Multi-licensing

Multi-licensing is the practice of distributing software under two or more different sets of terms and conditions. This may mean multiple different software licenses or sets of licenses. Prefixes may be used to indicate the number of licenses used, e.g. dual-licensed for software licensed under two different licenses.

When software is multi-licensed, recipients can typically choose the terms under which they want to use or distribute the software, but the simple presence of multiple licenses in a software package or library does not necessarily indicate that the recipient can freely choose one or the other. In some cases, especially when the software has multiple origins, all the accompanied licenses apply at the same time. The applicability of the different licenses has to be individually checked.^{[according to whom?]} The distributor may or may not apply a fee to either option.^{[citation needed]} The two usual motivations for multi-licensing are license compatibility^[1] and market segregation based business models.^[2]

^ Cite error: The named reference GPLviral was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Ronacher, Armin (July 23, 2013). "Licensing in a Post Copyright World". lucumr.pocoo.org. Retrieved November 18, 2015. The AGPLv3 was a terrible success, especially among the startup community that found the perfect base license to make dual licensing with a commercial license feasible. MongoDB, RethinkDB, OpenERP, SugarCRM as well as WURFL all now utilize the AGPLv3 as a vehicle for dual commercial licensing. The AGPLv3 makes that generally easy to accomplish as the original copyright author has the rights to make a commercial license possible but nobody who receives the sourcecode itself through the APLv3 inherits that right. I am not sure if that was the intended use of the license, but that's at least what it's definitely being used for now.

[GPLviral-1] Cite error: The named reference GPLviral was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[ronacher2013-2] Ronacher, Armin (July 23, 2013). "Licensing in a Post Copyright World". lucumr.pocoo.org. Retrieved November 18, 2015. The AGPLv3 was a terrible success, especially among the startup community that found the perfect base license to make dual licensing with a commercial license feasible. MongoDB, RethinkDB, OpenERP, SugarCRM as well as WURFL all now utilize the AGPLv3 as a vehicle for dual commercial licensing. The AGPLv3 makes that generally easy to accomplish as the original copyright author has the rights to make a commercial license possible but nobody who receives the sourcecode itself through the APLv3 inherits that right. I am not sure if that was the intended use of the license, but that's at least what it's definitely being used for now.

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