On Wed, Jul 9, 2025, at 10:22 PM, Ben Ramsey wrote: > Hello internals, > > I’m opening discussion on an RFC proposing that we relicense PHP under > the Modified BSD License (SPDX identifier: BSD-3-Clause), starting with > PHP 9.0. This change simplifies and modernizes our licensing, > addressing long-standing issues while preserving the rights of both > contributors and users. Below is a quick summary of what the RFC > proposes and what it means for developers. > > - Proposes that PHP 9.0 adopt the Modified BSD License (BSD-3-Clause), > replacing the current PHP and Zend Engine licenses. > - The Modified BSD License is OSI-approved, GPL-compatible, and widely > recognized in the open source community. > - Your rights as a developer—use, modification, distribution—remain > unchanged. > - Extensions and tools may adopt BSD-3-Clause in place of the outdated > PHP License. > - The update removes confusing legacy clauses tied to branding and > permissions. > > I’ve spoken with all members of the PHP Group, and each has voiced their > approval of this proposal. The Perforce legal team has also informally > approved, and I will be working with them to get a formal letter of > approval soon. > > The RFC is available at: https://wiki.php.net/rfc/php_license_update > > Discussion will remain open for at least six months to ensure all > interested parties have an opportunity to respond. > > Cheers, > Ben > > P.S. For legal questions or concerns, I’m working with Pamela Chestek > of Chestek Legal <https://www.chesteklegal.com> on behalf of the PHP > Group. You may be familiar with her work as chair of the license > committee for the Open Source Initiative.
This is long overdue and very welcome. Thank you, Ben! --Larry Garfield
