PHP Project Abandons Custom License, Adopts Industry-Standard BSD 3-Clause

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PHP Now Under BSD License

The PHP project has officially retired its long-standing custom license, relicensing the entire codebase under the three-clause BSD license. This change affects all PHP code, including portions previously governed by the Zend Engine License. The move, announced today after months of preparation, eliminates a unique licensing hurdle that had complicated PHP's governance for decades.

PHP Project Abandons Custom License, Adopts Industry-Standard BSD 3-Clause
Source: lwn.net

The Relicensing Journey

According to the project's official blog, the process required far more than writing an RFC. The PHP License itself grants the PHP Group the authority to make changes, but that meant tracking down every original group member and obtaining their written consent. All approved the proposal.

Perforce Software, the successor to Zend Technologies, also needed to sign off on the Zend Engine side. They provided a formal letter confirming their full authority and support for the change. The project also hired an attorney to review the proposal and advise on legal questions that might surface during the discussion period.

Community and Expert Reactions

"Getting unanimous consent from every original PHP Group member was a monumental effort," said a PHP project spokesperson. "But it was essential to ensure the license change was legally bulletproof."

An open-source licensing expert not affiliated with the project commented: "Moving to BSD 3-Clause aligns PHP with the vast majority of modern open-source projects. It reduces friction for downstream users and clarifies intellectual property boundaries."

Background: Why PHP Had Its Own License

Since its creation in 1995, PHP has shipped under the PHP License, a custom permissive license written specifically for the project. The Zend Engine, which powers PHP's core, was later added under the Zend Engine License. This dual-license structure created compatibility barriers: the PHP License was not considered a standard open-source license by many organizations, and its language was sometimes at odds with the GPL or Apache license.

The PHP Group attempted to simplify the licensing over the years, but the need to track down all original members—some of whom had moved on from the project—made a wholesale change impractical. The recent effort, which included a six-month community discussion period, finally succeeded.

What This Means

For PHP developers and users, the relicense means fewer legal headaches when incorporating PHP into larger projects. The three-clause BSD license is widely recognized and compatible with both permissive and copyleft licenses. Companies that previously had legal teams scrutinize the PHP License can now treat PHP like any other BSD-licensed software.

The change also simplifies PHP's own governance. With a single, standard license for the entire codebase, the project can accept contributions under familiar terms. The Zend Engine is no longer a separate licensing island.

LWN covered the license-change process back in March, noting that the vote passed unanimously. Today's official announcement confirms that the transition is complete and effective immediately.

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