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Google Goes After Open Source Licensing Cruft

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the wheel-reinvention dept.

pacopico writes "Google has secret plans to put out its own open source software license, according to this story in The Register. Apparently, Google's efforts will center around developing a simplified open source license that makes it easier for developers to stay "within the spirit" of the license in addition to the law. Chris DiBona at Google was asked about the plans but won't budge with details yet. Still, The Register claims that Google's efforts could improve the license proliferation issues facing the OSI."

5 of 127 comments (clear)

  1. Ironic by JoshJ · · Score: 5, Insightful

    So Google's solution to "there are too many open source licenses!" is... to make another one?

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  2. There are only two licenses I care about by DaleGlass · · Score: 5, Insightful

    GPL and BSD.

    IMO, those represent very well the two different approaches to the problem. The rest are a needless complication. Besides, their meaning and implications are understood very well, so I don't see what Google is going to achieve by creating their own.

    1. Re:There are only two licenses I care about by BrainInAJar · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I'll add to that MPL. GPL vs. MPL vs. BSD is "make all code free" vs "keep my code free" vs "do as you wish"

  3. May or may not be happening... by fsmunoz · · Score: 5, Insightful

    We also discuss Google's super-secret project that may or may not be happening around creating a new open source software licensing model.

    Google to Change the World with New Open Source License

    * Subhead - We might be making this up

    Well, at least they're honest.

    Anyway, assuming this is true... I don't see the big difference or importance. In one way everyone is free to choose and create a licence that suits his needs. On the other the creation of yet another licence that means the same than already existing ones isn't really something to be in awe about. If it provides more "legal protection" people will complain it's legalese, if it doesn't then it's no different from dozens of other ones. A "simplified open source license that makes it easier for developers to stay "within the spirit" of the license in addition to the law" doesn't mean anything in concrete terms, and what is worse makes the assumption that current popular free licences somehow make it hard to do the same.

    If in the last months so many interpretations were made regarding a licence as simple as the ISC licence I'm not sure any licence in the world is invulnerable to different interpretations. On that note the SFLC has issued a position regarding the GPLv2/GPLv3/BSD licences mixing that have been all the rage.

  4. More than that by Burz · · Score: 3, Insightful

    ...those two licenses are models of simplicity compared to most proprietary licenses.