Sybase Open Watcom Public License
The Sybase Open Watcom Public Licence is a software license that has been approved by the Open Source Initiative.[2] It is the licence under which the Open Watcom C/C++ compiler is released.
| SPDX identifier | Watcom-1.0 |
|---|---|
| Debian FSG compatible | No |
| FSF approved | No[1] |
| OSI approved | Yes[2] |
| GPL compatible | No |
| Copyleft | Very strong |
The license has not been accepted as "free" under the Debian Free Software Guidelines, due to the license's termination clauses.[3][4]
The Free Software Foundation (FSF) has stated that the license is not "free" as it requires the source to be published when you "deploy" the software for private use only.[1] In contrast, FSF's General Public License (GPL) does not require that modified source code has to be made public when the software modification was only used privately without a public release of the software. This makes the Watcom license also GPL incompatible and a stronger copyleft license than the GPL and even the AGPL.
The Fedora project also considers the license as non-free, citing the FSF argumentation.[5]
History
Version 1.0 appears to have been written in 2002. It's publicly released no later than January 8, 2003, the date of the initial release of Open Watcom C/C++.
The draft of version 2.0 of the License was published on 20 January 2004. This version incorporated changes from Apple and made the licence less specific to OpenWatcom.[6][7]
References
- "Various Licenses and Comments about Them - Sybase Open Watcom Public License version 1.0 (#Watcom)". gnu.org. Retrieved 2015-12-23.
This is not a free software license. It requires you to publish the source code publicly whenever you "Deploy" the covered software, and "Deploy" is defined to include many kinds of private use.
- "Sybase Open Watcom Public License version 1.0". Approved Licences. Open Source Initiative. 31 October 2006.
- Debian Bug report #376431 RFP: openwatcom.
- Is the Sybase Open Watcom License ok?, thread on debian-legal mailing list (July 2006).
- Fedora Wiki: Licensing
- Markus Neifer (2004-01-20). "MN Watcom News Page".
- ftp://ftp.openwatcom.org/pub/devel/license-2.pdf