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The MIT License is a permissive free software license originating at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)in the late 1980s.
Specs
Pros
Pro Prevents lock-in
The license basically allows anyone to do whatever they want with the code as long as the original copyright and license notice is included along with the copy of the code. The code can be used for commercially, privately, it can be modified and it can be distributed.
Cons
Con Does not protect long-term user freedom
The MIT/Expat license doesn't protect against open-source code being taken (without payment) and used in proprietary software. This is harmful to user freedom because it lets future development be taken out of the public domain and instead moved into non-free programs.
In addition, it doesn't protect against software patents being used to attack user freedom. Unlike the Apache 2.0 and GPLv3 licenses, the MIT/Expat was written before software patents became a problem and doesn't include a patent release.
Recommendations
Comments
Flagged Pros + Cons
Pro Short and simple
The MIT license is one of the shortest licenses of all the major recognized open source licenses. The full text is just 3 paragraphs long.