Analysis of information sources in references of the Wikipedia article "GNU General Public License" in English language version.
From the above chart it is clear that the GPL family is the highest used (I had miscalculated it as MIT before). The other major licenses are MIT, BSD, the LGPL family, Artistic (for Perl packages), LPPL (fo[r] texlive packages), ASL.
The source code we develop at blender.org is default being licensed as GNU GPL Version 2 or later.
Version 3 is going to distance Richard Stallman and the Free Software Foundation from the developers that make the organization so influential to begin.
At the time, the decision seemed sensible in the face of a deadlock. But now, GPLv2 is used for 42.5% of free software, and GPLv3 for less than 6.5%, according to Black Duck Software.
It is not possible to borrow text from a GFDL'd manual and incorporate it in any free software program whatsoever. This is not a mere license incompatibility. It's not just that the GFDL is incompatible with this or that free software license: it's that it is fundamentally incompatible with any free software license whatsoever. So if you write a new program, and you have no commitments at all about what license you want to use, saving only that it be a free license, you cannot include GFDL'd text. The GNU FDL, as it stands today, does not meet the Debian Free Software Guidelines. There are significant problems with the license, as detailed above; and, as such, we cannot accept works licensed under the GNU FDL into our distribution.
So while the BSDs have lost energy every time a company gets involved, the GPL'ed programs gain every time a company gets involved.
"License -> OSI: ... GNU General Public License (GPL) (32641 projects), GNU Library or Lesser General Public License (LGPL) (4889 projects" (of 45727, 82.1%)
GPL 60.5%, lGPLv2 6.9%, GPLv2 1.9% GPLv3 1.6%
Showing comments in file 'gplv3-draft-1' ... found 727
Showing comments in file 'gplv3-draft-3' ... found 649
Showing comments in file 'gplv3-draft-4' ... found 298
Anti-pattern: Anti-collaborative licensing
... This is the latest version of the GNU GPL: a free software license, and a copyleft license. ... GPLv3 is not compatible with GPLv2 by itself. However, most software released under GPLv2 allows you to use the terms of later versions of the GPL as well. When this is the case, you can use the code under GPLv3 to make the desired combination. ...
... This is the previous version of the GNU GPL: a free software license, and a copyleft license. ... GPLv2 is, by itself, not compatible with GPLv3. However, most software released under GPLv2 allows you to use the terms of later versions of the GPL as well. When this is the case, you can use the code under GPLv3 to make the desired combination. ...
No. Some of the requirements in GPLv3, such as the requirement to provide Installation Information, do not exist in GPLv2. As a result, the licenses are not compatible: if you tried to combine code released under both these licenses, you would violate section 6 of GPLv2. However, if code is released under GPL "version 2 or later," that is compatible with GPLv3 because GPLv3 is one of the options it permits.
LGPLv3 is the latest version of the GNU Lesser General Public License. It follows the successful LGPLv2.1 license, and was released by Free Software Foundation as a counterpart to its GNU General Public License version 3. The goal of the GNU Lesser General Public Licenses is to provide software that can be used by both proprietary and free software. This goal has been successfully handled so far by LGPLv2.1, and there is a multitude of libraries using that license. Now we have LGPLv3 as the latest, and the question is how successful is LGPLv3 on this goal? In my opinion, very little. If we assume that its primary goal is to be used by free software, then it blatantly fails that.
Viral property stimulates proliferation of licenses and contributes to the "GPL-enforced nightmare" – a situation when many other licenses are logically incompatible with the GPL and make life unnecessary difficult for developers working in the Linux environment (KDE is a good example here, Python is a less known example).
... the latest sign of a growing schism in the open source community between business-minded developers like Torvalds and free software purists.
In some ways, Linux was the project that really made the split clear between what the FSF is pushing which is very different from what open source and Linux has always been about, which is more of a technical superiority instead of a – this religious belief in freedom," Torvalds told Zemlin. So, the GPL Version 3 reflects the FSF's goals and the GPL Version 2 pretty closely matches what I think a license should do and so right now, Version 2 is where the kernel is.
The only one of any note that I'd like to point out directly is the clarification in the COPYING file, making it clear that it's only _that_particular version of the GPL that is valid for the kernel. This should not come as any surprise, as that's the same license that has been there since 0.12 or so, but I thought I'd make that explicit
[T]he only valid version of the GPL as far as the kernel is concerned is _this_ particular version of the license (ie v2, not v2.2 or v3.x or whatever), unless explicitly otherwise stated.
Both LibreCAD and FreeCAD both want to use LibreDWG and have patches available for supporting the DWG file format library, but can't integrate them. The programs have dependencies on the popular GPLv2 license while the Free Software Foundation will only let LibreDWG be licensed for GPLv3 use, not GPLv2.
... the unfortunate situation with support for DWG files in free CAD software via LibreDWG. We feel, by now it ought to be closed. We have the final answer from FSF. ... "We are not going to change the license."
[Blender's Toni Roosendaal:] "Blender is also still 'GPLv2 or later'. For the time being we stick to that, moving to GPL 3 has no evident benefits I know of."
The GPL is one thing that almost everyone in the free and open-source software communities have in common. For that reason, the revision has the potential to highlight disagreements, differences in opinion, differences in business models, and differences in tactics. ... We would be wise to remember that the potential for the GPL to hinder our ability to work together is far more dangerous than the even the most radical change textual change the FSF might suggest. ... Above all, we must remember that our community and its goals are more important than any single license – no matter how widespread.
Second, the war between Linus Torvalds and other Kernel developers and the Free Software Foundation over GPLv3 is continuing, with Torvalds saying he's fed up with the FSF.
The current version (Discussion Draft 2) of GPLv3 on first reading fails the necessity test of section 1 on the grounds that there's no substantial and identified problem with GPLv2 that it is trying to solve. However, a deeper reading reveals several other problems with the current FSF draft: 5.1 DRM Clauses ... 5.2 Additional Restrictions Clause ... 5.3 Patents Provisions ... since the FSF is proposing to shift all of its projects to GPLv3 and apply pressure to every other GPL-licensed project to move, we foresee the release of GPLv3 portends the Balkanisation of the entire Open Source Universe upon which we rely.
Since BusyBox can be found in so many embedded systems, it finds itself at the core of the GPLv3 anti-DRM debate. ... The real outcomes, however, are this: BusyBox will be GPLv2 only starting with the next release. It is generally accepted that stripping out the "or any later version" is legally defensible, and that the merging of other GPLv2-only code will force that issue in any case
Don't invent a straw man argument please. I consider licensing BusyBox under GPLv3 to be useless, unnecessary, overcomplicated, and confusing, and in addition to that it has actual downsides. 1) Useless: We're never dropping GPLv2.
We don't need the GPL anymore. It's based on the belief that open source software is weak and needs to be protected. Open source would be succeeding faster if the GPL didn't make lots of people nervous about adopting it.
ESR addresses the issue in terms of different goals and values—those of "open source," which do not include defending software users' freedom to share and change software. Perhaps he thinks the GNU GPL is not needed to achieve those goals.
Looking at the near-finished draft, I have to say it's unlikely that they ever considered simplicity a priority, if they considered it at all. ... The language choices of an open source license can support that freedom, can empower the users and the developers. The GPLv3 doesn't.
You might think the FSF would have to be insane to unleash this licensing hell. ... If the license were purely a cleaned up version of the GPLv2, there would be no incompatibility, the FSF would have no agenda involved in getting projects to update to the new license, and at the same time there would be no reason for projects to object to updating. Smooth sailing.
Both LibreCAD and FreeCAD both want to use LibreDWG and have patches available for supporting the DWG file format library, but can't integrate them. The programs have dependencies on the popular GPLv2 license while the Free Software Foundation will only let LibreDWG be licensed for GPLv3 use, not GPLv2.
... the unfortunate situation with support for DWG files in free CAD software via LibreDWG. We feel, by now it ought to be closed. We have the final answer from FSF. ... "We are not going to change the license."
The License Compatibility Clusterfuck – When the GPL is involved the complexities of licensing becomes a non fun version of a riddle. So many things to consider and so many interactions to consider. And that GPL incompatibilities are still an issue that actively effects people is something many appear to forget. For instance one would think that the incompatibility of the GPLv2 with the Apache Software License 2.0 should be a thing of the past now that everything upgrades to GPLv3, but it turns out that enough people are either stuck with GPLv2 only or do not agree with the GPLv3 that some Apache Software licensed projects are required to migrate. For instance Twitter's Bootstrap is currently migrating from ASL2.0 to MIT precisely because some people still need GPLv2 compatibility. Among those projects that were affected were Drupal, WordPress, Joomla, the MoinMoin Wiki and others. And even that case shows that people don't care that much about licenses any more as Joomla 3 just bundled bootstrap even though they were not licenses in a compatible way (GPLv2 vs ASL 2.0). The other traditional case of things not being GPL compatible is the OpenSSL project which has a license that does not go well with the GPL. That license is also still incompatible with the GPLv3. The whole ordeal is particularly interesting as some not so nice parties have started doing license trolling through GPL licenses.
