PostgreSQL License
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| PostgreSQL License | |
|---|---|
| Name | PostgreSQL License |
| Developer | PostgreSQL Global Development Group |
| Released | 1996 |
| Latest version | permissive |
| License | permissive free software license |
PostgreSQL License The PostgreSQL License is a permissive free software license used by the PostgreSQL project and its ecosystem. It grants broad rights to copy, modify, and distribute software, and is notable among licenses associated with projects like Linux kernel, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD and SQLite. The license's simplicity has made it popular with corporations such as Red Hat, IBM, Microsoft, Google, Amazon (company) and research institutions such as MIT, Stanford University, Harvard University.
Overview
The license originated within the development history of PostgreSQL and is functionally similar to licenses used by projects like BSD licenses, MIT License, ISC license and certain terms adopted by Apache Software Foundation projects prior to version 2.0. It was designed to enable reuse in both proprietary and open-source products developed by entities including Oracle Corporation, SAP SE, MongoDB, Inc., Couchbase, Inc., VMware, Inc. and Canonical Ltd.. The text is compact, like the short forms used by Berkeley Software Distribution derivatives and components used in Free Software Foundation ecosystems and academic software developed at University of California, Berkeley.
Terms and Conditions
The core provisions require preservation of copyright notices and disclaimers similar to the approach in the MIT License and BSD 3-Clause License. It disclaims warranties in a manner comparable to formulations seen in GNU General Public License preambles and safeguards also present in Eclipse Public License notices. The obligations are minimal: retain attribution for authors such as contributors from the PostgreSQL Global Development Group and preserve liability limitations commonly invoked in software agreements used by organizations like Intel Corporation, ARM Limited and NVIDIA Corporation.
Compatibility and Derivative Works
Because of its permissive wording, the license is compatible with a wide range of licenses and projects, permitting inclusion in systems governed by licenses associated with Debian Project, Ubuntu (operating system), Fedora Project, openSUSE, Arch Linux and Gentoo Linux. It permits derivative works to be relicensed under proprietary terms or integrated into projects under copyleft licenses such as GNU General Public License when combined appropriately, similar to interactions between MIT License code and GPLv2 or GPLv3 code. This compatibility has enabled companies like Atlassian, Elastic NV, Splunk Inc. and Salesforce to embed PostgreSQL-derived components into commercial offerings.
Patent and Trademark Considerations
The license itself does not include an explicit patent grant clause analogous to those in Apache License 2.0 or Mozilla Public License. Organizations concerned with patent rights often look to supplemental agreements or contributor agreements like those used by the Linux Foundation, Open Invention Network and corporate contributors such as Google and IBM to manage patent risk. Trademarks such as PostgreSQL and associated logos are governed separately by trademark policies maintained by the project, a practice similar to trademark stewardship by entities like Apache Software Foundation, Mozilla Foundation and Linux Foundation.
Implementation and Use Cases
Deployments using the license span cloud providers, embedded systems, and enterprise stacks. Major cloud services from Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform, Microsoft Azure and IBM Cloud offer managed services that incorporate software under this license. Vendors including EnterpriseDB, 2ndQuadrant (now part of Edb), Crunchy Data, Timescale, Citus Data and EDB provide commercial support and extensions built on top of code under the PostgreSQL License. Academic projects at MIT Media Lab, Carnegie Mellon University and University of Oxford have reused components under this license in research software and teaching tools.
Comparison with Other Open-Source Licenses
Compared with the GNU General Public License family, the PostgreSQL License is more permissive and lacks the copyleft reciprocity required by projects like GNU Project components. Compared with the Apache License 2.0, it is shorter but omits an express patent license clause and patent retaliation provisions present in Apache. Against BSD 2-Clause License and MIT License, it is largely equivalent in effect, resembling the concise attribution-and-disclaimer model used by X Consortium era licenses. Organizations assessing license choice often consider examples from Facebook, Inc. (now Meta Platforms, Inc.), Twitter, Inc. (now X Corp.), and Netflix, Inc. for how permissive licenses facilitate commercial adoption.