FSF Publishes New Quick Guide on GPLv3
The quick guide gives a short and understandable explanation of the objectives of version 3 of the GPL; recent discussions on GPLv3 had caused many developers to forget the generic purpose of the license – guaranteeing the freedom of software development.
The document briefly recapitulates what the General Public License (GPL) aims to achieve. The author goes on to explain the changes between versions 2 and 3 of the GPL, and the motivations behind the changes citing three threats to freedom. One of them is tivoization, named after the Tivo digital video recorder that contains GPL’d software but prevents users from modifying the GPL programs by validating a digital signature. The other two threats that led to changes in the GPL are Digital Rights Management and Microsoft’s patent covenenant. The author also refers to interfaces to other licenses. The author of the Quick Guide, Brett Smith from the Free Software Foundation (FSF), has posted the guide on the FSF announce mailing list.
The changes introduced by GPLv3 include new compatibilities to other licenses, as shown by the graphic from the Quick Guide.
The Open Source community can view the text as an impetus to understand the GPL as an opportunity rather than a bone of contention or a threat. Brett’s short, informal announcement closes with the words: "We hope this serves as a useful resource for developers considering adopting GPLv3 for their own projects." Shortly afterwards a senior Red Hat developer commented: "Excellent job, Brett."
The guide is available online, or as a PDF document, and as a zipped tarball in text only format. According to GNU's Who Brett Smith has been with the Free Software Foundation since 2002, and has worked as the Chief Webmaster and Shipping Manager, before becoming the "licensing guru" at the FSF’s licensing and compliance lab which provides “the public with a "knowledge infrastructure" surrounding the GNU GPL and free software licensing, and enforcing the license on FSF-copyrighted software.”
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Gnome 48 Debuts New Audio Player
To date, the audio player found within the Gnome desktop has been meh at best, but with the upcoming release that all changes.
-
Plasma 6.3 Ready for Public Beta Testing
Plasma 6.3 will ship with KDE Gear 24.12.1 and KDE Frameworks 6.10, along with some new and exciting features.
-
Budgie 10.10 Scheduled for Q1 2025 with a Surprising Desktop Update
If Budgie is your desktop environment of choice, 2025 is going to be a great year for you.
-
Firefox 134 Offers Improvements for Linux Version
Fans of Linux and Firefox rejoice, as there's a new version available that includes some handy updates.
-
Serpent OS Arrives with a New Alpha Release
After months of silence, Ikey Doherty has released a new alpha for his Serpent OS.
-
HashiCorp Cofounder Unveils Ghostty, a Linux Terminal App
Ghostty is a new Linux terminal app that's fast, feature-rich, and offers a platform-native GUI while remaining cross-platform.
-
Fedora Asahi Remix 41 Available for Apple Silicon
If you have an Apple Silicon Mac and you're hoping to install Fedora, you're in luck because the latest release supports the M1 and M2 chips.
-
Systemd Fixes Bug While Facing New Challenger in GNU Shepherd
The systemd developers have fixed a really nasty bug amid the release of the new GNU Shepherd init system.
-
AlmaLinux 10.0 Beta Released
The AlmaLinux OS Foundation has announced the availability of AlmaLinux 10.0 Beta ("Purple Lion") for all supported devices with significant changes.
-
Gnome 47.2 Now Available
Gnome 47.2 is now available for general use but don't expect much in the way of newness, as this is all about improvements and bug fixes.