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Open Source Blog
What’s the most significant thing about the GLPv3?
June 05, 2007
Given the debate about DRM and the Microsoft-Novell deal it’s easy to overlook another significant announcement regarding the last call draft of GPLv3: the fact that it will be compatible with the Apache license.
Given the depth and breadth of free and open source software projects that it will be possible to integrate under Apache 2.0 and GPLv3, could this, in fact, turn out to be the most significant element of the new version?
What, in your view, will history remember the GPLv3 for?
Comments
Maybe GPLv3 will be remembered for the FUD that surrounded it?
In a few months time, I think it would be quite funny to review the journalists who predicted the end of GNU+Linux on the desktop or in the data centre, or a split in the free software community, or non-adoption and a subsequent fall of FSF into obscurity, etc.
But if I had to pick something from the licence, I think the blocking of patent deals will be the most talked about.
The anti-tivoisation clause may have more of an impact on maintaining free software's long term survival, but it won't be recognised because it's solving that problem before the problem has become big.
Apache compaitibility may be the most important factor in community acceptance, but it won't be talked about much since licence compatibility is obcure.
But the post-FUD review will be interesting. If someone does a good write up of it, they may end up creating a document that helps future journalists to really understand the free software world.
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