| Author | Internet Systems Consortium |
|---|---|
| Free software | Yes |
| OSI approved | Yes |
| GPL compatible | Yes |
| Copyleft | No |
| Copyfree | Yes[1] |
| Linking from code with a different license | Yes |
The ISC license is a permissive free software license written by the Internet Systems Consortium (ISC). It is functionally equivalent to the 2-clause BSD license, with language "made unnecessary by the Berne convention" removed.[2] Initially used for the ISC's own software releases, it has since become the preferred license of OpenBSD (starting June 2003[3]), among other projects.[4]
Before accepting the license as a free software license, the Free Software Foundation (FSF) asked for clarification of the text. As a result, in July 2007 "and distribute" was changed to "and/or distribute".[5]
A template of this license is:
Copyright (c) Year(s), Company or Person's Name <E-mail address> Permission to use, copy, modify, and/or distribute this software for any purpose with or without fee is hereby granted, provided that the above copyright notice and this permission notice appear in all copies. THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND THE AUTHOR DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES WITH REGARD TO THIS SOFTWARE INCLUDING ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHOR BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER TORTIOUS ACTION, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE.