Knuth license
E437482
The Knuth license is a highly restrictive software license created by Donald Knuth that allows use and distribution of his programs like METAFONT only if they remain unchanged, effectively prohibiting modified versions from being redistributed under the same name.
All labels observed (1)
| Label | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Knuth license canonical | 2 |
How this entity was disambiguated
This entity first appeared as the object of triple T4416352 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.
NED1
Entity disambiguation (via context triple)
gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07
Target entity: Knuth license Context triple: [METAFONT, license, Knuth license]
-
A.
Apache License 1.1
Apache License 1.1 is an older, permissive open-source software license from the Apache Software Foundation that preceded and was later replaced by Apache License 2.0.
-
B.
Apache License 1.0
Apache License 1.0 is the original version of the Apache Software Foundation’s permissive open-source software license that laid the groundwork for later Apache license revisions.
-
C.
BSD license
The BSD license is a family of permissive free software licenses that allow redistribution and use with minimal restrictions, including in proprietary software.
-
D.
ISC license
The ISC license is a permissive, simplified open-source software license functionally similar to the BSD and MIT licenses, allowing broad reuse with minimal restrictions.
-
E.
Apache License 2.0
Apache License 2.0 is a permissive open-source software license from the Apache Software Foundation that allows broad use, modification, and distribution of licensed code with minimal restrictions.
- F. None of above. chosen
- G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.
NED2
Entity disambiguation (via description)
gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07
Target entity: Knuth license Target entity description: The Knuth license is a highly restrictive software license created by Donald Knuth that allows use and distribution of his programs like METAFONT only if they remain unchanged, effectively prohibiting modified versions from being redistributed under the same name.
-
A.
Apache License 1.1
Apache License 1.1 is an older, permissive open-source software license from the Apache Software Foundation that preceded and was later replaced by Apache License 2.0.
-
B.
Apache License 1.0
Apache License 1.0 is the original version of the Apache Software Foundation’s permissive open-source software license that laid the groundwork for later Apache license revisions.
-
C.
BSD license
The BSD license is a family of permissive free software licenses that allow redistribution and use with minimal restrictions, including in proprietary software.
-
D.
ISC license
The ISC license is a permissive, simplified open-source software license functionally similar to the BSD and MIT licenses, allowing broad reuse with minimal restrictions.
-
E.
Apache License 2.0
Apache License 2.0 is a permissive open-source software license from the Apache Software Foundation that allows broad use, modification, and distribution of licensed code with minimal restrictions.
- F. None of above. chosen
Statements (33)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
freeware license
ⓘ
software license ⓘ |
| appliesTo |
METAFONT
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
TeX-related programs by Donald Knuth ⓘ WEB system implementations by Knuth ⓘ other programs distributed by Donald Knuth with the same terms ⓘ |
| associatedWith |
Computer Modern fonts
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
METAFONT NERFINISHED ⓘ TeX NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| category |
non-free software license
ⓘ
permissive for unmodified distribution ⓘ |
| creator | Donald Knuth NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| distributionCondition | programs may be distributed freely if unmodified ⓘ |
| enforces | distinction between original and modified programs ⓘ |
| goal |
preserve the integrity and reliability of Knuth’s programs
ⓘ
prevent confusion between Knuth’s original programs and modified versions ⓘ |
| isCopyleft | false ⓘ |
| isFreeSoftwareFoundationApproved | false ⓘ |
| isGPLCompatible | false ⓘ |
| isOpenSourceInitiativeApproved | false ⓘ |
| jurisdiction | worldwide ⓘ |
| modificationCondition | modified versions may not be distributed under the same name ⓘ |
| namedAfter | Donald Knuth NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| nameRestriction | original program name reserved for Knuth’s own versions ⓘ |
| notableFor |
highly restrictive conditions on redistribution of modified versions
ⓘ
preserving canonical reference implementations of Knuth’s software ⓘ |
| permitsCommercialUse | true ⓘ |
| permitsDistributionOfModifiedVersionsUnderSameName | false ⓘ |
| permitsModification | true ⓘ |
| requiresSourceAvailability | true ⓘ |
| restrictionType |
no distribution of modified versions under the original name
ⓘ
requires renaming of modified versions ⓘ |
| useCondition | programs may be used freely ⓘ |
How these facts were elicited
The pipeline generated the facts above by prompting gpt-5.1 with this entity's name + description and the instruction below.
Instruction
You are a knowledge base construction expert. Given a subject entity and a description of it, return factual statements that you know for the subject as a JSON list of dictionaries(triples), where keys must be "subject", "predicate" and "object". The number of facts may be very high, between 25 to 50 or more, for very popular subjects. For less popular subjects, the number of facts can be very low, like 5 or 10. # Requirements - If you don't know the subject at all, return an empty list. - If the subject is not a named entity, return an empty list. - Include at least one triple where predicate is "instanceOf". - Do not get too wordy. - Separate several objects into multiple triples with one object.
Input
Subject: Knuth license Description of subject: The Knuth license is a highly restrictive software license created by Donald Knuth that allows use and distribution of his programs like METAFONT only if they remain unchanged, effectively prohibiting modified versions from being redistributed under the same name.
Referenced by (2)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.