New Gnu GPL 3 criticized
p2pnet.net news:- The Free Software Foundation (FSF) has released the third discussion draft for Version 3 of the GNU General Public License (GNU GPL).
It says significant changes have been made since the previous draft, released in July last year, and, “In recognition of this fact,” plans to publish an additional draft before the final text of GPL 3.
“The GPL was designed to ensure that all users of a program receive the four essential freedoms which define free software,” states foundation president and principal GNU GPL author Richard Stallman, going on:
“These freedoms allow you to run the program as you see fit, study and adapt it for your own purposes, redistribute copies to help your neighbor, and release your improvements to the public.
“The recent patent agreement between Microsoft and Novell aims to undermine these freedoms. In this draft we have worked hard to prevent such deals from making a mockery of free software.”
But Horacio Gutierrez, Microsoft VP of intellectual property and licensing, says although he’s pleased the deal with Novell has been “grandfathered” into the latest draft, he’s, “unhappy that the license aimed to prevent similar future agreements,” according to eWeek which has Gutierrez stating:
“We note that the draft of the GPLv3 does not tear down the bridge Microsoft and Novell have built for their customers. It is unfortunate, however, that the FSF is attempting to use the GPLv3 to prevent future collaboration among industry leaders to benefit customers.”
Novell, “also welcomed the fact that there is nothing in the latest draft of the license that would inhibit its ability to include GPL3 technologies in SUSE Linux Enterprise, openSUSE and other Novell open-source offerings, now and in the future, which is good news for its customers” but, “also acknowledged the reality that this could change by the time the final version of the license is released, which is expected late this summer at the earliest.”
And ACT (Association for Competitive Technology) says this draft, “was designed to limit cooperation between the open-source and proprietary software industry,” says eWeek, quoting executive director Morgan Reed as declaring:
“The new GPL looks more like the U.S. Tax Code. The new draft no longer just defines freedom; it is designed to punish companies and business models that Richard Stallman just doesn’t like.”
Novell, Microsoft, TiVo, Nokia and Linux-based phone manufacturers, “were all in the crosshairs, he said, noting that the new version had now become so complex and ‘legally-squishy that it is essentially a full employment guarantee for intellectual property lawyers’.
“The new patent provision is designed to prevent software patent holders from providing a partner’s customers with IP indemnification, by forcing them to indemnify all downstream users. ‘This is essentially a poison pill for any such agreement in the future, Reed said.”
And, “Previous drafts of GPLv3 have drawn mixed reviews, including major reservations from Linux founder Linus Torvalds and a majority of the Linux kernel developers,” says ZDNet UK, going on:
“Earlier this year, Torvalds panned GPL 3, saying the new version seeks to promote the FSF’s philosophy rather than produce a pragmatic legal foundation.”
The FSF says under this latest draft
First-time violators can have their license automatically restored if they remedy the problem within thirty days.
License compatibility terms have been simplified, with the goal of making them easier to understand and administer.
Manufacturers who include the software in consumer products must also provide installation information for the software along with the source. This change provides more narrow focus for requirements that were proposed in previous drafts.
New patent requirements have been added to prevent distributors from colluding with patent holders to provide discriminatory protection from patents.
The draft will be open for discussion for sixty days after which there’ll be a “last call” draft, followed by another thirty days for discussion before the FSF’s board of directors approves the final text of GPL version 3.
More information is online here, including the full text, detailed explanations of the latest changes, and new plans for finalizing the license.
And, “As with the previous drafts, the FSF encourages community members to provide feedback on the new draft at this site,” says the foundation.
Also See:
eWeek – Latest Draft of GPL 3 Comes Under Fire, March 28, 2007
ZDNet UK – GPL clamps down on patent deals, March 29, 2007
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March 29th, 2007 at 9:30 pm
Actually, this is just another strike against Stallman.
He’s racking them up rather fast, nowadays.
1. The GNU project only got their precious “hurd” kernel done a few years ago, after almost twenty years of (stalled) development. This, in contrast to the Linux kernel, which Torvalds basically whipped up as a hobby project at the beginning. (It’s grown exponentially since then, of course.) Stallman’s precious “GNU tools” would be damn near useless if it wasn’t for the Linux kernel.
2. Stallman’s petty spasm’s over whether people call it “GNU/Linux” or not are an indication that a formerly-great man has begun to slip into mediocrity. (He’s become essentially a shrill, denunciatory blowhard of late — witness his pathetic tirades against the folks over at http://www.opensource.org — who he considers to be either traitors or worse.
3. He’s no longer able to dictate policy, because the movement has simply grown beyond him. It’s no longer merely his pet crusade.
This is basically the last straw. Look what happened to Xfree86 when THEY started screwing with their license-terms (Hint: most linux distros use X.org’s version now.) Projects fork. When people became concerned that Limewire might capitulate to the anti-p2p activists or even be destroyed as a company, the “frostwire” project forked off of them. That’s the beuty of Open-source/”free” software: nobody can “rule” it, in the way that proprietary stuff can be ruled. The “four freedoms” that Stallman himself supposedly champions essentially guarantee that if he continues to deteriorate like this, he — and the GNU project — will fade even further into the periphery, and be replaced by a better viewpoint (namely that expressed by Eric S. Raymond and the “open source initiative”).
Stallman’s power-tripping again, is all.