Una licencia de software es un contrato legal que define los términos bajo los cuales se puede utilizar, modificar o distribuir un software.
Estas licencias protegen los derechos del creador o desarrollador, y regulan cómo los usuarios pueden interactuar con el software.
Tipos principales de licencias de software
Existen muchos tipos de licencias, pero las más comunes se dividen en dos grandes categorías: Software libre y Software propietario.
Software libre
El software libre no significa necesariamente que sea gratuito, sino que da a los usuarios la libertad de usar, estudiar, modificar y distribuir el software.
Licencias populares en software libre:
- GPL (Licencia Pública General de GNU)
La GPL permite usar, modificar y distribuir el software, pero con la condición de que las modificaciones también deben ser distribuidas bajo la misma licencia.
Plantilla:
This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version. This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details. You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with this program. If not, see <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
- MIT
Es una licencia muy permisiva que permite prácticamente cualquier cosa, siempre que se incluya una copia del aviso de derechos de autor.
Plantilla de licencia MIT
MIT License Copyright (c) [YEAR] [AUTHOR] Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions: The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software. THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.
- Creative Commons (CC): Aunque las licencias Creative Commons son más comunes para contenido como imágenes, vídeos, y textos, también pueden aplicarse a software (especialmente los tipos CC BY o CC BY-SA, que permiten modificaciones y uso comercial). Dependiendo de la variante de la licencia Creative Commons, puede clasificarse como software libre si permite modificaciones y redistribución.
Plantilla Licencia Creative Commons Atribución 4.0 Internacional (CC BY 4.0):
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License
By exercising the Licensed Rights (defined below), You accept and agree to be bound by the terms and conditions of this Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License ("Public License"). To the extent this Public License may be interpreted as a contract, You are granted the Licensed Rights in consideration of Your acceptance of these terms and conditions, and the Licensor grants You such rights in consideration of benefits the Licensor receives from making the Licensed Material available under these terms and conditions.
1. Definitions.
...
2. Scope.
Subject to the terms and conditions of this Public License, the Licensor hereby grants You a worldwide, royalty-free, non-sublicensable, non-exclusive, irrevocable license to exercise the Licensed Rights in the Licensed Material to:
A. Reproduce and Share the Licensed Material, in whole or in part; and
B. Produce, reproduce, and Share Adapted Material.
...
- Apache
Similar a la MIT, pero incluye una cláusula que protege a los autores de posibles demandas relacionadas con el uso del software.
Plantilla de Licencia Apache 2.0:
Apache License Version 2.0, January 2004 http://www.apache.org/licenses/ TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR USE, REPRODUCTION, AND DISTRIBUTION 1. Definitions. ... 2. Grant of Copyright License. Subject to the terms and conditions of this License, each Contributor hereby grants to You a perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, no-charge, royalty-free, irrevocable copyright license to reproduce, prepare Derivative Works of, publicly display, publicly perform, sublicense, and distribute the Work and such Derivative Works in Source or Object form. 3. Grant of Patent License. ... END OF TERMS AND CONDITIONS
- BSD (Berkeley Software Distribution)
La licencia BSD es considerada una licencia de software libre y de código abierto, pero es más permisiva que la GPL. Permite la redistribución, incluso en proyectos comerciales, con muy pocas restricciones.
Plantilla:
BSD 3-Clause License Copyright (c) [YEAR], [AUTHOR] All rights reserved. Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met: 1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer. 2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution. 3. Neither the name of the [organization] nor the names of its contributors may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software without specific prior written permission. THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT HOLDER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
Software propietario
Este tipo de software restringe el uso, modificación y distribución. Solo el titular de los derechos tiene la capacidad de modificarlo o distribuirlo.
Licencias comunes en software propietario:
- Licencia de usuario final (EULA)
Es la licencia típica en el software comercial. El usuario adquiere una «licencia de uso», pero no es propietario del software, y tiene restricciones claras sobre su modificación o redistribución.
