BSDlicensed

BSD-licensed refers to software distributed under the BSD family of permissive free software licenses, originating at the University of California, Berkeley's BSD operating systems. These licenses grant broad rights to use, modify, and distribute the software with minimal restrictions, and they allow inclusion in both open-source and proprietary products.

The BSD family comprises several variants. The original 4-clause BSD license included an advertising clause requiring acknowledgment in advertising materials; this clause was dropped in later versions. The 3-clause "New BSD License" added a non-endorsement clause prohibiting using the project's name to promote products derived from the software. The 2-clause "Simplified BSD License" removes the advertising and endorsement restrictions, retaining the core requirements to preserve copyright and license notices.

Core terms typically permit redistribution in source or binary form, with or without modification, as long as copyright notices and the license text are included. They also provide a warranty disclaimer and do not impose copyleft obligations, meaning derivative works do not have to be released under the same license.

Impact and usage: BSD licenses are widely used in open-source software due to their permissiveness and compatibility with other licenses. Notable projects and systems that are BSD-licensed or heavily influenced by BSD terms include FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD, and DragonFly BSD, as well as various components in other operating systems and software stacks.

Relationship and considerations: BSD-licensed code is generally easy to mix with other licenses, but users should review the exact license version and notices to ensure compliance, particularly regarding attribution and endorsements. The BSD family contrasts with copyleft licenses such as the GNU General Public License, which require derivative works to be released under the same terms.