Apache License

Apache License
Apache Software Foundation · Apache License 2.0 · source
Name	Apache License
Version	2.0
Owner	Apache Software Foundation
First release	1995
Latest release	2004

Apache License

The Apache License is a permissive free software licence published by the Apache Software Foundation that grants rights to use, modify, and distribute software while preserving attribution and patent protections. It is widely used across projects associated with Apache HTTP Server, Hadoop, Spark, Cassandra, and corporate contributions from entities such as Google, Microsoft, IBM, Red Hat, and Amazon Web Services. The licence has influenced policy discussions in standards bodies and courts involving organizations like the European Commission, United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and World Intellectual Property Organization.

Overview

The Apache License was authored and maintained by the Apache Software Foundation as part of its stewardship of projects including Apache HTTP Server, Apache Tomcat, and the Apache Maven ecosystem. Its drafting involved contributors and legal counsel with ties to Open Source Initiative, Free Software Foundation, and technology firms such as Sun Microsystems and Oracle Corporation. The licence balances permissive redistribution favored by projects like NetBSD and FreeBSD with explicit patent clauses that arose from litigation histories involving companies like Microsoft and standards disputes involving IEEE. The licence text is administered by the Apache Software Foundation board and adopted by projects across academic institutions like Massachusetts Institute of Technology and corporations like Intel.

Versions and Key Features

Major revisions produced a landmark 2.0 version that introduced explicit patent grants and contributor licensing provisions, reflecting precedents set by entities including IBM and discussions in the Open Source Initiative community. Version 1.x series had earlier adoption by projects such as Apache HTTP Server and Apache Ant; version 2.0 is adopted by projects including Hadoop, Spark, Cassandra, and Kubernetes-adjacent components developed by companies including Google and Cloud Native Computing Foundation. Key features trace lineage to permissive licences like those used by Berkeley Software Distribution derivatives and share conceptual commonality with licences from MIT and BSD. The patent language was influenced by concerns raised in litigation involving firms such as Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics and by policy debates in bodies like United States Patent and Trademark Office.

License Terms and Conditions

The licence grants rights to reproduce, prepare derivative works, publicly display, and distribute copies while requiring preservation of copyright notices and a NOTICE file for attribution tied to entities such as Apache Software Foundation and contributors from companies like Facebook (now Meta Platforms). It includes an express patent license from contributors that aims to prevent claimants like Nokia or Qualcomm from asserting patents against downstream recipients; patent provisions mirror concerns from disputes adjudicated by forums such as the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. Redistribution must include the licence text and notices, similar in administrative demands to licences used by projects at European Organization for Nuclear Research and NASA. The contributor agreement models used by the Apache Software Foundation echo practices in corporate contributor programs at Google and Red Hat.

Compatibility and Interoperability

The licence is generally compatible with permissive and copyleft licences under certain conditions; for example, code under this licence can be included in projects under licences like those used by Eclipse Foundation projects or Mozilla Foundation components when license terms are observed. Compatibility assessments have been relevant in contexts involving the GNU General Public License where debates have involved entities such as the Free Software Foundation and canonical cases referenced by the Software Freedom Law Center. Interoperability issues arise in multi-licence distributions involving projects from Canonical or SUSE and in container ecosystems managed by organizations like Docker, Inc. and Cloud Native Computing Foundation where combined binaries may include code from Linux Kernel sources and Apache-licensed modules.

Adoption and Notable Use Cases

Adoption spans open source projects, academic research software, and enterprise platforms. Notable projects and adopters include Apache Hadoop, Apache Spark, Apache Cassandra, Apache HTTP Server, Kubernetes-adjacent libraries from Google, platform services at Amazon Web Services, and developer tools released by Microsoft. Academic adopters include research groups at Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and University of California, Berkeley that released software under the licence. Commercial products from companies such as Intel, Oracle Corporation, Red Hat, and VMware incorporate Apache-licensed components, and large-scale deployments appear in infrastructures used by Facebook (Meta Platforms), Twitter (X), and LinkedIn.

Criticisms and Legal Issues

Critiques have centered on patent termination provisions, attribution NOTICE file obligations, and interactions with copyleft licences such as those championed by the Free Software Foundation. Legal scrutiny intensified after patent litigation examples involving firms like Microsoft and Oracle Corporation prompted analysis by organizations including the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Software Freedom Conservancy. Questions about licence compatibility have been litigated or analyzed in tribunals including the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and debated in policy fora like the Open Invention Network. Some projects and corporations prefer alternative licences—such as those from BSD or MIT—to avoid NOTICE overhead or to sidestep patent grant complexities; others adopt contributor agreements modeled after the Apache Software Foundation to manage intellectual property risks.

Category:Software licenses