There are lots of open source licenses in existence. Some are general purpose and some are very specific. Our favorites are BSD and GNU GPL. Many of the other open source licenses are variations of these 2 classics.

BSD is the most permissive of the 'open source' licenses. When software has a BSD license it is practically in the public domain. The only real requirement of the license is a citation provision where if BSD software is incorporated into another product, its usage must be acknowledged. Other than that provision BSD licensed code can be incorporated into other products with no restrictions. As software developers we have no qualms about using BSD licensed code.

GNU license is a little more restrictive. If you use a GNU GPL application, for example to build a web site, it is free. It is free even if you make money from the Web site. If, on the other hand, you incorporate GNU GPL code in your product you must make your product GNU GPL licensed as well. For products that are developed for profit this is a very restrictive requirement. This is why most GNU software is also available with a commercial license allowing incorporation into proprietary products. Jetfire is available with a GNU General Public License as well as a commercial license. Here is an excellent article on GNU vs commercial license.

For us when we ship a product with a BSD license we want it used everywhere. One of our goals is to get consulting revenue from customers who want special features. Another goal is to release other products that rely on it. For example Jetfire WebParts operate on top of our BSD licensed COR product. Our primary goal; however is to get attention from delivery of a valuable, quality free software product. In we effect advertising our capabilities.

When we license a product with GNU our strategy is to get is used everywhere as well, but with the twist that if it is used commercially we are also looking for revenue. We are willing to sacrifice some usage that a more permissive license would afford in return for getting revenue. Many non-commercial applications will pay for the commercial license simply to get enhanced support.