Which BSD license is the correct one?

N

nikolqy

I'm building a new application in C (not specifically for FreeBSD), and I would like to use a BSD-3-Clause or BSD-2-Clause license (I'm still trying to figure out if 3 clause is even worth it?), but I'm very picky about the differences between the FreeBSD license and the SPDX license as seen below. I'm not sure which one is considered more standard/proper.

Also, should I put the license in every file of the program, or is it okay if I just have that LICENSE file, maybe put it in the main c file as well, and then either leave all of the other files blank, or mark them with:
Code: 
/*-
 * Copyright (c) [year] [your name]
 *
 * SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-3-Clause
 */

Also, why the - after /*, and how many columns of text are the license files supposed to have? I'm assuming 80 columns of text max is the standard, but all the formatted licenses I'm finding seem to use a lower maximum than 80 chars.

Thanks in advance for answering my weird questions!

Official FreeBSD BSD-3-Clause:
Code: 
/*-
 * SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-3-Clause
 *
 * Copyright (c) [year] [your name]
 *
 * Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
 * modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions
 * are met:
 * 1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright
 *    notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
 * 2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright
 *    notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the
 *    documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
 * 3. Neither the name of the author nor the names of its contributors may
 *    be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software
 *
 * THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE AUTHOR AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS" AND
 * ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE
 * IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE
 * ARE DISCLAIMED.  IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHOR OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE
 * FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL
 * DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS
 * OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION)
 * HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT
 * LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY
 * OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF
 * SUCH DAMAGE.
 */

Official SPDX BSD-3-Clause:
Code: 
Copyright (c) <year> <owner>.

Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:

1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.

2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.

3. Neither the name of the copyright holder nor the names of its contributors may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software without specific prior written permission.

THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT HOLDER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
 
nikolqy said:
but I'm very picky
Click to expand...
If this question is of great importance to you, then don't ask a random set of people on the internet. Instead hire a good IP lawyer, and get their professional advice.

If this question is not of great enough importance to justify doing it right (see above), just use any of the licenses you have considered. There are lots of web pages that explain the pro and con of the various licenses, but I would not take any of them for gospel, since this is strongly a religious question.

As to formatting (line length, training "-" after "/*", copies in all files): That is the least of your problems. If you aren't sure, I would just make it as simple and redundant as possible: add a complete copy of the license to each file, line length <80.

There is a really important underlying question, and if you want to get advice from us, you need to answer this question first: Why are you distributing this code? What reasons do you have to give it away? Do you think people will actually download and use it? What use will they make of it? How does giving it away make the world better?
 
BSD 3-Clause No Military License

Code: 
Copyright (c) <year> <copyright holder>. All Rights Reserved.

Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:

    1. Redistribution of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
    2. Redistribution in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
    3. Neither the name of the copyright holder nor the names of its contributors may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software without specific prior written permission.

THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT HOLDER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THIS SOFTWARE IS NOT DESIGNED, LICENSED OR INTENDED FOR USE IN THE DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION, OPERATION OR MAINTENANCE OF ANY MILITARY FACILITY.
 
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