Currently the decision to move from GPL v2 to GPL v3 is being hotly debated by many open source projects. According to Palamida, a provider of IP compliance software, there have been roughly 2489 open source projects that have moved from GPL v2 to later versions.
The WTFPL is a parody of the GPL, which has a similar copyright header and list of permissions to modify (i.e. none), see for instance gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.en.html. The purpose of the WTFPL wording is to give more freedom than the GPL does.
In 2001, VLC was released under the OSI-approved GNU General Public version 2, with the commonly-offered option to use 'any later version' thereof (though there was not any such later version at the time). Following the release by the Free Software Foundation (FSF) of the new version 3 of its GNU General Public License (GPL) on the 29th of June 2007, contributors to the VLC media player, and other software projects hosted at videolan.org, debated the possibility of updating the licensing terms for future version of the VLC media player and other hosted projects, to version 3 of the GPL. ... There is strong concern that these new additional requirements might not match the industrial and economic reality of our time, especially in the market of consumer electronics. It is our belief that changing our licensing terms to GPL version 3 would currently not be in the best interest of our community as a whole. Consequently, we plan to keep distributing future versions of VLC media player under the terms of the GPL version 2.
... This is the latest version of the GNU GPL: a free software license, and a copyleft license. ... GPLv3 is not compatible with GPLv2 by itself. However, most software released under GPLv2 allows you to use the terms of later versions of the GPL as well. When this is the case, you can use the code under GPLv3 to make the desired combination. ...
... This is the previous version of the GNU GPL: a free software license, and a copyleft license. ... GPLv2 is, by itself, not compatible with GPLv3. However, most software released under GPLv2 allows you to use the terms of later versions of the GPL as well. When this is the case, you can use the code under GPLv3 to make the desired combination. ...
GPL 60.5%, lGPLv2 6.9%, GPLv2 1.9% GPLv3 1.6%
So while the BSDs have lost energy every time a company gets involved, the GPL'ed programs gain every time a company gets involved.
Showing comments in file 'gplv3-draft-1' ... found 727
Showing comments in file 'gplv3-draft-3' ... found 649
Showing comments in file 'gplv3-draft-4' ... found 298
Looking at the near-finished draft, I have to say it's unlikely that they ever considered simplicity a priority, if they considered it at all. ... The language choices of an open source license can support that freedom, can empower the users and the developers. The GPLv3 doesn't.
Both LibreCAD and FreeCAD both want to use LibreDWG and have patches available for supporting the DWG file format library, but can't integrate them. The programs have dependencies on the popular GPLv2 license while the Free Software Foundation will only let LibreDWG be licensed for GPLv3 use, not GPLv2.
... the unfortunate situation with support for DWG files in free CAD software via LibreDWG. We feel, by now it ought to be closed. We have the final answer from FSF. ... "We are not going to change the license."
"License -> OSI: ... GNU General Public License (GPL) (32641 projects), GNU Library or Lesser General Public License (LGPL) (4889 projects" (of 45727, 82.1%)
Currently the decision to move from GPL v2 to GPL v3 is being hotly debated by many open source projects. According to Palamida, a provider of IP compliance software, there have been roughly 2489 open source projects that have moved from GPL v2 to later versions.
Viral property stimulates proliferation of licenses and contributes to the "GPL-enforced nightmare" – a situation when many other licenses are logically incompatible with the GPL and make life unnecessary difficult for developers working in the Linux environment (KDE is a good example here, Python is a less known example).
We don't need the GPL anymore. It's based on the belief that open source software is weak and needs to be protected. Open source would be succeeding faster if the GPL didn't make lots of people nervous about adopting it.
ESR addresses the issue in terms of different goals and values—those of "open source," which do not include defending software users' freedom to share and change software. Perhaps he thinks the GNU GPL is not needed to achieve those goals.
Version 3 is going to distance Richard Stallman and the Free Software Foundation from the developers that make the organization so influential to begin.
The GPL is one thing that almost everyone in the free and open-source software communities have in common. For that reason, the revision has the potential to highlight disagreements, differences in opinion, differences in business models, and differences in tactics. ... We would be wise to remember that the potential for the GPL to hinder our ability to work together is far more dangerous than the even the most radical change textual change the FSF might suggest. ... Above all, we must remember that our community and its goals are more important than any single license – no matter how widespread.
... the latest sign of a growing schism in the open source community between business-minded developers like Torvalds and free software purists.
Anti-pattern: Anti-collaborative licensing
