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I am writing some kind of test frame work in Python3. I am about to publish it, I am looking for right license for it... and I am confused :(

Here is what am looking for:

  • common/well known license
  • If someone modified this framework it need to be published (bug fixes, useful features)
  • If someone use this framework for testing - nothing should be done, but it will be nice to know
  • If someone use this framework for other software (ex webservice for testing) - needs to mention it (like BSD 3clouse)
  • If someone write plugin etc for this framework it can be under any license and don't need to publish it

Will LGPLv3 be Ok? And can it be changed?

MadHatter
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Krzysiek
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  • If you are the author of all the code, then yes, you may also change the license later. But suppose you release it today as LGPL and decide to change the license, but suppose in the meantime others have contributed to your code. Then a license change gets complicated. In the worst case you would need to remove or revert all such contributions before changing the license. – Brandin Dec 27 '19 at 17:58

1 Answers1

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The problems here are the requirements that "If someone modified this framework it need to be published" and "If someone use this framework for testing - nothing should be done, but it will be nice to know".

We have written elsewhere here about publication requirements, and the fact that such a requirement is considered to make a licence non-free. A free licence may require that if a modified version is distributed it be fully-free; but it may not require that a modified version be distributed in the first place. Requiring that the author of a modified version notify the author of the original version makes the software non-free, and I would expect a notification requirement attached to usage to be regarded similarly.

Therefore no free licence, which includes LGPLv3, will have these requirements in.

MadHatter
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