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FSF Releases Fourth and Final Draft of GPLv3

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the wading-through-legalese dept.

An anonymous reader writes "The most notable changes found in this latest draft include making GPLv3 compatible with version 2.0 of the Apache license, ensuring that distributors who make discriminatory patent deals after March 28 may not convey software under GPLv3, adding terms to clarify how users can contract for private modification of free software or for a data center to run it for them, and replacing the previous reference to a U.S. consumer protection statute with explicit criteria for greater clarity outside the United States. The draft also does not prohibit Novell from distributing software under GPLv3 'because the patent protection they arranged with Microsoft last November can be turned against Microsoft to the community's benefit,' FSF executive director Peter Brown said."

3 of 237 comments (clear)

  1. Yay freedom! by Rydia · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    It's good that RMS is now telling everyone what are morally acceptable uses of software. I thought the idea of freedom was the freedom to do whatever you wanted with the software, so long as you shared the work. Apparently freedom doesn't matter quite so much when you have a chance to take shots at "ideologically impure" groups and start a pissing war with Microsoft.

    This is all really, really sad.

    1. Re:Yay freedom! by Egdiroh · · Score: 0, Flamebait

      Does it surprise you that freedom doesn't matter to RMS? Look at the whole thing with linux where he insists on calling it GNU linux, and won't interact with you unless you do to. The real thing that is sad is that so many good people have gotten sucked in and waste their time promoting the cult of RMS, when they could be working to for what he only pretends to represent.

  2. FSF tag lines by Egdiroh · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Kids remember to look for the Free brand label. Free brand software it's the selfrighteousiest! There is no free but Free. Oh wait, that's right a lot of the open source GPL using world won't be going to GPLv3, because a lot of those projects don't require divestiture of copyright. And probably even some of the projects managed by FSF won't be able to go to it, because they maintain a lot of projects that were started by other people and don't neccesarily have copyright providence over all the code they inherited. Oops.