[TriLUG] GPLv3 -- What do you think?

[Rick DeNatale]

On 3/15/06, Joseph Tate <dragonstrider at gmail.com> wrote:
> On 3/15/06, Tanner Lovelace <clubjuggler at gmail.com> wrote:
> > Only if you include paragraph 9 in the license you release your
> > software under.  From what I understand, this is what Linus has
> > done with his contributions to the kernel.  Other contributors may
> > or may not have done the same, leading to a very interesting
> > situation where parts of the kernel may be licensable under GPLv3
> > and other parts may not be.
> >
>
> Therein is another legal quandary.  The GPL at
> http://www.opensource.org/licenses/gpl-license.php says that you are
> allowed to copy and redistribute the GPL text verbatim, but no
> modifications are allowed.  Therefore omitting paragraph nine would
> not be allowed.  So much for freedom.  :)

But in this case it doesn't matter since the condition triggering the
automatic re-licensing under later versions of the GPL hasn't been
met.  Here's the linux kernel license in pseudo code:

license_version="v.2"
call gplv2(license_version)

define gplv2(license_version)

#Section 9
if (contains(license_version,"any later version") then
   license_in_effect=ask_user_which_license_starting_with(license_version)
   call license_in_effect()
   return
endif

That if leg NEVER comes into effect.

--
Rick DeNatale

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