LicensesApache-2.0
PermissiveOSI Approved
Apache License 2.0
A permissive license like MIT, but with a clearer patent grant and more structured notice rules.
A strong default when enterprise adoption and patent clarity matter.
Family
Permissive
Reciprocity
None
Patent Grant
Included
Closed Source
Allowed
What It Lets You Do
- Commercial use, modification, distribution, and private use.
- Bundling into proprietary software without source disclosure.
- Broad reuse with explicit patent rights from contributors.
What It Requires
- Include the license and required notices.
- Mark significant changes when you modify files.
- Preserve attribution and NOTICE file content where applicable.
Advantages
- Enterprise-friendly and common in vendor-reviewed dependency policies.
- Explicit contributor patent grant lowers uncertainty.
- Still easy to consume in proprietary products.
Tradeoffs
- Slightly more paperwork than MIT or BSD.
- No reciprocity if you want improvements forced back upstream.
Restrictions And Gotchas
- Patent rights can terminate if you initiate certain patent litigation.
- No trademark rights are granted.
- NOTICE handling adds a little more operational overhead than MIT.