The Free Software Foundation (FSF) and the Software Freedom Law
Center (SFLC) today released a document specifying the process and
guidelines for revising the Foundation’s GNU General Public License
(GNU GPL). The FSF will release the first discussion draft of the
new license for comment at the International Public Conference for
GPLv3 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) on January
16 and 17, 2006.
The GNU GPL is the most widely used Free Software license
worldwide: Almost three quarters of all Free Software programs
(also known as Free and Open Source Software, or FOSS) are
distributed under this license. Since the GPL’s last revision more
than 15 years ago, software development and the business of
distributing software have changed dramatically. Research firm
Gartner recently predicted that by 2010 more than 75 percent of IT
organizations will have formal acquisition and management
strategies dealing with Free Software. As a result, business
enterprises, as well as individual users and developers, will have
an interest in the content of the new license.
“The guiding principle for developing the GPL is to defend the
freedom of all users,” said Richard Stallman, founder of the Free
Software Foundation. “As we address the issues raised by the
community, we will do so in terms of the four basic freedoms
software users are entitled to–to study, copy, modify and
redistribute the software they use. GPLv3 will be designed to
protect those freedoms under current technical and social
conditions and will address new forms of use and current global
requirements for commercial and non-commercial users.”
After publishing the first discussion draft of the GPL in
January, the FSF will begin a structured process of eliciting
feedback from the community, with the goal of producing a final
license that best defends freedom and serves community and
business. The process will include public discussion,
identification of issues, considerations of those issues, and
publication of responses. Publication of the second discussion
draft is expected by summer 2006 and a last call, or final
discussion draft, will be produced in the fall of 2006. The final
GPLv3 license is expected no later than spring 2007.
The document being made public today, “GPLv3 Process
Definition,” outlines the principles, the timeline and the process
for public comment and issue resolution and can be viewed at
http://gplv3.fsf.org. Individuals may also register here for the
first International Public Conference to take place in January.
“It is an exciting time in the history of software, particularly
in the history of the Free Software movement,” said Eben Moglen,
general counsel to the Free Software Foundation and founding
director of the Software Freedom Law Center, which is providing
logistical support and legal advice to the Free Software
Foundation. “Through this process, all voices will be heard. We
will evaluate every opinion and will consider all arguments in
light of the GPL’s goals. The process is accessible, transparent
and public for all those who want to participate.”
Free software community projects, global 2000 companies and
individual developers, as well as non-governmental organizations
(NGOs), government agencies, small business and individual users
will be invited to participate in the revising process of GPLv3.
Individual comments will be reviewed and addressed primarily
through committees to be set up at the MIT conference.
Additionally, individual comments can be submitted on the GPL
website at http://gplv3.fsf.org or during one of the many public
meetings being held internationally.
“The General Public License is a groundbreaking legal document
that has been the cornerstone of the free software movement and has
created extraordinary amounts of change in the industry,” said Jim
Harvey, a partner with Alston & Bird and the leader of its Open
Source practice. “It is time, though, to analyze and address the
legal and business issues that are raised by the use of free
software across the globe and the valuable and critical business
transactions that routinely transpire under the GPL.”
“As a leading supporter of free and open source software and the
community, and a big proponent of the GPL and of license reform, HP
is pleased to see that the Free Software Foundation has developed
an inclusive and transparent process for updating the GPL–a
process that should increase confidence in the GPL and further
enhance cooperative development activities,” said Christine
Martino, vice president of Linux and Open Source, HP.
“Participating in the development and distribution of free and open
source software is something HP focuses on every day, and we look
forward to what the community will accomplish with GPLv3.”
“The market has validated the free software model laid out in
the GPL as a powerful choice for developing enterprise software,”
said Joe LaSala, general counsel for Novell. “Novell is a strong
supporter of the GPL, and has contributed millions of lines of code
under the GPL. We applaud Richard Stallman and the Free Software
Foundation for involving the free software community in creating
the next version of the GPL. Novell looks forward to actively
participating in that process.”
“This is an extremely important event that will have a huge
impact on the future of free software, and I’m delighted that the
FSF has chosen to follow such an open process and consult so
widely,” said Gary Barnett, IT research director at Ovum. “Because
this process is both inclusive and public, the FSF is ensuring that
the views of everyone with an interest in the future of the GPL can
participate in defining the next generation of the license.”
“The enormous contribution of Richard Stallman and the Free
Software Foundation to software development, innovation and freedom
is beyond question,” said Michael Cunningham, Red Hat general
counsel. “We welcome the FSF’s announcement of efforts to improve
the GPL through an open, inclusive and international public process
committed to the software freedoms that have made the GPL
successful.”