 Logo of the Mozilla Foundation (the Mozilla mascot) |
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| Author | Mozilla Foundation |
|---|---|
| Version | 1.1 |
| Publisher | Mozilla Foundation |
| Published | ? |
| DFSG compatible | Yes[1] |
| Free software | Yes[2] |
| OSI approved | Yes[3] |
| GPL compatible | No[2] |
| Copyleft | Limited[4] |
| Linking from code with a different license | Yes |
The Mozilla Public License (MPL) is a free and open source software license. Version 1.0 was developed by Mitchell Baker when she worked as a lawyer at Netscape Communications Corporation and version 1.1 at the Mozilla Foundation.[5] The MPL is characterized as a hybridization of the modified BSD license and GNU General Public License.[6]
The MPL is the license for the Mozilla Application Suite, Mozilla Firefox, Mozilla Thunderbird and other Mozilla software. The MPL has been adapted by others as a license for their software, most notably Sun Microsystems, as the Common Development and Distribution License for OpenSolaris, the open source version of the Solaris 10 operating system, and by Adobe, as the license for its Flex product line.
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Terms
The license is regarded as a weak copyleft. Specifically, source code copied or changed under the MPL must stay under the MPL.[2]
The MPL was approved both as an Open Source software license by the Open Source Initiative[3] and as a Free Software license by the Free Software Foundation.[2]
Compatibility with other licenses
Unlike strong copyleft licenses, the code under the MPL may be combined with proprietary files in one program ("Larger Work"). For example, Netscape 6 and later releases were proprietary versions of the Mozilla Application Suite, by adding the proprietary AIM and other parts. The MPL treats the source code file as the boundary between MPL code and proprietary parts, meaning that a certain source file (e.g., C++, JavaScript or XUL file) is either fully MPL or fully proprietary. The GPL, in contrast, uses the process boundary of the executable as the license boundary (for details, see GPL).
Compatibility with GPL
The Free Software Foundation (FSF) considers the license a free software license, albeit one with a weak copyleft. However, "unlike the X11 license" the license has "some complex restrictions" making it incompatible with the GNU GPL. They urge people not to use the license because of this incompatibility unless the provision in section 13 of the MPL is exercised to provide the work under either the GPL or any other GPL-compatible license.[2]
For these reasons, the Mozilla Suite and Firefox have been relicensed under multiple licenses, including the MPL, GPL and LGPL.[7]
MPL-based licenses
- AROS Public License
- Celtx Public License[8]
- Common Development and Distribution License
- Common Public Attribution License
- Erlang Public License[9]
- gSOAP Public License[10]
- SugarCRM Public License
- Sun Public License
- Yahoo! Public License
References
- ^ "Mozilla Public License (MPL)". The Big DFSG-compatible Licenses. Debian Project. http://wiki.debian.org/DFSGLicenses#MozillaPublicLicense.28MPL.29. Retrieved 2009-06-06.
- ^ a b c d e "Mozilla Public License (MPL)". Various Licenses and Comments about Them. Free Software Foundation. http://www.gnu.org/licenses/license-list.html#MPL. Retrieved 2009-06-06.
- ^ a b "Open Source Licenses". Open Source Initiative. http://www.opensource.org/licenses/. Retrieved 2009-11-06.
- ^ Mozilla, MPL FAQ, http://www.mozilla.org/MPL/mpl-faq.html
- ^ The Time 100: Mitchell Baker: The "Lizard Wrangler" (Marc Andreessen, Time, 18 April 2005
- ^ Andrew M. St. Laurent, Understanding Open Source & Free Software Licensing, pp. 62-63 (O'Reilly 2004)
- ^ Mozilla Relicensing FAQ
- ^ CePL, version 1.3
- ^ ERLANG PUBLIC LICENSE
- ^ gSOAP Public License
External links
- Mozilla Public License, version 1.1, plain text (mozilla.org)
- Annotated Mozilla Public License, version 1.1 (mozilla.org)
- MPL FAQ (mozilla.org)
- Mozilla Relicensing FAQ (mozilla.org)
- List of OSI approved licenses
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