Which license allows usage in end products (aimed at consumers) but not tools aimed at developers and companies?

Question

I developed a project and I want to make the source code publicly available. I want everyone to be able to use the code as they see fit when used for developing end products (not sure if this is the right term, I mean software that is aimed at consumers), but I want to disallow people making tools aimed at developers and companies.

Is there a license that does this?

Does this answer your question? Can I license my project with an open-source license but disallow commercial use? - while I know that's a slightly different use case, the answer is the same. — Philip Kendall, Dec 24 '20 at 19:22
Yeah I settled on ZLib, I just want to be able to go to platform holders if someone offers a paid version hoping people dont know about the free one — Bas Smit, Dec 25 '20 at 12:05

score 5 · Accepted Answer · answered Dec 24 '20 at 18:56

5

No, there are no open-source licenses that meet your requirements.

An open-source license is not allowed to discriminate in what the software is used for. An open-source license can't forbid commercial usage and by the same token it can't forbid usage in a product aimed at non-consumers.

answered Dec 24 '20 at 18:56

Bart van Ingen Schenau

29,549
3
46
83

is there a non open source license perhaps? – Bas Smit Dec 24 '20 at 18:57
7

@BasSmit, we can't advise you on non-open-source licenses. They are usually drafted on a case-by-case basis by lawyers. – Bart van Ingen Schenau Dec 24 '20 at 19:01

Which license allows usage in end products (aimed at consumers) but not tools aimed at developers and companies?

1 Answers1