WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.000 The Linux operating system is absolutely everywhere. 00:00:03.000 --> 00:00:07.000 Android is based on it, it runs most of the servers you connect to whenever you use the internet, 00:00:07.000 --> 00:00:10.000 and it's even used to control NASA's Mars rover. 00:00:10.000 --> 00:00:13.000 If you don't know much about Linux, you can learn more about it up here, 00:00:13.000 --> 00:00:18.000 but in a nutshell, it's a free, open-source operating system that's been around since 1991. 00:00:18.000 --> 00:00:25.000 But here's the thing, since it's free and open-source, does anybody actually own it? 00:00:25.000 --> 00:00:30.000 Like in the way that Microsoft owns Windows or Apple owns macOS? 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:35.000 At first glance, you might think, no, nobody does, because it's free, 00:00:35.000 --> 00:00:40.000 and anyone can use, change, or add even to its source code. 00:00:40.000 --> 00:00:45.000 But remember guys, free doesn't mean devoid of ownership. 00:00:45.000 --> 00:00:53.000 Your local park that is free to use for your Quidditch or LARPing meetups is still owned by the city, 00:00:53.000 --> 00:00:59.000 and Linus Media Group still owns this video, even though it's free for you to watch it. 00:00:59.000 --> 00:01:07.000 So who does own Linux? Well, the main creator of the Linux kernel is Finnish software engineer Linus Torvalds, hence the name, 00:01:07.000 --> 00:01:14.000 who wanted to make it freely available. Now, although he originally wanted to limit how Linux could be used commercially, 00:01:14.000 --> 00:01:18.000 he actually eventually decided to use software from the GNU project 00:01:18.000 --> 00:01:22.000 to turn Linux into a fully functional operating system rather than just a kernel. 00:01:22.000 --> 00:01:28.000 So Torvalds ended up licensing Linux under the GNU General Public License, or GPL, 00:01:28.000 --> 00:01:32.000 which allows users to modify and distribute the source code. 00:01:32.000 --> 00:01:37.000 However, anyone who distributes Linux has to do so under the same terms, 00:01:37.000 --> 00:01:43.000 which assures that any modifications to the Linux kernel also have to continue to be free. 00:01:43.000 --> 00:01:51.000 However, none of this means that Torvalds himself or any other single entity owns the Linux source code in full. 00:01:51.000 --> 00:01:55.000 Although Torvalds does approve a number of changes himself, 00:01:55.000 --> 00:01:58.000 that doesn't give him the copyright to those changes. 00:01:58.000 --> 00:02:05.000 So if you, yes you, Andrew, contribute code to Linux and it gets approved by the community, 00:02:05.000 --> 00:02:09.000 you actually retain the copyright to that piece of code. 00:02:09.000 --> 00:02:14.000 So you will become one of the thousands of collective owners of Linux. 00:02:14.000 --> 00:02:17.000 But keep in mind that because of the terms of the GPL, 00:02:17.000 --> 00:02:22.000 you can't forbid anyone else from using or even modifying your code in the future. 00:02:22.000 --> 00:02:28.000 And then because so many people own copyright in the different parts of the Linux source code, 00:02:28.000 --> 00:02:33.000 it's hard to imagine that the terms Linux is licensed under will ever change. 00:02:33.000 --> 00:02:39.000 In fact, if Linux Torvalds or anyone else wanted to change the way Linux is distributed, 00:02:39.000 --> 00:02:42.000 every copyright holder would have to agree to it. 00:02:42.000 --> 00:02:48.000 For example, a question was raised recently about Linux moving to the newest version of the GPL, version 3. 00:02:48.000 --> 00:02:54.000 And while Torvalds himself had serious reservations about this due to version 3 containing restrictions 00:02:54.000 --> 00:02:59.000 as to how Linux could be used, even if he were to say, yeah, let's go for it, 00:02:59.000 --> 00:03:03.000 he probably couldn't get permission from every single person that's contributed code to the project. 00:03:03.000 --> 00:03:10.000 Anyway, however, that doesn't mean that the name Linux can be used without any kind of restriction. 00:03:10.000 --> 00:03:14.000 The Linux name is a registered trademark in the United States belonging to 00:03:14.000 --> 00:03:21.000 Linux Torvalds through the Linux Mark Institute, with Torvalds deciding to register the name to keep others from just using it willy-nilly. 00:03:21.000 --> 00:03:26.000 With that said, it's actually free to apply for a license, so you should definitely do that 00:03:26.000 --> 00:03:30.000 if you're using the name Linux in the branding for a software-related service, 00:03:30.000 --> 00:03:35.000 whether you're a software giant like Red Hat or just distributing a small homebrew project for free. 00:03:35.000 --> 00:03:41.000 Fun fact, by the way, apparently, Linus Torvalds had some reservations about naming the project after himself 00:03:41.000 --> 00:03:44.000 because he thought that might seem egotistical. 00:03:44.000 --> 00:03:48.000 I, for one, can't imagine why he considered that to be a problem. 00:03:48.000 --> 00:03:52.000 Thanks for watching, guys. Like, dislike, check out our other videos. 00:03:52.000 --> 00:03:55.000 Leave a comment if you have suggestions for a future fast as possible. 00:03:55.000 --> 00:04:00.000 Maybe some question you want answered. And don't forget to subscribe so that earwigs don't crawl into your ears. 00:04:00.000 --> 00:04:05.000 As a kid, I actually thought that's what they did. I thought they crawled into your ear and ate your brain or something. 00:04:05.000 --> 00:04:09.000 I blame my dad. I swear he told me that. He denies it now.