Editing OpenSSL (section)

== Licensing ==

OpenSSL was dual-licensed under the OpenSSL License and the SSLeay License, which means that the terms of either licenses can be used.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.openssl.org/source/license.html |title=OpenSSL: Source, License |publisher=openssl.org |access-date=February 5, 2015 |archive-date=January 18, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190118094240/https://www.openssl.org/source/license.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The OpenSSL License is [[Apache License]] 1.0 and SSLeay License bears some similarity to a 4-clause [[BSD License]].
As the OpenSSL License was [[Apache License]] 1.0, but not Apache License 2.0, it requires the phrase "this product includes software developed by the OpenSSL Project for use in the OpenSSL Toolkit" to appear in advertising material and any redistributions (Sections 3 and 6 of the OpenSSL License). Due to this restriction, the OpenSSL License and the Apache License 1.0 are incompatible with the [[GNU General Public License|GNU GPL]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fsf.org/licensing/licenses |title=Licenses – Free Software Foundation |publisher=fsf.org |access-date=January 4, 2008 |archive-date=January 24, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080124043540/http://www.fsf.org/licensing/licenses |url-status=live}}</ref>
Some GPL developers have added an ''OpenSSL exception'' to their licenses that specifically permits using OpenSSL with their system. GNU [[Wget]] and [[climm]] both use such exceptions.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://users.ugent.be/~bpuype/wget |title=WGET 1.10.2 for Windows (win32) |publisher=users.ugent.be |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080102164139/http://users.ugent.be/~bpuype/wget/ |archive-date=2008-01-02}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.climm.org/download.shtml.en |title=Releases of source and binaries |publisher=climm.org |access-date=30 November 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110212024627/http://www.climm.org/download.shtml.en |archive-date=12 February 2011}}</ref> Some packages (like [[Deluge (software)|Deluge]]) explicitly modify the GPL license by adding an extra section at the beginning of the license documenting the exception.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://git.deluge-torrent.org/deluge/plain/LICENSE |title=Deluge LICENSE file |publisher=deluge-torrent.org |access-date=24 January 2013 |archive-date=December 3, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203035654/http://git.deluge-torrent.org/deluge/plain/LICENSE |url-status=live}}</ref> Other packages use the [[GNU Lesser General Public License|LGPL]]-licensed [[GnuTLS]], [[BSD licenses|BSD]]-licensed [[Botan (programming library)|Botan]], or [[Mozilla Public License|MPL]]-licensed [[Network Security Services|NSS]], which perform the same task.

OpenSSL announced in August 2015 that it would require most contributors to sign a [[Contributor License Agreement]] (CLA), and that OpenSSL would eventually be [[Software relicensing|relicensed]] under the terms of [[Apache License&nbsp;2.0]].<ref>{{cite web
 | url = https://openssl-library.org/post/2015-08-01-cla/
 | title = License Agreements and Changes Are Coming
 | date = 1 August 2015 | access-date = 2024-10-11
 | last = Salz | first = Rich | website = openssl.org
}}</ref> This process commenced in March 2017,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.coreinfrastructure.org/news/announcements/2017/03/openssl-re-licensing-apache-license-v-20-encourage-broader-use-other-foss |title=OpenSSL Re-licensing to Apache License v. 2.0 To Encourage Broader Use with Other FOSS Projects and Products |date=2017-03-23 |access-date=2018-08-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170718040958/https://www.coreinfrastructure.org/news/announcements/2017/03/openssl-re-licensing-apache-license-v-20-encourage-broader-use-other-foss |archive-date=2017-07-18}}</ref> and was complete in 2018.<ref name = "Various, Red Hat, 2019" >{{ Cite web | url = https://opensource.com/article/19/2/top-foss-legal-developments | title = Top 10 FOSS legal developments of 2018 | access-date = 2019-09-28 | first1 = Victoria | last1 = Lee | first2 = Mark | last2 = Radcliffe | first3 = Chris | last3 = Stevenson | date = 2019-02-05 | website = Opensource.com, [[Red Hat]] | quote = The OpenSSL project announced that it had completed its shift from the OpenSSL/SSLeay license to the Apache Software License version 2 (ASLv2). | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190205110130/https://opensource.com/article/19/2/top-foss-legal-developments | archive-date = 2019-02-05  | df = dmy-all}}</ref>

On 7 September 2021, OpenSSL 3.0.0 was released under the Apache License 2.0.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://wiki.openssl.org/index.php/OpenSSL_3.0#License_Change |title=OpenSSL 3.0 License Change |date=2021-09-22 |access-date=2021-09-24 |archive-date=January 17, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250117002813/https://wiki.openssl.org/index.php/OpenSSL_3.0#License_Change |url-status=live}}</ref>