Copyright #

When creating new files in the FreeCAD project, you should - if possible - declare an SPDX License Identifier with the appropriate license.

In source files it is currently also required to add a Copyright Header.

» Copyright Snippets

SPDX License Identifiers #

SPDX is a simple way of declaring what license something falls under and is declared by adding a comment in the following format to a file:

SPDX-License-Identifier: <License>

1. The comment should be placed at the start of a file.

   An example for an exception to this rule are shebang declarations ( #! ), which should come first.

2. You have to use the appropriate License Identifier.

Examples #

1. Internal C++ Source File #

You just wrote a new .cpp file from scratch and want to license it under the standard license FreeCAD uses ( LGPL-2.1-or-later )

// SPDX-License-Identifier: LGPL-2.1-or-later
// SPDX-FileNotice: Part of the FreeCAD project.

...

2. External C++ Source File #

You want to include some pre-existing code licensed under a compatible but different license to what FreeCAD uses by default.

// SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT
// SPDX-FileNotice: Part of the FreeCAD project.

...

3. Mixed Python Licensing #

You have some existing code licensed under one license but also want to add some code under a different license.

# SPDX-License-Identifier: LGPL-2.1-or-later AND MIT
# SPDX-FileNotice: Part of the FreeCAD project.

...

4. Executable Python Script #

You have a Python script with a Shebang declaration.

#!/usr/bin/env python3
# SPDX-License-Identifier: LGPL-2.1-or-later
# SPDX-FileNotice: Part of the FreeCAD project.

...

5. Icons #

Icons should have whatever license the author intended, for example CC-BY-SA-4.0.

In svg files this is declared via metadata, not as a SPDX comment.

6. Documentation #

Besides the wiki, currently we don’t license documentation, however you might want to consider putting it under the Unlicense or CC-BY-SA-4.0.

Copyright Headers #

Copyright headers are currently required to be added to files if ALL of the following conditions apply:

1. The file is C++ or Python source code

2. The file is solely licensed under LGPL-2.1-or-later

3. The code has been written for FreeCAD

   ( Do not mark included libraries with this )

Declarations #

To declare the copyright holders, simply follow this format:

© <Year> <Entity>

• <Year> is the current year / the year the code was published.

• <Entity> is either you - the person - or your organization.

Examples #

Person #

© 1999 Robert Robertson

Organization #

© 2000 Crazy CAD Technologies

Languages #

C++ #

/******************************************************************************
 *                                                                            *
 *   © <Year> <Entity>                                                        *
 *                                                                            *
 *   FreeCAD is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify          *
 *   it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License as           *
 *   published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 2.1            *
 *   of the License, or (at your option) any later version.                   *
 *                                                                            *
 *   FreeCAD is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,               *
 *   but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty              *
 *   of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.                  *
 *   See the GNU Lesser General Public License for more details.              *
 *                                                                            *
 *   You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public         *
 *   License along with FreeCAD. If not, see https://www.gnu.org/licenses     *
 *                                                                            *
 ******************************************************************************/

Python #

################################################################################
#                                                                              #
#   © <Year> <Entity>                                                          #
#                                                                              #
#   FreeCAD is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify            #
#   it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License as             #
#   published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 2.1              #
#   of the License, or (at your option) any later version.                     #
#                                                                              #
#   FreeCAD is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,                 #
#   but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty                #
#   of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.                    #
#   See the GNU Lesser General Public License for more details.                #
#                                                                              #
#   You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public           #
#   License along with FreeCAD. If not, see https://www.gnu.org/licenses       #
#                                                                              #
################################################################################