[141] Mundie argues that the GPL has a "viral" effect in that it only allows the conveyance of whole programs, which means programs that link to GPL libraries must themselves be under a GPL-compatible license, else they cannot be combined and distributed.

[148][149], Version 2 of the WTFPL (Do What The Fuck You Want To Public License) was created by Debian project leader Sam Hocevar in 2004 as a parody of the GPL.

This distinction is explained in more detail later. The second section of version 2 and the fifth section of version 3 also require giving "all recipients a copy of this License along with the Program". A derivative work would be one that makes changes to the source, creating a different work than the originally licensed work. [129] In June 2016 an analysis of Fedora Project's packages revealed the GNU GPL version 2 or later as the most popular license, and the GNU GPL family as the most popular license family (followed by the MIT, BSD, and GNU LGPL families). For example, the open source OS Android, released under the permissive Apache license, encourages adoption of Android-based phones and Google products and services. [36][37] As there were concerns expressed about the administrative costs of checking code for this additional requirement, it was decided to keep the GPL and the Affero license separated. [78] Wallace was denied the possibility of further amending his complaint, and was ordered to pay the FSF's legal expenses. and the semantics of the communication (what kinds of information are interchanged). The official GPLv3 was released by the FSF on 29 June 2007. [161], Lawrence Rosen, attorney and computer specialist, praised in 2007 how the community using the Apache license were now able to work together with the GPL community in a compatible manner, as the problems of GPLv2 compatibility with Apache licensed software were resolved with the GPLv3. Tags: free gnu GPL LGPL license open-source opensource. Other companies, like the Mozilla Foundation (products include Mozilla Application Suite, Mozilla Thunderbird, and Mozilla Firefox), used multi-licensing to distribute versions under the GPL and some other open-source licenses. Many distributors of GPL'ed programs bundle the source code with the executables. [100] Nevertheless, the Debian developers recommended (in a resolution adopted in 2006) to license documentation for their project under the GPL, because of the incompatibility of the GFDL with the GPL (text licensed under the GFDL cannot be incorporated into GPL software). facility refers to a function or data to be supplied by an Application Library side by side in a single library together with other library If the Library as you Code. Only the individual copyright holders have the authority to sue when a license violation is suspected. [49] Users or companies who distribute GPL-licensed works (e.g. This is not the case in countries like the US and Canada where copyright law is inapplicable to the appearance of fonts, though program code inside a font file may still be covered—which can complicate font embedding (since the document could be considered 'linked' to the font; in other words, embedding a vector font in a document could force it to be released under the GPL, but a rasterized rendering of the font would not be subject to the GPL). Such new [43] However, GPLv3 software could only be combined and share code with GPLv2 software if the GPLv2 license used had the optional "or later" clause and the software was upgraded to GPLv3. These specific app repos all contain GPL-licensed software apps, in some cases even when the core project does not permit GPL-licensed code in the base system (for instance OpenBSD[133]).

"[162], In July 2013 Flask developer Armin Ronacher draws a less optimistic resume on the GPL compatibility in the FOSS ecosystem when he concluded: "When the GPL is involved the complexities of licensing becomes a non fun version of a riddle", also noting that the conflict between Apache License 2.0 and GPLv2 still has impact on the ecosystem.

Lewis Galoob Toys, Inc. v. Nintendo of America, Inc. "Why They're Wrong: WordPress Plugins Shouldn't Have to be GPL", "GPL FAQ: Can I apply the GPL when writing a plug-in for a nonfree program? [38], Others, notably some high-profile Linux kernel developers such as Linus Torvalds, Greg Kroah-Hartman, and Andrew Morton, commented to the mass media and made public statements about their objections to parts of discussion drafts 1 and 2. Conversely, if one distributes copies of the work without abiding by the terms of the GPL (for instance, by keeping the source code secret), they can be sued by the original author under copyright law. While the question of ownership is slightly more tricky in the realm of open source software, this is not an issue exclusive to open source software. License, and the Corresponding Application Code in a form Application, but excluding the System Libraries of the Combined Work. ", "GPLv3 hits 50 percent adoption | The Open Road - CNET News", License proliferation: a naive quantitative analysis, "GNU Emacs Copying Permission Notice (1985)", "Presentation at the second international GPLv3 conference, held in Porto Alegre", "FSF releases the GNU General Public License, version 3 – Free Software Foundation – working together for free software", "GNU Library General Public License, version 2.0", "Presentation in Brussels, Belgium—the first day of that year's FOSDEM conference", "The GPLv3 process: Public consultation and private drafting", "A Quick Guide to GPLv3 – GNU Project – Free Software Foundation (FSF)", "GPLv3: Drafting version 3 of the GNU General Public License", "gplv3.fsf.org comments for discussion draft 4", "GNU Affero GPL version 3 and the "ASP loophole, List of free-software licences on the FSF website, "GPL FAQ: Why did you decide to write the GNU Affero GPLv3 as a separate license? The terms and conditions of the GPL must be made available to anybody receiving a copy of the work that has a GPL applied to it ("the licensee"). Examples of such companies include MySQL AB, Digia PLC (Qt framework, before 2011 from Nokia), Red Hat (Cygwin), and Riverbank Computing (PyQt). the FSF. these notices, as well as a reference directing the user to the Software developer Allison Randal argued that the GPLv3 as a license is unnecessarily confusing for lay readers, and could be simplified while retaining the same conditions and legal force. ", "Frequently Asked Questions about the GNU Licenses (GPL FAQ)", "Why you shouldn't use the Lesser GPL for your next library", The GPL: Understanding the License that Governs Linux. License, a) under this License, provided that you make a good faith effort to [106]

This isn’t Nam; There are rules. The FSF did not sue any downstream redistributors who also unknowingly violated the GPL by distributing these binaries. While you are reading this, keep in mind some things: If you have worked in software development for more than 10 years you’ve probably noticed a trend with respect to open source software: it has become integral to the industry. Library. (626) 427-7184, Copyright © 2020 Art+Logic — Custom Software Development Company. Coding the “impossible.”®, 87 N RAYMOND AVE STE 531 If the [135][136] In response to Microsoft's attacks on the GPL, several prominent Free Software developers and advocates released a joint statement supporting the license. [8] The GPL series are all copyleft licenses, which means that any derivative work must be distributed under the same or equivalent license terms.