Question:
I am creating a package for Laravel based on code that uses the BSD license ( https://github.com/reactjs/react-php-v8js/blob/master/ReactJS.php ).
How exactly should I reference it? Should I keep the license file unchanged? Or maybe keep the original and add my license…? How is this usually done?
Answer:
See what the original license says about it:
Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted that the following conditions are met:
- Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
- Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
That is, you can redistribute, but you must keep the copyright above and the disclaimer below those paragraphs, regardless of everything else.
The pattern I see in some projects is to keep the licenses for all the components they use, and add your own. I think it would be ideal to have your own license, in addition to the license file for this project you are going to use.
I took a look at MojoPortal, which is one of those project types. Every component it uses, even if binary (ie not the source but the compiled component), is in its own folder. And inside that folder Mojo has a .txt file with the component license. These files are left untouched. Take a look at their general license page to get an idea of how to do it: they list each program that has a different Mojo license. I think it's worth getting inspired by the newsroom there.