Squeak - License

License

Squeak 4.0 may be downloaded at no cost, including source code, as a prebuilt virtual machine image licensed under the MIT License, with the exception of some of the original Apple code, which is governed by the Apache License.

Originally, Apple actually released Squeak under a license called the "Squeak License." While source code was available and modification permitted, the Squeak License contained an indemnity clause that prevented it from qualifying as true Free and Open Source Software.

In 2006, Apple relicensed Squeak twice. First, in May, Apple used its own Apple Public Source License, which satisfies the Free Software Foundation's concept of a Free Software License and has attained official approval from the Open Source Initiative as an Open Source License. The Apple Public Source License, as it turns out, fails to pass the third standard that Free and Open Source Software licenses are held to: the Debian Free Software Guidelines promulgated by the Debian project, an influential volunteer-run GNU/Linux distribution. To enable inclusion of Etoys in the One Laptop Per Child project, a second relicensing was undertaken using the Apache License. At this point, an effort was also made to address the issue of code contributed by members of the Squeak community, which it was not in Apple's power to unilaterally relicense.

For each contribution made under the Squeak License since 1996, a relicensing statement was obtained authorizing distribution under the MIT license, and finally in March 2010, the end result was released as Squeak 4.0, now under combined MIT and Apache licenses.

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