You are preparing to release a Linux command-line utility as part of an enterprise distribution. Management wants a license that will force anyone who ships a modified build-or an executable that is statically or dynamically linked with your utility-to (1) provide the full, preferred-form source code to recipients and (2) distribute every derivative or linked work under the same license terms, so the "share-and-share-alike" rule continues downstream. Which class of license will meet these requirements?
A permissive license, such as the MIT or BSD 2-Clause license
A weak copyleft license, such as the GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL) v2.1
A strong copyleft license, for example the GNU General Public License (GPL) v3
A dual-license arrangement that lets distributors choose proprietary terms
A strong copyleft license such as the GNU GPL satisfies both conditions. The GPL is expressly designed to propagate its terms to all derivative works (including those created through static or dynamic linking), and it requires that any party who distributes binaries also provide the complete corresponding source code. Weak copyleft licenses like the LGPL only compel publication of changes to the library itself and allow proprietary programs to link without relicensing. Permissive licenses (MIT, BSD, Apache) impose minimal conditions and let downstream redistributors close their code. A dual-licensing model that offers proprietary terms would allow recipients to circumvent the copyleft altogether, defeating the stated goals.
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What is the difference between a strong copyleft and a weak copyleft license?
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What are the key requirements of the GNU General Public License (GPL) v3?
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Why do permissive licenses like the MIT or BSD not meet the requirements of strong copyleft?
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CompTIA Linux+ XK0-006 (V8)
System Management
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