Semi-free software#semi-free

Semi-free software (English semi- free software ) is software that can be used by individuals free of charge for non-commercial use, copy, modify and pass on their commercial use is linked with restrictions. The limitations can be significant or marginally depending on the license. The term goes back to the Free Software Foundation ( FSF). Software of this class does not fall under free software and is rejected by the FSF with the argument that the exclusion of commercial use was a self-serving limitation.

Motivation

Semi-free software is created against the background that some program developers who have not been paid by a company for their programming work, want to actually realize their ideal use as free help for other home and limit the free use of this application. The possible commercial use of Free Software among the most common licenses (eg GPL, BSD, Apache, public domain etc ) many of these developers did not appear desirable. That was also very controversial business and use models where provided free software with spyware and was offered in this form to download, motivated. The fact that such practices are copyright permitted with free software, they perceive as a lack in the software license and made appropriate restrictions and thus own license versions. Such provided with Filter software were provided by the FSF with the addition of semi ( semi) Terminus semi-free software.

Another source of such software may be companies whose software has reached the commercial end of life and they now want to provide the user community are available, but bring in limitations (eg non - commerciality or exclusively private use ) in the license. Motivation of the company is often preventing the software - not available and no longer maintainable Abandonware is.

Licenses

Known licenses that lead to software releases that can be counted under this classification include the Creative Commons License CC -BY -NC -SA, which does not permit commercial re-use, MAME License or several Shared Source licenses from Microsoft with various restrictions.

In addition, there are a variety of very different companies or software product specific licenses which can be understood as a semi -free software licenses.

Examples

Donated in 2013 Adobe Systems Photoshop 1.0.1 the Computer History Museum, which released its source code under a license which, although a private -use permits, but excludes commercial re-use.

Examples of end-of- life publications as a semi -free software from the computer game area are Homeworld, Myth II or Allegiance.