Plantilla:
END-USER LICENSE AGREEMENT (EULA) FOR [SOFTWARE PRODUCT] IMPORTANT: PLEASE READ THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS LICENSE AGREEMENT CAREFULLY BEFORE USING THIS SOFTWARE. [SOFTWARE PRODUCT] is licensed, not sold. By installing, copying, or otherwise using the SOFTWARE PRODUCT, you agree to be bound by the terms of this EULA. 1. GRANT OF LICENSE. [Company] grants you the following rights provided that you comply with all terms and conditions of this EULA... 2. DESCRIPTION OF OTHER RIGHTS AND LIMITATIONS. ... LIMITED WARRANTY ... NO LIABILITY FOR DAMAGES ...
- Licencias de pago por suscripción
Con modelos como SaaS (Software as a Service), donde los usuarios pagan por acceder al software durante un período de tiempo.
Plantilla:
SOFTWARE AS A SERVICE (SaaS) LICENSE AGREEMENT
This Software as a Service License Agreement ("Agreement") is entered into by and between [COMPANY NAME] ("Company") and the individual or entity ("User") who agrees to the terms of this Agreement. By subscribing to and using the [SOFTWARE NAME] ("Software"), User agrees to be bound by the terms and conditions of this Agreement.
1. **GRANT OF LICENSE**
Subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, Company grants User a non-exclusive, non-transferable, limited right to access and use the Software during the Subscription Term, as defined in Section 2, for the User's internal business purposes.
2. **SUBSCRIPTION TERM AND FEES**
2.1 The license is provided on a subscription basis. The subscription period begins on the date of purchase and continues for the duration selected by the User (e.g., monthly, annually).
2.2 User agrees to pay the subscription fees as listed at the time of purchase. Fees are charged in advance and are non-refundable.
3. **RESTRICTIONS**
User may not:
- Reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble the Software;
- Use the Software for illegal or unauthorized purposes;
- Sublicense or distribute the Software to third parties without prior written permission from Company.
4. **AUTOMATIC RENEWAL**
Unless canceled prior to the end of the subscription term, the subscription will automatically renew for the same term, and the associated fees will be charged to the payment method on file.
5. **TERMINATION**
5.1 Either party may terminate this Agreement at any time, with or without cause, by providing notice to the other party. In the event of termination, User's access to the Software will be terminated at the end of the current subscription period.
5.2 Company reserves the right to immediately suspend or terminate the User's subscription if User breaches any terms of this Agreement or engages in misuse of the Software.
6. **LIMITED WARRANTY**
The Software is provided "AS IS" and "AS AVAILABLE" without any warranties of any kind, either express or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose.
7. **LIMITATION OF LIABILITY**
In no event shall Company be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages arising out of or in connection with the use or inability to use the Software, even if Company has been advised of the possibility of such damages.
8. **GOVERNING LAW**
This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of [JURISDICTION].
END OF AGREEMENT
Licencias híbridas
Existen modelos mixtos, como el software freemium, que combina software gratuito con características adicionales de pago.
- Freemium
El modelo freemium, aunque ofrece una versión gratuita del software, se considera parte del software propietario porque la mayoría de las funcionalidades avanzadas están bloqueadas y requieren pagos. Los usuarios no tienen libertad de modificar o redistribuir el software y están limitados por términos comerciales.
Plantilla:
SOFTWARE LICENSE AGREEMENT (Freemium Model)
This Software License Agreement ("Agreement") is entered into by and between [COMPANY NAME] ("Company") and the individual or entity ("User") accessing and using the software product [SOFTWARE NAME] ("Software").
1. GRANT OF LICENSE.
Company grants User a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to use the free version of the Software. Features available in the free version are limited, as defined by Company.
2. PREMIUM VERSION.
To access additional features, User may choose to purchase the Premium version. The terms and conditions of this Agreement apply to both free and Premium versions, unless otherwise specified.
3. RESTRICTIONS.
User may not:
- Reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble the Software;
- Remove or modify any copyright notices;
- Share, sublicense, or distribute the Software without express permission from Company.
4. TERMINATION.
Company reserves the right to terminate this license at any time if User breaches any terms of this Agreement.
...
Recuerda destacar la importancia de leer y entender las licencias antes de usar o modificar un software, ya que cada tipo de licencia tiene implicaciones legales y éticas que pueden afectar tanto al usuario como al creador del software.
