The Upcoming New Version (3) of the GPL
GPL Version 3: Background to Adoption: Some copyright licenses are no doubt known, in the restricted circle of one firm or law office, as the achievement of a single author's acumen or insight. But it is safe to say that there is no other copyright license in the world that is so strongly identified with the achievements, and the philosophy, of a single public figure. Mr. Stallman remains the GPL's author, with as much right to preserve its integrity as a work representative of his intentions as any other author or creator. Under his guidance, the Free Software Foundation, which holds the copyright of the GPL, will coordinate and direct the process of its modification.
I have been a user and an advocate of free software for more than a decade. So I like to keep up with news related to free software. The obligatory point to be made in any discussion of free software with those who don't know much about it is that the "free" in "free software" refers to the freedom of speech. Yes, free software can often be obtained without charge, but free software can certainly be purchased, and there is at least the occasional company that successfully sells free software and/or services centered around it. The article to which I refer above, however, makes an interesting point that I had not considered.
The distribution of most free software is governed by a special license. It is called the GNU General Public License (GPL). ("GNU" stands for "GNU's Not Unix", a recursive acronym, and a work whose distribution is governed by the GPL is sometimes said to be "copylefted". :^) The GPL was written by Richard Stallman, founder of the Free Software Foundation. A software application distributed under the GPL is required to be distributed along with the human-readable source code in which the author wrote the application. So the recipient of the software has the freedom to see how the software works. The recipient is also, under the GPL, guaranteed the freedom to modify the software and the freedom to redistribute his modified version, so long as he distributes the source code to his modifications for others to see. One idea underlying the GPL is that source code is literature, for although it can be turned into instructions that control a computer, source code is first and foremost a document written for human beings. It relates ideas, often interesting ideas, not only of a practical sort but also about mathematics and even philosophy. Licensing software under the GPL allows those ideas to be spread as widely as possible for the betterment of mankind. The development of free software resembles scientific research at its best: a community of researchers freely sharing ideas and making progress.
That was just a long preamble to the following short observation. What is interesting to me is that the GPL is itself is a literary work over which Richard Stallman retains control. Even a piece of software distributed under the GPL is still controlled by the copyright holder, who may choose to change the distribution license when he releases the next version. The GPL itself is not a piece of software, but the GPL is about to change, and though that change in part results from consultation with the community, Richard Stallman himself has the ultimate responsibility for the work.
I have been a user and an advocate of free software for more than a decade. So I like to keep up with news related to free software. The obligatory point to be made in any discussion of free software with those who don't know much about it is that the "free" in "free software" refers to the freedom of speech. Yes, free software can often be obtained without charge, but free software can certainly be purchased, and there is at least the occasional company that successfully sells free software and/or services centered around it. The article to which I refer above, however, makes an interesting point that I had not considered.
The distribution of most free software is governed by a special license. It is called the GNU General Public License (GPL). ("GNU" stands for "GNU's Not Unix", a recursive acronym, and a work whose distribution is governed by the GPL is sometimes said to be "copylefted". :^) The GPL was written by Richard Stallman, founder of the Free Software Foundation. A software application distributed under the GPL is required to be distributed along with the human-readable source code in which the author wrote the application. So the recipient of the software has the freedom to see how the software works. The recipient is also, under the GPL, guaranteed the freedom to modify the software and the freedom to redistribute his modified version, so long as he distributes the source code to his modifications for others to see. One idea underlying the GPL is that source code is literature, for although it can be turned into instructions that control a computer, source code is first and foremost a document written for human beings. It relates ideas, often interesting ideas, not only of a practical sort but also about mathematics and even philosophy. Licensing software under the GPL allows those ideas to be spread as widely as possible for the betterment of mankind. The development of free software resembles scientific research at its best: a community of researchers freely sharing ideas and making progress.
That was just a long preamble to the following short observation. What is interesting to me is that the GPL is itself is a literary work over which Richard Stallman retains control. Even a piece of software distributed under the GPL is still controlled by the copyright holder, who may choose to change the distribution license when he releases the next version. The GPL itself is not a piece of software, but the GPL is about to change, and though that change in part results from consultation with the community, Richard Stallman himself has the ultimate responsibility for the work.
posted by Unknown @ 6:09 AM
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