Determining whether any given third party licensed work is compatible with the Apache License is not something that can unfailingly be determined algorithmically. Often the decision depends on the context or the way the dependency is used. The PMC is in the best position to make that determination. Many times these issues are complex, or have been dealt with before in somewhat related contexts.

Therefore, each PMC in conjunction with the ASF Legal Affairs Committee is entrusted with the responsibility to make the decision as to whether or not a given dependency is acceptable. Additionally, each PMC is expected to inform the board via quarterly board reports whenever there is a significant change in dependencies. This enables the board to provide a check and a balance when needed to ensure that principles are applied consistently across the foundation.

This wiki contains summaries of, and links to, examples of how various PMCs are dealing with third-party licensing issues.

Principles

• All code developed at the ASF is substantially licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0
• Users of Apache products must be provided with all licensing terms applicable to any part of the product and must be given prominent notice when any of those terms include restrictions significantly different from the Apache License.