GPL: What can v3 improve?

Ciarán O'Riordan

Free Software Foundation Europe

<ciaran@fsfe.org>

http://www.fsfeurope.org

Motivations for an update

1. Clean-ups
2. Internationalisation
3. Licence compatibility
4. Patents
5. DRM

After 15 years, why now?

• The environment has been changing...
• ...the meaning of the GPL has been changing without our input
• We now have a global community
• We have 15 years of use experience

1/5: Clean-ups

• BitTorrent
• Non-automatic termination
• Internet vs. mail distribution
• Offer source for as long as upgrades and spare parts
• Easier to understand

2/5: Internationalisation

• Berne and two Americans
• Replace bits that make people nervous
• "distribute"

3/5: Licence compatibility

• What does it mean to be licence compatible?
• Needless bureaucracy, no benefit to us
• No problem in 1991
• A systematic approach
• "Additional requirements": attribution, warranties, liability, web services, patent retaliation, trademarks
• This addresses licence proliferation

4/5: Patents

• Agreement not to sue (implicit -> explicit)
• Narrow retaliation
• Compatibility with broader retaliation

5/5: Digital Restrictions Management

• Not a binary issue, as presented in the press
• Ok DRM: me locking down my system
• Not ok: you locking down my system and telling me I'm free
• Example: Tivo's spyware protection
• No "use restrictions" - both distributor and recipients have the same freedoms

Linux

• The divide looks solvable
• It's no big problem if they reject it...
• ...but it would be great if they used it
• GPLv3 is not final and can still change
• It will protect the freedoms to help yourself and cooperate with others, but the details are up for debate
• Free Software projects have to be licence upgradable

Commenting

• Purpose: ensure the same freedoms for everyone
• The public process is the process, there was no "before" and no previews
• The drafts are discussion drafts, not proposals to be accepted/rejected
• This isn't just for lawyers - we have lawyers around the World to translate

The comment system

• Comments go to the 130 people on four committees
• The committees are: business, lawyers, projects, individuals
• Richard Stallman has the final say, this time

http://fsfeurope.org/projects/gplv3

• Read draft 2
• Get informed from first-hand sources
• Comment, if you like
• Spread awareness, raise the discussion, incorporate GPLv3 into events
• Support FSFE: http://fsfe.org