MITX11Lizenzen

MITX11Lizenzen are a family of permissive open‑source licenses combining elements of the MIT License and the X11 License. They grant almost unrestricted rights to use, modify, copy, publish, distribute, sublicense, and sell software, with minimal conditions. The key requirement is that the original copyright notice and permission notice must remain intact in all copies and substantial portions of the source code.

The origin of the MITX11 license dates back to the early 1980s, when the X Window System (X11) was developed at MIT. The X11 license was designed to allow wide adoption and modification while protecting the original authors. Over time, it evolved into a version that resembles the LaTeX Project Public License but with a more permissive clause. Hence the common name “MITX11” or “X11” license.

Applications of MITX11Lizenzen are widespread in the software community. Many compilers, libraries, and tools—such as the Xorg display server, TeX Live, and the GNU Engineering Library—use this license to encourage community contribution and commercial use. Companies can package MITX11 licensed code in commercial products without releasing their own source code, provided they preserve the copyright notices.

Despite its permissiveness, MITX11Lizenzen do not provide warranty or liability guarantees. Users are responsible for validating the software themselves. Like all licenses, they are subject to local law and can be superseded by additional contractual clauses in a specific distribution. Nonetheless, MITX11Lizenzen remain one of the most popular choices for developers seeking minimal restrictions while ensuring attribution.