Open Source License for P2
- Rodolfo Melia
All P2 related technology that PSI develops would be release as Open Source. Beside a public Git repository we should provide documentation, exemples and a feedback mechanism for support and collaborative development. We also need to clearly state the license for PSI work.
Licensing for PSI’s development
Work to be licensed includes:
Locator 2.0 API & web library
Moodle eLearning Chatbot
DHIS2 web apps
FHIR utilities / OpenHIM mediators
We will use XXX version X.X for all PSI work.
Licensing evaluation (August 2023)
There is more than 100 open source license (Licenses – Open Source Initiative). Below is the top 5 mostly used licenses, and some of their key characteristics.
Feature | Apache License 2.0 | BSD | EPL | GPL | MIT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Latest version | v2.0 |
|
| v2.0 & v3.0 |
|
Author | Apache Software Foundation | University of California, Berkeley | Eclipse Foundation | Free Software Foundation | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Linking | Yes | Yes | Yes | no | Yes |
Distribution | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Modification | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Patent grant | Yes | no | no | Yes | no |
Trademark use | Yes | no | no | no | no |
Private use | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Sub-licensing | Permissive | Permissive | Copyleft | Copyleft | Permissive |
Definitions
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
Permissive: allows users to use, modify and distribute the software under certain conditions, without imposing any restrictions on the distribution of derivative works. This includes changing the licensing of the derivative work.
Copyleft: (aka “viral licensing” requires that any derivative works be licensed under the same terms as the original work. Developers have the right to use, modify and share the work and must make the code open for use by others.
Sources:
Wikipedia, Comparison of free and open-source software licenses
Mend.io, Open source License Comparison: Connecting and Contrasting the dots
Licenses for P2 applications
OpenSRP: Apache 2.0 (permissive)
DHIS2: BSD 3 (permissive)
OpenHIM: Mozilla Public License 2.0 (permissive)
RapidPro: AGPL (copyleft)
Superset & NiFi: Apache 2.0 (no surprises here)
iHRIS: LGPL 3.0 (a variation on GPL, copyleft)
Moodle: GPL 3.0 (copyleft)