Sybase Open Watcom Public License

{{Infobox software license

|FSF approved = No{{cite web |url=https://www.gnu.org/licenses/license-list.html#Watcom |publisher=gnu.org |accessdate=2015-12-23|title=Various Licenses and Comments about Them - Sybase Open Watcom Public License version 1.0 (#Watcom) |quote=This is not a free software license. It requires you to publish the source code publicly whenever you “Deploy” the covered software, and “Deploy” is defined to include many kinds of private use.}}

|Debian approved=No

|OSI approved=Yes

| GPL compatible = No

| copyleft = Very strong

| copyfree = No

}}

The Sybase Open Watcom Public License is a software license that has been approved by the Open Source Initiative.{{cite web|url=http://opensource.org/licenses/sybase.php |title=Sybase Open Watcom Public License version 1.0 |work=Approved Licences |date=31 October 2006 |publisher=Open Source Initiative}} It is the licence under which the Open Watcom C/C++ compiler is released.

The license has not been accepted as "free" under the Debian Free Software Guidelines, due to the license's termination clauses.[http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=376431 Debian Bug report #376431 RFP: openwatcom].[https://lists.debian.org/debian-legal/2006/07/msg00007.html Is the Sybase Open Watcom License ok?], thread on debian-legal mailing list (July 2006).

The Free Software Foundation (FSF) has stated that the license is not "free" as it requires the source to be published when you "deploy" the software for private use only. In contrast, FSF's General Public License (GPL) does not require that a modified source code has to be made public when the software modification was only used privately without a public release of the software. This makes the Watcom license also GPL incompatible and a stronger copyleft license than the GPL and even the AGPL.

The Fedora project also considers the license as non-free, citing the FSF argumentation.[https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Licensing:Main#Bad_Licenses Fedora Wiki: Licensing]