Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin
Unlicense Yourself: Set Your Code Free (unlicense.org)
9 points by bensummers on Jan 13, 2010 | hide | past | favorite | 3 comments


IMO the disadvantages of license proliferation outweigh the benefits of "unlicensing". MIT/BSD licenses are already compatible with everything. If you really want to avoid "enriching lawyers" you shouldn't invent new (un)licenses, since many companies will require the unlicense to be lawyer-approved before they'll touch it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/License_proliferation


I was under the impression that this is generally considered a bad idea because copyright law in some countries does not recognise the concept of a "public domain" (i.e. you can't disavow copyright even if you want to).

I don't know if that's correct, but if so it would seem that something like the ISC (or modified BSD) license would be superior.


I've always appreciated the blessing in SQLite:

Instead of a license, the SQLite source code offers a blessing:

" May you do good and not evil

May you find forgiveness for yourself and forgive others

May you share freely, never taking more than you give. "

http://www.sqlite.org/different.html




Consider applying for YC's Fall 2025 batch! Applications are open till Aug 4

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: