# Parity License vs. GPL

**URL:** <https://discourse.sustainoss.org/t/parity-license-vs-gpl/229>\
**Category:** Licensing\
**Created:** [September 5, 2019, 1:20pm UTC](https://discourse.sustainoss.org/t/parity-license-vs-gpl/229 "2019-09-05T13:20:31Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![HankG](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex032/user_avatar/discourse.sustainoss.org/hankg/32/53_2.png) [@HankG](https://discourse.sustainoss.org/u/HankG)\
**Post date:** [September 5, 2019, 1:20pm UTC](https://discourse.sustainoss.org/t/parity-license-vs-gpl/229/1 "2019-09-05T13:20:31Z")

</div>

I’ve been on a bit of a tear reading up on open source sustainability this week. It wasn’t intentional. One of the rabbit holes I went down put me face to face with this [Parity License](https://paritylicense.com/versions/6.0.0.html). I had never heard of it. A cursory read of it though I’m not seeing what it accomplishes that isn’t already accomplished by the GPL. Anyone here familiar with it that can shed some light on it?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Patrick-T-Anderson](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex032/user_avatar/discourse.sustainoss.org/patrick-t-anderson/32/190_2.png) [@Patrick-T-Anderson](https://discourse.sustainoss.org/u/Patrick-T-Anderson)\
**Post date:** [December 15, 2019, 6:46am UTC](https://discourse.sustainoss.org/t/parity-license-vs-gpl/229/2 "2019-12-15T06:46:31Z")

</div>

The Parity License says you **must** contribute your software to the public which it defines as _“…publish all its source code, in the preferred form for making changes, through a freely accessible distribution system widely used for similar source code…”_

The GNU GPL has no such requirement.

You may keep your work secret or only release it to a select few, or even require payment for every copy you deliver **but** you must also allow anyone who receives it to sell it or give it away or post it on any public site, etc.

While these rules are tricky, I think they can be used as the basis of a better business model.