Facebook changed React license to standard MIT
Facebook announced a license change for future versions of React, Jest, Flow and Immutable.js. Instead of the previous BSD + Patents license, the MIT license will now be used. This will allow companies to incorporate React into Apache projects and avoid controversy in the Open Source community.
Thanks to this Facebook action, Automattic has changed its mind. A week ago, Matt Mullenweg wrote that because of the licensing conditions, they decided to rewrite Gutenberg (a key promising WordPress project) using another library. Looks like it worked on Facebook - and they abandoned an article on patents, starting with React version 16, due out this week.
Matt himself welcomed this decision and said that now nothing prevents the use of React.
Facebook Director of Development Adam Wolff (Adam Wolff) in the official blog indicated the reason for the license change: it was done "because React is the basis of a wide ecosystem of open source programs for the Internet, and we do not want to hold back progress for non-technical reasons." He acknowledged that the BSD + Patents license created “ambiguity” among library users and pushed some of them to switch to other libraries (apparently, this is primarily Automattic and the Gutenberg project).
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At the same time, Facebook still retains the BSD + Patents license for many of its other open source projects besides those listed. Adam Wolff wrote that for those projects, rejection of BSD + Patents is also considered, but “all projects are different, and alternative licensing options will depend on many factors.” That is, as an alternative license, not another MIT can be chosen, but some other one. But it seems that Facebook intends to completely get rid of BSD + Patents.
BSD + Patents is a non-standard 3-clauses license from which the PATENTS file is supplied, which protects Facebook from lawsuits. By its terms, the user is deprived of the right to use React if he sues Facebook or violates its patents. This item did not cause much attention until Apache moved BSD + Patents to Category Category licenses, which cannot be used with Apache products. There are also some other GNU licenses, including the Microsoft Limited Public License and Amazon Software License (ASL) .
Thanks to this Facebook action, Automattic has changed its mind. A week ago, Matt Mullenweg wrote that because of the licensing conditions, they decided to rewrite Gutenberg (a key promising WordPress project) using another library. Looks like it worked on Facebook - and they abandoned an article on patents, starting with React version 16, due out this week.
Matt himself welcomed this decision and said that now nothing prevents the use of React.
Facebook Director of Development Adam Wolff (Adam Wolff) in the official blog indicated the reason for the license change: it was done "because React is the basis of a wide ecosystem of open source programs for the Internet, and we do not want to hold back progress for non-technical reasons." He acknowledged that the BSD + Patents license created “ambiguity” among library users and pushed some of them to switch to other libraries (apparently, this is primarily Automattic and the Gutenberg project).
')
At the same time, Facebook still retains the BSD + Patents license for many of its other open source projects besides those listed. Adam Wolff wrote that for those projects, rejection of BSD + Patents is also considered, but “all projects are different, and alternative licensing options will depend on many factors.” That is, as an alternative license, not another MIT can be chosen, but some other one. But it seems that Facebook intends to completely get rid of BSD + Patents.
BSD + Patents is a non-standard 3-clauses license from which the PATENTS file is supplied, which protects Facebook from lawsuits. By its terms, the user is deprived of the right to use React if he sues Facebook or violates its patents. This item did not cause much attention until Apache moved BSD + Patents to Category Category licenses, which cannot be used with Apache products. There are also some other GNU licenses, including the Microsoft Limited Public License and Amazon Software License (ASL) .
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/338642/
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