The MIT License is a permissive free software license that originated at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the late 1980s. It is a short and simple license that allows users to do almost anything they want with the licensed software, including using, copying, modifying, merging, publishing, distributing, sublicensing, and selling copies of the software. The MIT License is a permissive license, meaning it carries very few restrictions. It is highly compatible with other permissive licenses, including the BSD family of licenses, and is generally compatible with the GNU GPL group of licenses. However, if you distribute code that contains or is derivative of GNU GPL code, the final project must be GPL compliant.
One of the significant benefits of using the MIT License is that it serves both sides of the debate equally well. Some developers feel that the GNU GPL licenses are too liberal, while others think all software should eventually become proprietary. Due to the MIT Licenses open language, its suitable for both community developers and teams that want to produce proprietary software using existing pieces of MIT licensed code.
The MIT License is a lax permissive non-copyleft free software license, compatible with the GNU GPL. It is sometimes called the Expat License, but that term is misleading since MIT has used many licenses for software. The MIT License is highly popular and is used by many notable projects, including Ruby on Rails, Node.js, Lua, and jQuery. Some notable companies using the MIT License include Microsoft (.NET), Google (Angular), and Meta (React) .
The primary terms and conditions of the MIT License are to grant permissions and indemnify developers for future use. Specifically, it grants any person who obtains a copy of the software and associated files the right to use, copy, modify, merge, distribute, publish, sublicense, and sell copies of the software. The basic conditions of using the MIT License are to include the original copyright notice and a copy of the license itself in all copies or any substantial portions of the software.
In summary, the MIT License is a permissive free software license that allows users to do almost anything they want with the licensed software. It is highly compatible with other permissive licenses and is used by many notable projects and companies. The primary terms and conditions of the MIT License are to grant permissions and indemnify developers for future use.
