`license` is a built-in name in Python's interactive interpreter, provided by the `site` module. Typing it in a REPL prints a short notice and instructs you to call `license()` to read the full text.

```python
>>> license
Type license() to see the full license text

>>> license()
A. HISTORY OF THE SOFTWARE
==========================
...
```

It is not a reserved keyword (unlike `return` or `class`), so you can technically shadow it with an assignment, but doing so silently breaks the built-in. The same applies to `copyright` and `credits`, which are also injected by `site` at startup.

<p class="til-source"><a href="https://x.com/alvarobartt/status/1995767969331511371">Find the original post on X</a></p>