Netscape Public License
Encyclopedia
The Netscape Public License (NPL) is a free software license, the license under which Netscape Communications Corporation originally released Mozilla
.
Its most notable feature is that it gives the original developer of Mozilla (Netscape, now a subsidiary of AOL
), the right to distribute modifications made by other contributors under whatever terms it desires, including proprietary
terms, without granting similar rights to these other contributors in respect to contributions made by the original developer. This allowed the release of the Netscape
6 and later versions as proprietary software.
This asymmetry with respect to rights has led to criticism of the license by many members of the open source
and free software
movements: the Free Software Foundation
acknowledged it as a free-software license
but one to be avoided, and the Open Source Initiative
either rejected it entirely or was not ask to review the it. The FSF adds that it's not possible to combine software obtained under the license with software obtained under the GPL
.
The Mozilla Public License
is similar, but lacks the asymmetry in rights. Time Warner, exercising its rights under the Netscape Public License, and at the request of the Mozilla Foundation, has relicensed all code in Mozilla that was under the Netscape Public License (including code by other contributors) to an MPL/GPL/LGPL
triple license, thus removing the GPL-incompatibility.
Mozilla
Mozilla is a term used in a number of ways in relation to the Mozilla.org project and the Mozilla Foundation, their defunct commercial predecessor Netscape Communications Corporation, and their related application software....
.
Its most notable feature is that it gives the original developer of Mozilla (Netscape, now a subsidiary of AOL
AOL
AOL Inc. is an American global Internet services and media company. AOL is headquartered at 770 Broadway in New York. Founded in 1983 as Control Video Corporation, it has franchised its services to companies in several nations around the world or set up international versions of its services...
), the right to distribute modifications made by other contributors under whatever terms it desires, including proprietary
Proprietary software
Proprietary software is computer software licensed under exclusive legal right of the copyright holder. The licensee is given the right to use the software under certain conditions, while restricted from other uses, such as modification, further distribution, or reverse engineering.Complementary...
terms, without granting similar rights to these other contributors in respect to contributions made by the original developer. This allowed the release of the Netscape
Netscape (web browser)
Netscape 7 was a series of proprietary cross-platform Internet suites created by Netscape Communications Corporation and then in-house by AOL to continue the Netscape series after Netscape 6. There were three main editions released from the Netscape 7 series; being Netscape 7.0, 7.1 and 7.2...
6 and later versions as proprietary software.
This asymmetry with respect to rights has led to criticism of the license by many members of the open source
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
and free software
Free software
Free software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions that only ensure that further recipients can also do...
movements: the Free Software Foundation
Free Software Foundation
The Free Software Foundation is a non-profit corporation founded by Richard Stallman on 4 October 1985 to support the free software movement, a copyleft-based movement which aims to promote the universal freedom to create, distribute and modify computer software...
acknowledged it as a free-software license
but one to be avoided, and the Open Source Initiative
Open Source Initiative
The Open Source Initiative is an organization dedicated to promoting open source software.The organization was founded in February 1998, by Bruce Perens and Eric S. Raymond, prompted by Netscape Communications Corporation publishing the source code for its flagship Netscape Communicator product...
either rejected it entirely or was not ask to review the it. The FSF adds that it's not possible to combine software obtained under the license with software obtained under the GPL
GNU General Public License
The GNU General Public License is the most widely used free software license, originally written by Richard Stallman for the GNU Project....
.
The Mozilla Public License
Mozilla Public License
The Mozilla Public License is a free and open source software license. Version 1.0 was developed by Mitchell Baker when she worked as a lawyer at Netscape Communications Corporation and version 1.1 at the Mozilla Foundation...
is similar, but lacks the asymmetry in rights. Time Warner, exercising its rights under the Netscape Public License, and at the request of the Mozilla Foundation, has relicensed all code in Mozilla that was under the Netscape Public License (including code by other contributors) to an MPL/GPL/LGPL
GNU Lesser General Public License
The GNU Lesser General Public License or LGPL is a free software license published by the Free Software Foundation . It was designed as a compromise between the strong-copyleft GNU General Public License or GPL and permissive licenses such as the BSD licenses and the MIT License...
triple license, thus removing the GPL-incompatibility.