🛡️ RISK BADGE: 🟢 LOW (Permissive)
Executive Summary: What is it?
The Academic Free License 3.0 (AFL-3.0) is an OSI-Approved, permissive license, the permissive counterpart to OSL-3.0. No copyleft, no network trigger. You can use, modify, and distribute the software commercially without being required to open-source your own code. Attribution to the original author is required.
CFO / Business Impact: What does it cost/risk?
Low risk, low overhead. AFL-3.0 imposes no viral obligations. Your proprietary IP stays proprietary. The main compliance cost is preserving attribution notices. Notable real-world adopter: PrestaShop.
- Commercial Usage: Permitted without restriction.
- Contamination Risk: None. No copyleft clause means no forced disclosure of your codebase.
Technical Reality: How does it work?
- Modification Rights: Modify freely; no obligation to publish changes.
- Patent Protection: Contains a patent retaliation clause: if you sue the licensor for patent infringement, your license terminates.