rfc:php_license_update
Date: 2025-07-10
Author: Ben Ramsey, [email protected]
Proposed Version: PHP 9.0
Status: Under Discussion
First Published at: http://wiki.php.net/rfc/php_license_update
Introduction
PHP has a long history of confusion, concerns, and disagreements regarding its custom open source license, and the Zend Engine License, which covers the sources in the Zend/ directory, adds to this confusion and additionally complicates matters, since it is not an Open Source Initiative Approved License. This RFC proposes a pragmatic simplification to the PHP license that alleviates this confusion, preserves the copyrights owned by all PHP contributors, and grants users the same rights as the original licenses. The proposed license to accomplish this is the Modified BSD License, often referred to as the 3-clause BSD license.
Proposal
This proposal addresses a longstanding issue within the open source community by publishing new versions of the PHP License and the Zend Engine License. The Modified BSD License is adopted as the PHP License, version 4, and as the Zend Engine License, version 3. The Modified BSD License is sometimes referred to as the “New,” “Revised,” or “3-clause” BSD License. Its SPDX identifier is BSD-3-Clause .1) It is recognized as a free software license by both the Open Source Initiative (OSI) and the Free Software Foundation (FSF).2) 3) The FSF has designated it as compatible with the GNU General Public License ( GPL ), and it is an OSI Approved License. The PHP License, version 3.01, and Zend Engine License, version 2.00, combine the Modified BSD License with special terms specific only to the PHP Group and Zend Technologies (now a subsidiary of Perforce Software). After removing these special terms, the licenses are identical to the Modified BSD License, and there is no change to the rights granted by contributors or to users. By adopting the Modified BSD License: The rights granted by contributors do not change.
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