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Compare licenses

Pick two or three licenses to compare clause by clause and scenario by scenario.

Legend: ✓ the other party can do this · ◐ with conditions · ✗ the license blocks it · — the license is silent (general law applies)

MITApache-2.0

Terms

MITApache-2.0
FamilyPermissivePermissive
OSI✓✓
Permissions
Commercial use●●
Modification●●
Distribution●●
Private use●●
Patent grant·●
Conditions
Keep copyright notice●●
Mark changes·●
Limitations
No liability●●
No warranty●●
No trademark rights·●

Scenarios · Code licenses

IDMITApache-2.0
A1 A cloud vendor sells your project as a managed serviceMIT: AllowedApache-2.0: Allowed
A2 Someone forks it and distributes a closed-source competitorMIT: AllowedApache-2.0: AllowedMust mark modified files
A3 Embedded in a closed-source SaaS backend (not distributed)MIT: AllowedApache-2.0: Allowed
A4 Linked into a closed-source app or firmware and distributedMIT: AllowedApache-2.0: Allowed
A5 Someone promotes a modified version with your name or trademarkMIT: Not addressedApache-2.0: Blocked by license
A6 Someone sells unmodified copiesMIT: AllowedApache-2.0: Allowed
B1 A user sues you for patent infringement and keeps using the codeMIT: Not addressedApache-2.0: Blocked by licensePatent license terminates
B2 A contributor asserts patents on their contributed codeMIT: Not addressedApache-2.0: Blocked by licenseExpress patent grant
B3 A cross-border dispute: governing law and venueMIT: Not addressedApache-2.0: Not addressed
C1 You later relicense or sell commercial licenses (contributors signed no CLA)MIT: With conditionsNew versions can change; old ones stayApache-2.0: With conditionsSame as MIT
C2 Your code is merged into a GPL-3.0 projectMIT: AllowedApache-2.0: AllowedBut not compatible with GPL-2.0
C3 You use a GPL-3.0 dependency and still ship under this licenseMIT: Blocked by licenseApache-2.0: Blocked by license
C4 The project is abandoned and someone forks it to continueMIT: AllowedApache-2.0: Allowed
C5 You want to block only big companies or competitorsMIT: Blocked by licenseApache-2.0: Blocked by license
C6 Key code was written by an employee and the employer objectsMIT: Not addressedApache-2.0: Not addressed
D1 Someone removes copyright or attribution noticesMIT: Blocked by licenseApache-2.0: Blocked by license
D2 Someone modifies files without marking the changesMIT: AllowedApache-2.0: Blocked by license
D3 Internal modification, no distribution and no external serviceMIT: AllowedApache-2.0: Allowed
D4 Used for military, surveillance or other uses you object toMIT: AllowedApache-2.0: Allowed
D5 Used by a sanctioned entityMIT: Not addressedApache-2.0: Not addressed
D6 Your code is used to train an AI modelMIT: Not addressedApache-2.0: Not addressed

Scenarios · Model and data licenses

IDMITApache-2.0
E1 Weights are used for military, surveillance or disinformationMIT: AllowedApache-2.0: Allowed
E2 Distillation, or training other models on its outputsMIT: AllowedApache-2.0: Allowed
E3 A hyperscale company uses it commerciallyMIT: AllowedApache-2.0: Allowed
E4 Fine-tuned, renamed and released as closed weightsMIT: AllowedApache-2.0: Allowed
E5 A dataset is used commercially and redistributedMIT: AllowedApache-2.0: Allowed
E6 You want to allow research use onlyMIT: Blocked by licenseApache-2.0: Blocked by license