We have decided to move ISC DHCP to theMozilla Public License (MPL 2.0).
In 2016 were-licensed BIND and Kea under theMozilla Public License 2.0. At the time we solicited public comment, and talked to many stakeholders about it. In the end, we didn’t see any negative impact on our users from that change. Now we plan to make the same shift from theISC license to the MPL 2.0 license for ISC DHCP.
The reason for making the software license change is to encourage continued community contributions to the ISC DHCP project, particularly from those who benefit most from the free open source, vendors incorporating ISC DHCP into commercial products and services.
Although we are aware that the MPL 2.0 license may notrequire the contributions we are hoping for, it seems to be an acceptable middle ground between the current ISC license and the GPL license.
This change will apply to ISC DHCP version 4.4.0 and any 4.4.x versions.
We will add the MPL 2.0 license terms as we update or change files, beginning with the 4.4.0 beta version. Older versions already published under the ISC license will remain under the ISC license. We will be highlighting the change in our release notes and in the release announcements. In addition, we will be updating our contributor guidelines so technical contributors are aware of how their contributions will be licensed.
Those unsure whether or not the license change affects their use of ISC DHCP, or who wish to discuss how to comply with the license, may contact ISC at info@isc.org or use ourcontact form.
We encourage anyone making a product that incorporates ISC DHCP to subscribe forannual support from ISC - this is how we fund the open source maintenance. If you or your employer use ISC DHCP and you want to see the project continue as a strong and healthy system, please consider contributing, if you do not today. We welcome donations of any amount atour donations page.
We welcome comments from DHCP users, about this or anything else we do. Email Vicky Risk, Product Manager atvicky@isc.org or discuss ondhcp-users@lists.isc.org.
