MIT License
The MIT License (MIT) is a permissive free software license originating at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It is the de facto standard for open source projects, due to its compatibility with the GNU General Public License (GPL) and its simple terms, allowing maximal reuse and integration of the licensed work into other projects.
License Text
Copyright (c) <year> <copyright holders>
Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.
Key Features
- Permissive: allows reuse of software in proprietary software
- No attribution requirements (though strongly encouraged)
- No copyleft: does not require derivative works to use the same license
- Short and to the point: easy to understand
When to Use This License
Choose the MIT License when:
- You want to promote reuse of your software
- You don't want restrictions on who can use your software
- You want to ensure compatibility with other licenses
- You want a simple, minimal license
License Summary
"Use this where you would use the BSD or Apache License"
This license gives away almost all rights, and is the best from the viewpoint of open source promotion if you want to maximize software reuse.