diff --git a/README.rst b/README.rst index 125b97ea8d..97b2b84823 100644 --- a/README.rst +++ b/README.rst @@ -2,10 +2,10 @@ ScanCode LicenseDB ==================== LicenseDB is likely the largest collection of software licenses available on -earth and may be beyond. +Earth and maybe beyond. LicenseDB is a free and open database of mostly all the software licenses, in -particular all the open source software licenses, with over 2000 curated licenses +particular all the open-source software licenses, with over 2000 curated licenses texts and their metadata. LicenseDB is built from the ScanCode Toolkit license dataset. ScanCode Toolkit @@ -50,6 +50,10 @@ license details and texts using this license key as an identifier: for instance: https://scancode-licensedb.aboutcode.org/gpl-2.0.LICENSE +This index and the static website is also available offline with ScanCode Toolkit as a +command line option `--get-license-data`. + + Git ----- @@ -60,9 +64,8 @@ documents: https://github.com/nexB/scancode-licensedb This git repository contains the original and editable source files: https://github.com/nexB/scancode-toolkit -- for the metadata of a license, for instance at https://github.com/nexB/scancode-toolkit/edit/develop/src/licensedcode/data/licenses/gpl-2.0.yml - -- for the text of a license, for instance at https://github.com/nexB/scancode-toolkit/edit/develop/src/licensedcode/data/licenses/gpl-2.0.LICENSE +- for the text of a license and the metadata of a license as YAML frontmatter, for instance at + https://github.com/nexB/scancode-toolkit/tree/develop/src/licensedcode/data/licenses/gpl-2.0.LICENSE Support diff --git a/templates/help.html b/templates/help.html index f5292edf6c..62337f005d 100644 --- a/templates/help.html +++ b/templates/help.html @@ -107,8 +107,7 @@

This git repository contains the full history of the generated HTML and JSON API documents https://github.com/nexB/scancode-licensedb

This git repository contains the original and editable source files: https://github.com/nexB/scancode-toolkit

@@ -267,81 +266,83 @@

License Categories

+
CLA
+
+ A Contributor License Agreement (CLA) describes and defines the contribution acceptance rules for the ongoing + development and enhancement of a software project. The CLA may specify how the resulting software contribution + itself will be licensed. +
Commercial
- A direct commercial license between a supplier and a customer. - Further fact-finding by a Product Team will be necessary to determine how the license conditions apply to use of the software. - This is a Proprietary license that is not Open Source. + Third-party proprietary software offered under a direct commercial license between supplier and customer. + Further fact-finding by Product Teams will be necessary to determine the code's license status and function, + if any.
Copyleft
- A license that offers irrevocable permission to the public to copy and redistribute the work in the same or modified form, - but with the conditions that all such redistributions make the work available in a form that facilitates further modification - and uses the same license terms. A Copyleft license can require code interacting with Copyleft-licensed code to be licensed under - the same license or a compatible license. This is an Open Source license. This category may be described as “Strong Copyleft”. + Open source software with a "copyleft" license that offers irrevocable permission to the public to copy and + redistribute the work in the same or modified form, but with the conditions that all such redistributions + make the work available in a form that facilitates further modification and use the same license terms. + A copyleft license can require code interacting with copyleft-licensed code to be licensed the same way.
Copyleft Limited
- A license that requires you to redistribute source code, including your changes, and to provide attribution for the software authors. - Your obligation to redistribute source code, including proprietary code linked with code under this license, - is limited according to license-specific rules. This is an Open Source license. This category may be described as “Weak Copyleft”. + A license that requires you to redistribute source code, including your changes, and also to provide + attribution for the software authors. Your obligation to redistribute source code, including proprietary + code linked with code under this license, is limited according to license-specific rules.
Free Restricted
- A Permissive-style license that contains restrictions regarding the usage of the software (e.g. where the software is not - intended for use in nuclear power plants) or the redistribution of the software (e.g. where commercial redistribution of - the software is not allowed or allowed only with express permission). The Free Software Foundation (FSF) says that a license - with this kind of restriction is not really open source, although the OSI point of view is not that strict. - This is a Proprietary license that is not Open Source. + A Permissive-style license, that contains restrictions regarding the usage of the software + (for example, where the software is not intended for use in nuclear power plants) or the redistribution + of the software (for example, where commercial redistribution of the software is not allowed without + express permission). The Free Software Foundation (FSF) says that a license with this kind of restriction + is not really open source, although the OSI point of view is not that strict.
Patent License
- A license that applies to patents rather than specific software. May be used in conjunction with other software license(s) that - apply to a software component. + A license that applies to patents rather than specific software. May be used in conjunction with other + software license(s) that apply to a software component.
Permissive
- A license that requires you to provide attribution for the software authors and may include other conditions. - This is an Open Source license. + Open Source software that is made available under "non-copyleft" licenses. These generally require + attribution of the included open source and may include other obligations.
Proprietary Free
- A license that does not require a supplier-customer contract, but has specific terms and conditions which a Product Team - is obligated to follow. These terms and conditions may be documented in the code and/or from a webpage where you must accept - the license (i.e. click-through). This is a Proprietary license that is not Open Source. + Proprietary Free software that may not require a commercial license but may have specific terms and + conditions which Product Teams are obligated to follow. Some of these terms and conditions are provided + with or in the code or in clickable downloaded licenses. Examples are the Sun Binary Code License Agreement + or a freely offered BSP.
Public Domain
- “Public Domain” as a license category means software that is not restricted by copyright. - This is most often applicable to a software component because the person entitled to control the copyright has disclaimed that - right in a notice (“dedication”) that appears similar to a license. It is possible for software to be in the public domain - because the copyright has expired, but this is rarely relevant for software due to the long duration of copyrights in most jurisdictions. - The rules for disclaiming copyright and copyright expiration dates vary widely by jurisdiction. - A public domain dedication may apply to software code examples on a website, published public domain specifications or - another type of publication. Public Domain is typically treated as similar to an Open Source license even though it is not an - Open Source license. + Open source software that is made available without explicit obligations, but which has a license notice + that must be kept with the code per organization policy. The match may be to software, code examples + on a website, published public domain specifications or another type of publication.
Source-available
- A license where the software is released through a source code distribution model that includes conditions where the source - can be viewed, and in some cases modified, but without meeting the criteria to be called Open Source. - The most common restriction is for “field of use”. This is a Proprietary license that is not Open Source. + Source-available software is software released through a source code distribution model that includes + arrangements where the source can be viewed, and in some cases modified, but without necessarily meeting + the criteria to be called open-source.
Unstated License
- “Unstated License” as a license category means third-party software that has a copyright notice, but no stated license. - Common examples include code snippets from publications and websites. The absence of a license poses a risk that the copyright - owner may assert license conditions at some future time. A Product Team may need to contact the copyright owner to determine the - license conditions, if any. + Third-party software that has a copyright notice, but no stated license. Common examples include code snippets + from publications and websites (such as those from O'Reilly Media). The absence of a license poses a risk + that the copyright owner may assert license obligations at some future time. Product Teams may need to + contact the copyright owner to determine the license obligations, if any.