---
title: "Please Stop Inventing New Software Licences"
url: https://daily.dev/posts/please-stop-inventing-new-software-licences-wuvpghwfq
source_url: https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2020/09/please-stop-inventing-new-software-licences/
type: article
source: "Hacker News"
published: 2024-09-09T10:56:34.557Z
updated: 2026-03-15T03:14:50.289Z
tags: ["cryptography", "devtools", "github", "licensing", "open-source"]
reading_time: 4
upvotes: 32
comments: 3
language: en
---

> ## Documentation Index
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# Please Stop Inventing New Software Licences

**[Hacker News](https://daily.dev/sources/hn)** · 4 min read · 32 upvotes · 3 comments

## Summary

Creating new software licences can be problematic for open-source projects by adding confusion and barriers for potential contributors. The author discusses their experience with Cyph's proprietary licence and the complications it introduced, ultimately discouraging them from contributing. Adhering to existing OSI Approved Licences can foster a more welcoming community for contributors.

## Full article

daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: <https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2020/09/please-stop-inventing-new-software-licences/>

## Community discussion

Top comments from developers on daily.dev.

**@grenishrai** · 1 upvotes

> I'm not that sure about all the license for most of my open source project, but I most of the time use MIT license and ICS something license when doing the server work.
>
> Any comments on that?

**@ghost** · 1 upvotes

> This could just be my interpretation of the [git issue](https://github.com/cyph/cyph/issues/64) referenced in the blog article. But just because something is open-source does not mean it is free-and-open-source.
>
> > We recognize the need for anyone to be able to review the code and verify our production build against it from a security perspective, but at the same time it would be problematic if an unrelated third party could just stand up their own instance of Cyph and directly compete with us at this stage.
>
> Am I misinterpreting?

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---

Tags: [#cryptography](https://daily.dev/tags/cryptography), [#devtools](https://daily.dev/tags/devtools), [#github](https://daily.dev/tags/github), [#licensing](https://daily.dev/tags/licensing), [#open-source](https://daily.dev/tags/open-source)

[View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/please-stop-inventing-new-software-licences-wuvpghwfq)