Free Software Foundation Releases GNU Affero General Public License Version 3

The Free Software Foundation (FSF) today published the GNU
Affero General Public License version 3 (GNU AGPLv3). This is a new
license; it is based on version 3 of the GNU General Public License
(GNU GPLv3), but has an additional term to allow users who interact
with the licensed software over a network to receive the source for
that program. By publishing this license, the FSF aims to foster
user and development communities around network-oriented free
software.

The GNU GPL allows people to modify the software they receive,
and share those modified versions with others, as long as they make
source available to the recipients when they do so. However, a user
can modify the software and run the modified version on a network
server without releasing it. Since use of the server does not imply
that people can download a copy of the program, this means the
modifications may never be released. Many programmers choose to use
the GNU GPL to cultivate community development; if many of the
modifications developed by the programs users are never released,
this can be discouraging for them. The GNU AGPL addresses their
concerns. The FSF recommends that people consider using the GNU
AGPL for any software which will commonly be run over a
network.

Both GPLv3 and the GNU AGPL allow developers working on a
project under one license to combine it with code released under
the other. As a result, programmers who want to use the GNU AGPL
for their own work can take advantage of the many libraries and
other source files available under GPLv3. Developers working on
GPLv3-covered projects will often be able to use modules under the
GNU AGPL with minimal hassle as well, since the GNU AGPL’s
additional term has no requirements for software that doesn’t
interact with users over a network.

FSF board member Benjamin Mako Hill said, “The GNU GPL has been
the most successful free software license because it makes a
program’s source available to its users. This enables massive
collaboration between developers, since everyone gets the same
benefits from this rule. The GNU AGPL will enable the same kind of
cooperation around web services and other networked software.”

A first draft of the GNU AGPL was published on June 5, and a
second draft on August 14. The FSF heard comments on both through
its web-based feedback system. “The GNU AGPL is very much a
community license,” said Peter Brown, Executive Director of the
FSF. “The feedback we received while working on GPLv3 demonstrated
a clear desire for this sort of license. And thanks to the
community’s help during the drafting, we’re happy that the GNU AGPL
meets those needs.”

The final license is published at
http://www.fsf.org/licensing/licenses/agpl-3.0.html.