Python Software Foundation License

The Python Software Foundation License (PSFL) is a BSD-style, permissive free software license which is compatible with the GNU General Public License (GPL).^[1] Its primary use is for distribution of the Python project software. Unlike the GPL the Python license is not a copyleft license, and allows modifications to the source code, as well as the construction of derivative works, without making the code open-source. The PSFL is listed as approved on both FSF's approved licenses list^[1], and OSI's approved licenses list.

Earlier versions of Python were under the so-called Python License, which is incompatible with the GPL. The reason given for this incompatibility by Free Software Foundation was that "this Python license is governed by the laws of the 'State of Virginia', in the USA", and the GPL does not permit this.^[2]

The year that Python's creator Guido van Rossum changed the license to fix this incompatibility, he was awarded the Free Software Foundation Award for the Advancement of Free Software.^[3]

External links

Free software portal

• The Python Software Foundation License

References

• Open Source Initiative (OSI)^{[clarification needed]}