Software:Beerware

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Short description: Term for software
Beerware
AuthorPoul-Henning Kamp
Latest version42
PublisherYes
Published2004
DFSG compatibleYes
FSF approvedYes (see "informal license" section)[1]
OSI approvedNo
GPL compatibleYes[1]
CopyleftNo[1]
Linking from code with a different licenseYes

Beerware is a tongue-in-cheek term for software released under a very relaxed license (beerware licensed software). It provides the end user with the right to use a particular program (or do anything else with the source code).[2]

Description

Should the user of the product meet the author and consider the software useful, they are encouraged to either buy the author a beer "in return" or drink one themselves. The Fedora project and Humanitarian-FOSS project at Trinity College recognized the "version 42" beerware license variant as extremely permissive "copyright only" license, and consider it as GPL compatible.[3][4] (As of 2016) the Free Software Foundation does not mention this license explicitly, but its list of licenses contains an entry for informal licenses, which are listed as free, non-copyleft, and GPL-compatible. However, the FSF recommends the use of more detailed licenses over informal ones.[1]

Many variations on the beerware model have been created. Poul-Henning Kamp's beerware license is simple and short, in contrast to the GPL, which he has described as a "joke".[5] The full text of Kamp's license is:[6]

/*
 * ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 * "THE BEER-WARE LICENSE" (Revision 42):
 * <phk@FreeBSD.ORG> wrote this file.  As long as you retain this notice you
 * can do whatever you want with this stuff. If we meet some day, and you think
 * this stuff is worth it, you can buy me a beer in return.   Poul-Henning Kamp
 * ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 */

See also

References