IBM Public License

Infobox software license
name = IBM Public License
author = IBM
version = 1.0
copyright = Public Domain
date = August 1999
OSI approved = Yes
Debian approved = Unresolved [ [http://wiki.debian.org/DFSGLicenses#head-fb6f287145da61294bb40ea6d488b2e4b447f5e1 DFSGLicenses - Debian Wiki ] ]
Free Software = Yes
GPL compatible = No
copyleft = Yes
linking = YesThe IBM Public License ( [http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/opensource/library/os-i18n2/os-ipl.html IPL] ) is a free software / open-source software license written and sometimes used by IBM.It is approved by the Open Source Initiative and is described as a "free software license" by the Free Software Foundation (FSF).

The IPL differs from the GNU General Public License (GPL), in that it places the liability on the "publisher" or "distributor" of the licensed software code. According to IBM, this is to facilitate commercial use of open-source software, without placing the contributor at a risk of liability.Fact|date=June 2007 Proponents of the IPL note a clearer definition of responsibility for software code than that of the GPL.

The IPL is incompatible with the GPL because it contains restrictions not included in the GPL. According to the FSF "it requires certain patent licenses be given that the GPL does not require. (We don't think those patent license requirements are inherently a bad idea, but nonetheless they are incompatible with the GNU GPL.)" [cite web
url=http://www.gnu.org/licenses/license-list.html
title=FSF license list with comments on the IPL
accessdate=2007-06-24|]

The IPL differs from the GPL in the handling of patents, as IPL "terminates" the license upon patent disputes.

This license has also been criticised because of provisions in section 4 which require commercial distributors of code covered by this license to indemnify all "upstream" originators for legal costs relating to lawsuits brought about of users of the software. It has been argued that this exposes small distributors (e.g. Linux distributions that happen to sell CDs) to unbounded legal costs, possibly arising from vexatious claims.

Examples of software projects licensed under the IPL include Postfix, and the now-unmaintained Jikes compiler for Java.

See also

*IBM Common Public License
*GNU General Public License
*Mozilla Public License
*Software licensing
*Software license

External links

* [http://www.opensource.org/licenses/ibmpl.php Full text of the license, by OSI.]
* [http://lists.debian.org/debian-legal/2004/05/msg00597.html The mailing list debian-legal's covering of the license.]
* [http://www.gnu.org/licenses/license-list.html FSF license list with categorisation and comments on the IBM Public License]

References