[TriLUG] GPLv3 -- What do you think?

[Tarus Balog]

On Mar 15, 2006, at 1:47 PM, Rick DeNatale wrote:

> The actual license is part of the source code, and incorporates a GPL
> license by reference. GPL v2 says that IF the program specifies that
> it is licensed under GPL v.2 OR ANY LATER LICENSE then newer licences
> apply (actually that the user can choose which license to follow).

I see this as more of an upgrade path. If I publish some code under  
GPL v2, then it is always available under GPL v2. So supposed Widget  
1.0 was published under GPL v2 and contains code copywritten by  
several contributors.

So the maintainers of Widget decide to use GPL v3 for all future  
work. I take that clause to mean that Widget 2.0 *could* be published  
under GPL 3 (i.e. future work to Widget) without getting the  
unanimous approval of the copyright holders to Widget 1.0, as long as  
the "or (at your option) any later version." clause was in the original.

The key part is "future work". All the GPL does is determine rights  
at the time of publication (release, whatever). There is no way to  
retroactively go back and change the license once it is published.  
But you can change things with future publication.

There is a similar clause in the LGPL - i.e. you can take an LGPL'd  
project, modify it, and publish the result under the GPL.

Not a lawyer, blah blah blah.

Still doesn't answer Shane's question concerning GPL v3 adoption,  
since it is still a choice. Personally, at the moment I don't have  
any problems with GPL v2 so I haven't spent much time thinking about it.

-T

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Tarus Balog
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