Editing MAME (section)

== Original MAME license ==
{{anchor|License}}
MAME was formerly distributed under a custom self-written [[copyleft]] [[software license|license]], called the "MAME license" or the "MAME-like license", which was adopted also by other projects, e.g. [[Visual Pinball]]. This license ensures the availability of the licensed program's [[source code]], whilst the redistribution of the program in commercial activities is prohibited.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-01-03 |title=MAME {{!}} Legal Information |url=https://www.mamedev.org/legal.html |access-date=2022-06-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160103180457/https://www.mamedev.org/legal.html |archive-date=3 January 2016 }}</ref> Due to this clause, the license is incompatible with the [[Open Source Initiative|OSI]]'s [[Open Source Definition]] and the [[Free Software Foundation|FSF]]'s [[Free Software Definition]], and as such is not considered an [[Open-source software|open source]], or [[free software]] license, respectively. The non-commercial clause was designed to prevent arcade operators from installing MAME cabinets and profiting from the works of the original manufacturers of the games.<ref name=gamasutra-mameoss/> The ambiguity of the definition "commercial" led to legal problems with the license.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mamedev.emulab.it/haze/2013/10/25/the-already-dead-theory|archive-url=https://archive.today/20131031202643/http://mamedev.emulab.it/haze/2013/10/25/the-already-dead-theory|url-status=dead|title=David Haywood's Homepage » The 'Already Dead' Theory..|date=31 October 2013|archive-date=31 October 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mameworld.info/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Number=316273|title=So why did this annoy me so much?|date=22 October 2013|work=mameworld.info|access-date=29 October 2017}}</ref>

Since March 2016 with version 0.172, MAME itself [[Software relicensing|switched]], by [[dual licensing]], to common [[free software]] [[software license|licenses]], the [[BSD licenses|BSD-3-Clause]] license, and the [[GNU General Public License|GPL-2.0-or-later]] license.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mamedev.org/?p=422|title=MAME is now Free and Open Source Software | work =MAMEDEV.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=MAME {{!}} Legal Information |url=https://www.mamedev.org/legal.html |access-date=2022-06-25 |website=www.mamedev.org}}</ref> However, old versions remain licensed under the original license.