The beauty of Open Sheet Music Display lies within their development as an open source project. This generally means that their code is being written under a license which makes it possible for other developers to change and distribute the software to anyone and for any purpose.
There are many different available licenses, which developers can use when working on their software. Some of the most popular ones include the Massachusetts Institute of Technology License (MIT), Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD) and the General Public License (GPL).
Up until now, OSMD was working with the MIT license. In short, you as a user have pretty broad rights regarding copying and distribution. This also means that you are free to change the software where you think it is appropriate. You can even use the software privately and commercially. If you are interested in the full license, you can find it here.
The Berkeley Software Distribution License
Recently, we have decided to switch from the MIT to the 3-Clause BSD license. After much consideration, we found that the 3-clause BSD comes along with many advantages. Basically, it is still possible to do the same things as with the MIT license. However, there is one thing that has to be kept in mind when developing OSMD into your products.
What has changed?
When you are developing another software with OSMD, your project has to contain a copyright notice. The copyright notice should be within the code, as well as in marketing material associated with your project. Also, OSMD may not be used for any endorsements or promotions without prior consent.
OSMD with BSD license – Why it benefits everyone
What we mainly want to achieve with this change is to further spread and distribute OSMD. We aim to cause a ripple effect with this. A copyright notice leads to more (re)distribution, then more users and resources, which ultimately creates a better overall software and application. So, with the big picture in mind, it is to improve OSMD for everyone.
This license change is effective from November 1, 2019.
