Picking the right license

Posted by nightcracker on Programmers See other posts from Programmers or by nightcracker
Published on 2011-01-06T15:40:31Z Indexed on 2011/01/06 15:59 UTC
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Hey,

I have some trouble with picking the right license for my works.

I have a few requirements:

  • Not copyleft like the GNU (L)GPL and allows for redistribution under other licenses
  • Allows other people to redistribute your (modified) work but prevents that other people freely make money off my work (they need to ask/buy a commercial license if they want to)
  • Compatible with the GNU (L)GPL
  • Not responsible for any damage caused by my work

Now, I wrote my own little license based on the BSD and CC Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 licenses, but I am not sure if it will hold in court.

Copyright <year> <copyright holder>. All rights reserved.

Redistribution of this work, with or without modification, are permitted
provided that the following conditions are met:

   1. All redistributions must attribute <copyright holder> as the original
      author or licensor of this work (but not in any way that suggests that
      they endorse you or your use of the work).
   2. All redistributions must be for non-commercial purposes and free of charge
      unless specific written permission by <copyright holder> is given.

This work is provided by <copyright holder> "as is" and any express or implied
warranties are disclaimed. <copyright holder> is not liable for any damage
arising in any way out of the use of this work.

Now, you could help me by either:

  • Point me to an existing license which is satisfies my requirements
  • Confirm that my license has no major flaws and most likely would hold in court

Thanks!

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