Various licenses have been developed to govern the field of software, some of which are particularly intended to protect the principles of free software.

While a patent is intended to protect an idea (like an algorithm), copyright, or copyright , only protects the very expression of an idea. This distinction has opened the door to copyright abuse. Indeed, it is quite possible to create a free version of proprietary copyrighted software . On the other hand, as put forward by the magazine Québec Science, “It is impossible to use an idea protected by a patent, since it is obligatory to pay rights to the holder of this patent”. It is therefore impossible to create a free version of an idea under patent. Patents can appear to be a threat to innovation since “if they are awarded too vaguely, as is sometimes the case, it would allow people to appropriate procedures or algorithms that computer scientists have been considering since. always in the public domain ”.

In this section, it is proposed to provide an overview of the licenses recognized in the free software world in order to know the implications of the licenses that apply to the free software that everyone wishes to use, but also to inform the choice of the license under which to deposit free software produced.

Free software

Software is said to be free if it is delivered with its source code, thus allowing users to study and modify its operation. However, for this, the software license must allow it!

As mentioned earlier, free software grants the user many more benefits than just being able to view the source code. In case of professional use, it is strongly recommended to consult the terms of the license.