	Software?
Reciprocal?	No Yes No CreativeCommons Attribution Berkeley Standard Distribution (BSD) Yes CreativeCommons Attribution ShareAlike General Public License (GPL)

How does a reciprocal license work?

A reciprocal license says, "you can use and modify my work, but your modification must be under this same license".

For example, suppose that you draw a fabulous picture of the Eiffel Tower. Joe then takes your picture and uses it in an essay about the Eiffel Tower. But Joe does not allow other people to copy his essay.

Would you be happy with this situation?

Yes, I just as many people to use my picture as possible

Then you want a non-reciprocal license, like the CreativeCommons Attribution license.

No, if Joe is going to use my picture I want him to let people use his essay

Then you want a reciprocal license, like the CreativeCommons Attribution ShareAlike

A non-reciprocal license means that people can exploit your work and give nothing in return. Some people are happy with that, others aren't. It's your choice.

Notice that all these licenses allow people to make money using your work. The reciprocal licenses simply mean that they pass on the right to make copies too.

I don't want people making money from my work

Non-commercial licenses are frowned upon in the open source world. All open source licenses allow commercial use. Some, like the GPL, require equal sharing.

If you have a great idea you think you can patent or develop it with commercial licensing, save it for later and use something else for your INGOT community project.

Having said that, if you want a non-commercial license, we recommend the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial.