2/5/2015

GNUGeneralPublicLicenseWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

GNUGeneralPublicLicense
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

TheGNUGeneralPublicLicense(GNUGPLor
GPL)isthemostwidelyused[5]freesoftwarelicense,
whichguaranteesendusers(individuals,
organizations,companies)thefreedomstouse,study,
share(copy),andmodifythesoftware.Softwarethat
allowstheserightsiscalledfreesoftwareand,ifthe
softwareiscopylefted,requiresthoserightstobe
retained.TheGPLdemandsboth.Thelicensewas
originallywrittenbyRichardStallmanoftheFree
SoftwareFoundation(FSF)fortheGNUproject.
Inotherwords,theGPLgrantstherecipientsofa
computerprogramtherightsoftheFreeSoftware
Definition[6]andusescopylefttoensurethefreedoms
arepreservedwhenevertheworkisdistributed,even
whentheworkischangedoraddedto.TheGPLisa
copyleftlicense,whichmeansthatderivedworkscan
onlybedistributedunderthesamelicenseterms.This
isindistinctiontopermissivefreesoftwarelicenses,
ofwhichtheBSDlicensesandtheMITLicenseare
thestandardexamples.GPLwasthefirstcopyleft
licenseforgeneraluse.

GNUGeneralPublicLicense

GNUGPLv3Logo
Author

RichardStallman

Latestversion

Publisher

FreeSoftwareFoundation

Published

29June2007

DFSG
compatible

Yes[1]

FSFapproved

Yes[2]

OSIapproved

Yes[3]

Copyleft

Yes[2][4]

Linkingfrom
No(exceptforlinkingGNU
codewitha
AGPLv3withGNUGPLv3see
differentlicense section)

AsofAugust2007,theGPLaccountedfornearly
65%ofthe43,442freesoftwareprojectslistedon
Website
gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html
Freecode,[7]andasofJanuary2006,about68%ofthe
(https://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html)
projectslistedonSourceForge.net.[8]Similarly,a
2001surveyofRedHatLinux7.1foundthat50%of
thesourcecodewaslicensedundertheGPL[9]anda1997surveyofMetaLab,thenthelargestfree
softwarearchive,showedthattheGPLaccountedforabouthalfofthesoftwarelicensedtherein.[10]
ProminentfreesoftwareprogramslicensedundertheGPLincludetheLinuxkernelandtheGNU
CompilerCollection(GCC).Someotherfreesoftwareprograms(MySQLisaprominentexample)are
duallicensedundermultiplelicenses,oftenwithoneofthelicensesbeingtheGPL.
DavidA.WheelerarguesthatthecopyleftprovidedbytheGPLwascrucialtothesuccessofLinux
basedsystems,givingtheprogrammerswhocontributedtothekerneltheassurancethattheirwork
wouldbenefitthewholeworldandremainfree,ratherthanbeingexploitedbysoftwarecompaniesthat
wouldnothavetogiveanythingbacktothecommunity.[11]
On29June2007,thethirdversionofthelicense(GNUGPLv3)wasreleasedtoaddresssomeperceived
problemswiththesecondversion(GNUGPLv2)thatwerediscoveredduringitslongtimeusage.To
keepthelicenseuptodate,theGPLlicenseincludesanoptional"anylaterversion"clause,allowing
userstochoosebetweentheoriginaltermsorthetermsinnewversionsasupdatedbytheFSF.
DeveloperscanomititwhenlicensingtheirsoftwareforinstancetheLinuxkernelislicensedunder
GPLv2withoutthe"anylaterversion"clause.[12]

Contents

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_General_Public_License

1/23

2/5/2015

GNUGeneralPublicLicenseWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Contents
1History
1.1Version1
1.2Version2
1.3Version3
1.4Adoption
2Termsandconditions
2.1Useoflicensedsoftware
2.2Copyleft
2.3Licenseversuscontract
3Derivations
4Linkingandderivedworks
4.1Libraries
4.2CommunicatingandbundlingwithnonGPLprograms
5Legalstatus
6Compatibilityandmultilicensing
6.1Usefortextandothermedia
7Reception
7.1Legalbarriertoappstores
7.2Microsoft
7.3Barriertocommercialization
7.4GPLv3separatescommunityfurther
8Seealso
9References
10Externallinks

History
TheGPLwaswrittenbyRichardStallmanin1989forusewithprogramsreleasedaspartoftheGNU
project.TheoriginalGPLwasbasedonaunificationofsimilarlicensesusedforearlyversionsofGNU
Emacs,theGNUDebuggerandtheGNUCCompiler.[13]Theselicensescontainedsimilarprovisionsto
themodernGPL,butwerespecifictoeachprogram,renderingthemincompatible,despitebeingthe
samelicense.[14]Stallman'sgoalwastoproduceonelicensethatcouldbeusedforanyproject,thus
makingitpossibleformanyprojectstosharecode.
Thesecondversionofthelicense,version2,wasreleasedin1991.Overthefollowing15years,
membersoftheFOSS(FreeandOpenSourceSoftware)communitybecameconcernedoverproblemsin
theGPLv2licensewhichallowedGPLlicensedsoftwaretobeexploitedinwaysthatwerecontraryto
theintentionsofthelicense.[15]Theseproblemsincludedtivoization(theinclusionofGPLlicensed
softwareinhardwarethatwillrefusetorunmodifiedversionsofitssoftware)incompatibilityissues
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_General_Public_License

2/23

2/5/2015

GNUGeneralPublicLicenseWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

likewiththeAfferoGeneralPublicLicenseandpatentdealsbetweenMicrosoftanddistributorsoffree
andopensourcesoftware,whichwereviewedasanattempttousepatentsasaweaponagainsttheFOSS
community.
Version3wasdevelopedtoattempttoaddresstheseconcernsandwasofficiallyreleasedon29June
2007.[16]

Version1
Version1oftheGNUGPL,[17]releasedon25February1989,[18]preventedwhatwerethenthetwo
mainwaysthatsoftwaredistributorsrestrictedthefreedomsthatdefinefreesoftware.Thefirstproblem
wasthatdistributorsmaypublishbinaryfilesonlyexecutable,butnotreadableormodifiableby
humans.Topreventthis,GPLv1saidthatanyvendordistributingbinariesmustalsomakethehuman
readablesourcecodeavailableunderthesamelicensingterms(Sections3aand3bofthelicense).
Thesecondproblemwasthedistributorsmightaddadditionalrestrictions,eitherbyaddingrestrictions
tothelicense,orbycombiningthesoftwarewithothersoftwarewhichhadotherrestrictionsonits
distribution.Ifthiswasdone,thentheunionofthetwosetsofrestrictionswouldapplytothecombined
work,thusunacceptablerestrictionscouldbeadded.Topreventthis,GPLv1saidthatmodifiedversions,
asawhole,hadtobedistributedunderthetermsinGPLv1(Sections2band4ofthelicense).Therefore,
softwaredistributedunderthetermsofGPLv1couldbecombinedwithsoftwareundermorepermissive
terms,asthiswouldnotchangethetermsunderwhichthewholecouldbedistributed,butsoftware
distributedunderGPLv1couldnotbecombinedwithsoftwaredistributedunderamorerestrictive
license,asthiswouldconflictwiththerequirementthatthewholebedistributableunderthetermsof
GPLv1.

Version2
AccordingtoRichardStallman,themajorchangeinGPLv2wasthe"LibertyorDeath"clause,ashe
callsitSection7.[14]Thissectionsaysthatifsomebodyhasrestrictionsimposedthatpreventhimor
herfromdistributingGPLcoveredsoftwareinawaythatrespectsotherusers'freedom(forexample,if
alegalrulingstatesthatheorshecanonlydistributethesoftwareinbinaryform),heorshecannot
distributeitatall.Thehopeis,thatthiswillmakeitlesstemptingforcompaniestousepatentthreatsto
requireafeefromthefreesoftwaredevelopers.
By1990,itwasbecomingapparentthatalessrestrictivelicensewouldbestrategicallyusefulfortheC
libraryandforsoftwarelibrariesthatessentiallydidthejobofexistingproprietaryones[19]when
version2oftheGPL(GPLv2)wasreleasedinJune1991,therefore,asecondlicensetheLibrary
GeneralPublicLicensewasintroducedatthesametimeandnumberedwithversion2toshowthat
bothwerecomplementary.Theversionnumbersdivergedin1999whenversion2.1oftheLGPLwas
released,whichrenamedittheGNULesserGeneralPublicLicensetoreflectitsplaceinthephilosophy.

Version3
Inlate2005,theFreeSoftwareFoundation(FSF)announcedworkonversion3oftheGPL(GPLv3).
On16January2006,thefirst"discussiondraft"ofGPLv3waspublished,andthepublicconsultation
began.Thepublicconsultationwasoriginallyplannedforninetofifteenmonthsbutfinallystretchedto
eighteenmonthswithfourdraftsbeingpublished.TheofficialGPLv3wasreleasedbyFSFon29June
2007.GPLv3waswrittenbyRichardStallman,withlegalcounselfromEbenMoglenandtheSoftware
FreedomLawCenter.[20]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_General_Public_License

3/23

2/5/2015

GNUGeneralPublicLicenseWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

AccordingtoStallman,themostimportantchangesareinrelationtosoftwarepatents,freesoftware
licensecompatibility,thedefinitionof"sourcecode",andhardwarerestrictionsonsoftwaremodification
("tivoization").[20][21]Otherchangesrelatetointernationalization,howlicenseviolationsarehandled,
andhowadditionalpermissionscanbegrantedbythecopyrightholder.
Italsoaddsaprovisionthat"strips"DRMofitslegalvalue,sopeoplecanbreakanythingacourtmight
recognizeasDRMonGPLsoftwarewithoutbreakinglawslike
theDMCA.[22]
ThepublicconsultationprocesswascoordinatedbytheFree
SoftwareFoundationwithassistancefromSoftwareFreedom
LawCenter,FreeSoftwareFoundationEurope,[23]andotherfree
softwaregroups.Commentswerecollectedfromthepublicvia
thegplv3.fsf.orgwebportal.[24]Thatportalrunspurposewritten
softwarecalledstet.
Duringthepublicconsultationprocess,962commentswere
submittedforthefirstdraft.[25]Bytheend,atotalof2,636
commentshadbeensubmitted.[26][27][28]
Thethirddraftwasreleasedon28March2007.[29]Thisdraft
includedlanguageintendedtopreventpatentrelatedagreements
likethecontroversialMicrosoftNovellpatentagreementand
restrictstheantitivoizationclausestoalegaldefinitionofa
"User"or"consumerproduct".Italsoexplicitlyremovedthe
sectionon"GeographicalLimitations",whoseprobableremoval
hadbeenannouncedatthelaunchofthepublicconsultation.

RichardStallmanatthelaunchofthe
firstdraftoftheGNUGPLv3.MIT,
Cambridge,Massachusetts,USA.To
hisrightisColumbiaLawProfessor
EbenMoglen,chairmanofthe
SoftwareFreedomLawCenter

Thefourthdiscussiondraft,[30]whichwasthelast,wasreleased
on31May2007.ItintroducedApacheLicensecompatibility,clarifiedtheroleofoutsidecontractors,
andmadeanexceptiontoavoidtheperceivedproblemsofaMicrosoftNovellstyleagreement,saying
inSection11paragraph6that
Youmaynotconveyacoveredworkifyouareapartytoanarrangementwithathirdparty
thatisinthebusinessofdistributingsoftware,underwhichyoumakepaymenttothethird
partybasedontheextentofyouractivityofconveyingthework,andunderwhichthethird
partygrants,toanyofthepartieswhowouldreceivethecoveredworkfromyou,a
discriminatorypatentlicense[...]
Thisaimstomakefuturesuchdealsineffective.ThelicenseisalsomeanttocauseMicrosofttoextend
thepatentlicensesitgrantstoNovellcustomersfortheuseofGPLv3softwaretoallusersofthat
GPLv3softwarethisispossibleonlyifMicrosoftislegallya"conveyor"oftheGPLv3software.[31][32]
Also,earlydraftsofGPLv3allowedlicensorstoaddanAfferolikerequirementwhichwouldhave
pluggedtheASPloopholeintheGPL.[33][34]Astherewereconcernsexpressedabouttheadministrative
costsofcheckingcodeforthisadditionalrequirement,itwasdecidedtokeeptheGPLandtheAffero
licenseseparated.[35]
Others,notablysomehighprofiledevelopersoftheLinuxkernel,commentedtothemassmediaand
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_General_Public_License

4/23

2/5/2015

GNUGeneralPublicLicenseWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

madepublicstatementsabouttheirobjectionstopartsofdiscussiondrafts1and2.[36]
GPLv3improvescompatibilitywithseveralopensourcesoftwarelicensessuchasApacheLicense,
version2.0,andtheGNUAfferoGeneralPublicLicensewhichGPLv2couldnotbecombinedwith,[37]
butGPLv3softwarecanonlybecombinedwithGPLv2softwareiftheGPLv2versionhastheoptional
"orlater"clauseoftheGPL."GPLv2oranylaterversion"isconsideredbyFSFasthemostcommon
formoflicensingGPLv2software[38]whileforexampleToyboxdeveloperRobLandleydescribeditas
alifeboatclause.[39]Softwareprojectswhicharelicensedwiththeoptional"orlater"clauseincludethe
GNUProject,whileaprominentexamplewithouttheclauseistheLinuxkernel.[12]
Thefinalversionofthelicensetextwaspublishedon29June2007.[40]

Adoption
InAugust2013,accordingtoBlackDuckSoftware,thewebsite'sdatashowthattheGPLlicensefamily
isusedby54%ofopensourceprojects,withabreakdownoftheindividuallicensesshowninthe
followingtable.[41]
License UsagePercentage
GPLv2

33%

GPLv3

12%

LGPL2.1 6%
LGPL3.0 3%
Inablogpostby451GroupanalystMatthewAslett,Aslettarguedthatcopyleftlicenseswentinto
declineandpermissivelicensesincreased,basedonstatisticsfromBlackDuckSoftware.[42]However,a
laterstudyshowedthatsoftwarelicensedundertheGPLlicensefamilyhasincreased,andthateventhe
datafromBlackDuckSoftwarehaveshownatotalincreaseofsoftwareprojectslicensedunderGPL.
ThestudyusedpublicinformationgatheredfromrepositoriesoftheDebianProject,andthestudy
criticizedBlackDuckSoftwarefornotpublishingtheirmethodologyusedincollectingstatistics.[43]
DanielGerman,ProfessorintheDepartmentofComputerScienceattheUniversityofVictoriain
Canada,presentedatalkin2013aboutthemethodologicalchallengesindeterminingwhicharethemost
widelyusedFOSSlicenses,andshowedhowhecouldnotreplicatetheresultfromBlackDuck
Software.[44]
In2011,fouryearsafterthereleaseoftheGPLv3,accordingtoBlackDuckSoftwaredata,6.5%ofall
opensourcelicenseprojectsareGPLv3while42.5%areGPLv2.[45]Googleopensourceprograms
officemanagerChrisDiBonareportedthatthenumberofopensourceprojectslicensedsoftwarethat
hadmovedtoGPLv3fromGPLv2was50%in2009,countingtheprojectshostedatGoogleCode.[46]

Termsandconditions
ThetermsandconditionsoftheGPLmustbemadeavailabletoanybodyreceivingacopyofthework
thathasaGPLappliedtoit("thelicensee").Anylicenseewhoadherestothetermsandconditionsis
givenpermissiontomodifythework,aswellastocopyandredistributetheworkoranyderivative
version.Thelicenseeisallowedtochargeafeeforthisservice,ordothisfreeofcharge.Thislatter
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_General_Public_License

5/23

2/5/2015

GNUGeneralPublicLicenseWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

pointdistinguishestheGPLfromsoftwarelicensesthatprohibitcommercialredistribution.TheFSF
arguesthatfreesoftwareshouldnotplacerestrictionsoncommercialuse,[47]andtheGPLexplicitly
statesthatGPLworksmaybesoldatanyprice.
TheGPLadditionallystatesthatadistributormaynotimpose"furtherrestrictionsontherightsgranted
bytheGPL".Thisforbidsactivitiessuchasdistributingofthesoftwareunderanondisclosure
agreementorcontract.DistributorsundertheGPLalsograntalicenseforanyoftheirpatentspracticed
bythesoftware,topracticethosepatentsinGPLsoftware.
Thefourthsectionforversion2ofthelicenseandtheseventhsectionofversion3requirethatprograms
distributedasprecompiledbinariesareaccompaniedbyacopyofthesourcecode,awrittenofferto
distributethesourcecodeviathesamemechanismastheprecompiledbinary,orthewrittenofferto
obtainthesourcecodethattheusergotwhentheyreceivedtheprecompiledbinaryundertheGPL.The
secondsectionofversion2andthefifthsectionofversion3alsorequiregiving"allrecipientsacopyof
thisLicensealongwiththeProgram".Version3ofthelicenseallowsmakingthesourcecodeavailable
inadditionalwaysinfulfillmentoftheseventhsection.Theseincludedownloadingsourcecodefroman
adjacentnetworkserverorbypeertopeertransmission,providedthatishowthecompiledcodewas
availableandthereare"cleardirections"onwheretofindthesourcecode.
TheFSFdoesnotholdthecopyrightforaworkreleasedundertheGPL,unlessanauthorexplicitly
assignscopyrightstotheFSF(whichseldomhappensexceptforprogramsthatarepartoftheGNU
project).Onlytheindividualcopyrightholdershavetheauthoritytosuewhenalicenseviolationtakes
place.

Useoflicensedsoftware
SoftwareundertheGPLmayberunforallpurposes,includingcommercialpurposesandevenasatool
forcreatingproprietarysoftware,forexamplewhenusingGPLlicensedcompilers.[48]Usersor
companieswhodistributeGPLlicensedworks(e.g.software),maychargeafeeforcopiesorgivethem
freeofcharge.ThisdistinguishestheGPLfromsharewaresoftwarelicensesthatallowcopyingfor
personalusebutprohibitcommercialdistribution,orproprietarylicenseswherecopyingisprohibitedby
copyrightlaw.TheFSFarguesthatfreedomrespectingfreesoftwareshouldalsonotrestrictcommercial
useanddistribution(includingredistribution):[47]theGPLexplicitlystatesthatGPLworksmaybesold
atanyprice.
Inpurelyprivate(orinternal)usewithnosalesandnodistributionthesoftwarecodemaybe
modifiedandpartsreusedwithoutrequiringthesourcecodetobereleased.Forsalesordistribution,the
entiresourcecodeneedtobemadeavailabletoendusers,includinganycodechangesandadditions
inthatcase,copyleftisappliedtoensurethatendusersretainthefreedomsdefinedabove.[49]
However,softwarerunningasanapplicationprogramunderaGPLlicensedoperatingsystemsuchas
LinuxisnotrequiredtobelicensedunderGPLortobedistributedwithsourcecodeavailabilitythe
licensingdependsonlyontheusedlibrariesandsoftwarecomponentsandnotontheunderlying
platform.[50]Forexampleifaprogramconsistsonlyofownoriginalcustomsoftware,oriscombined
withsourcecodefromothersoftwarecomponents,[51]thentheowncustomsoftwarecomponentsneed
notbelicensedunderGPLandneednotmaketheircodeavailableeveniftheunderlyingoperating
systemusedislicensedundertheGPL,applicationsrunningonitarenotconsideredderivative
works.[50]OnlyifGPLedpartsareusedinaprogram(andtheprogramisdistributed),thenallother
sourcecodeoftheprogramneedstobemadeavailableunderthesamelicenseterms.TheGNULesser

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_General_Public_License

6/23

2/5/2015

GNUGeneralPublicLicenseWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

GeneralPubliclicense(LGPL)wascreatedtohaveaweakercopyleftthantheGPL,inthatitdoesnot
requireowncustomdevelopedsourcecode(distinctfromtheLGPLedparts)tobemadeavailableunder
thesamelicenseterms.

Copyleft
ThedistributionrightsgrantedbytheGPLformodifiedversionsoftheworkarenotunconditional.
WhensomeonedistributesaGPL'dworkplushis/herownmodifications,therequirementsfor
distributingthewholeworkcannotbeanygreaterthantherequirementsthatareintheGPL.
Thisrequirementisknownascopyleft.Itearnsitslegalpowerfromtheuseofcopyrightonsoftware
programs.BecauseaGPLworkiscopyrighted,alicenseehasnorighttoredistributeit,notevenin
modifiedform(barringfairuse),exceptunderthetermsofthelicense.Oneisonlyrequiredtoadhereto
thetermsoftheGPLifonewishestoexerciserightsnormallyrestrictedbycopyrightlaw,suchas
redistribution.Conversely,ifonedistributescopiesoftheworkwithoutabidingbythetermsoftheGPL
(forinstance,bykeepingthesourcecodesecret),heorshecanbesuedbytheoriginalauthorunder
copyrightlaw.
Copyleftthususescopyrightlawtoaccomplishtheoppositeofitsusualpurpose:insteadofimposing
restrictions,itgrantsrightstootherpeople,inawaythatensurestherightscannotsubsequentlybetaken
away.Italsoensuresthatunlimitedredistributionrightsarenotgranted,shouldanylegalflawbefound
inthecopyleftstatement.
ManydistributorsofGPL'edprogramsbundlethesourcecodewiththeexecutables.Analternative
methodofsatisfyingthecopyleftistoprovideawrittenoffertoprovidethesourcecodeonaphysical
medium(suchasaCD)uponrequest.Inpractice,manyGPL'edprogramsaredistributedoverthe
Internet,andthesourcecodeismadeavailableoverFTPorHTTP.ForInternetdistribution,this
complieswiththelicense.
Copyleftappliesonlywhenapersonseekstoredistributetheprogram.Oneisallowedtomakeprivate
modifiedversions,withoutanyobligationtodivulgethemodificationsaslongasthemodifiedsoftware
isnotdistributedtoanyoneelse.Notethatthecopyleftappliesonlytothesoftwareandnottoitsoutput
(unlessthatoutputisitselfaderivativeworkoftheprogram[52]).Forexample,apublicwebportal
runningamodifiedderivativeofaGPL'edcontentmanagementsystemisnotrequiredtodistributeits
changestotheunderlyingsoftwarebecauseitsoutputisnotaderivative.
TherehasbeendebateonwhetheritisaviolationoftheGPLtoreleasethesourcecodeinobfuscated
form,suchasincasesinwhichtheauthorislesswillingtomakethesourcecodeavailable.The
consensuswasthatwhileunethical,itwasnotconsideredaviolation.Theissuewasclarifiedwhenthe
licensewasalteredtorequirethatthe"preferred"versionofthesourcecodebemadeavailable.[53]

Licenseversuscontract
TheGPLwasdesignedasalicense,ratherthanacontract.[54][55]InsomeCommonLawjurisdictions,
thelegaldistinctionbetweenalicenseandacontractisanimportantone:contractsareenforceableby
contractlaw,whereaslicensesareenforcedundercopyrightlaw.However,thisdistinctionisnotuseful
inthemanyjurisdictionswheretherearenodifferencesbetweencontractsandlicenses,suchasCivil
Lawsystems.[56]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_General_Public_License

7/23

2/5/2015

GNUGeneralPublicLicenseWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

ThosewhodonotaccepttheGPL'stermsandconditionsdonothavepermission,undercopyrightlaw,
tocopyordistributeGPLlicensedsoftwareorderivativeworks.However,iftheydonotredistributethe
GPL'dprogram,theymaystillusethesoftwarewithintheirorganizationhowevertheylike,andworks
(includingprograms)constructedbytheuseoftheprogramarenotrequiredtobecoveredbythis
license.
AllisonRandalarguedthattheGPLv3asalicenseisunnecessarilyconfusingforlayreaders,andcould
besimplifiedwhileretainingthesameconditionsandlegalforce.[57]

Derivations
ThetextoftheGPLisitselfcopyrighted,andthecopyrightisheldbytheFreeSoftwareFoundation.
TheFSFpermitspeopletocreatenewlicensesbasedontheGPL,aslongasthederivedlicensesdonot
usetheGPLpreamblewithoutpermission.Thisisdiscouraged,however,sincesuchalicensemightbe
incompatiblewiththeGPL[58]andcausesaperceivedlicenseproliferation.
OtherlicensescreatedbytheGNUprojectincludetheGNULesserGeneralPublicLicenseandthe
GNUFreeDocumentationLicense.
ThetextoftheGPLisnotitselfundertheGPL.Thelicense'scopyrightdisallowsmodificationofthe
license.CopyinganddistributingthelicenseisallowedsincetheGPLrequiresrecipientstoget"acopy
ofthisLicensealongwiththeProgram".[59]AccordingtotheGPLFAQ,anyonecanmakeanewlicense
usingamodifiedversionoftheGPLaslongasheorsheusesadifferentnameforthelicense,doesnot
mention"GNU",andremovesthepreamble,thoughthepreamblecanbeusedinamodifiedlicenseif
permissiontouseitisobtainedfromtheFreeSoftwareFoundation(FSF).

Linkingandderivedworks
Libraries
AccordingtotheFSF,"TheGPLdoesnotrequireyoutoreleaseyourmodifiedversion,oranypartofit.
Youarefreetomakemodificationsandusethemprivately,withouteverreleasingthem."[60]Howeverif
onereleasesaGPLlicensedentitytothepublic,thereisanissueregardinglinking:namely,ifa
proprietaryprogramusesaGPLlibrary,istheproprietaryprograminviolationoftheGPL?
ThiskeydisputeiswhetherornotnonGPLsoftwarecanlegallystaticallylinkordynamicallylinkto
GPLlibraries.Differentopinionsexistonthisissue.TheGPLisclearinrequiringthatallderivative
worksofcodeundertheGPLmustthemselvesbeundertheGPL.Ambiguityariseswithregardstousing
GPLlibraries,andbundlingGPLsoftwareintoalargerpackage(perhapsmixedintoabinaryviastatic
linking).ThisisultimatelyaquestionnotoftheGPLperse,butofhowcopyrightlawdefinesderivative
works.Thefollowingpointsofviewexist:
Pointofview:dynamicandstaticlinkingviolateGPL
TheFreeSoftwareFoundation(whichholdsthecopyrightofseveralnotableGPLlicensedsoftware
productsandofthelicensetextitself)assertsthatanexecutablewhichusesadynamicallylinkedlibrary
isindeedaderivativework.Thisdoesnothoweverapplytoseparateprogramscommunicatingwithone
another.[61]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_General_Public_License

8/23

2/5/2015

GNUGeneralPublicLicenseWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

TheFreeSoftwareFoundationalsocreatedtheLGPL,whichisnearlyidenticaltotheGPL,butwith
additionalpermissionstoallowlinkingforthepurposesof"usingthelibrary".
RichardStallmanandtheFSFspecificallyencouragelibrarywriterstolicenseundertheGPLsothat
proprietaryprogramscannotusethelibraries,inanefforttoprotectthefreesoftwareworldbygivingit
moretoolsthantheproprietaryworld.[62]
Pointofview:staticlinkingviolatesGPLbutunclearasofdynamiclinking
Somepeoplebelievethatwhilestaticlinkingproducesderivativeworks,itisnotclearwhetheran
executablethatdynamicallylinkstoaGPLcodeshouldbeconsideredaderivativework(seeWeak
Copyleft).LinuxauthorLinusTorvaldsagreesthatdynamiclinkingcancreatederivedworksbut
disagreesoverthecircumstances.[63]
ANovelllawyerhaswrittenthatdynamiclinkingnotbeingderivative"makessense"butisnot"clear
cut",andthatevidenceforgoodintentioneddynamiclinkingcanbeseenbytheexistenceofproprietary
Linuxkerneldrivers.[64]
InGaloobv.NintendotheUnitedStatesNinthCircuitCourtofAppealsdefinedaderivativeworkas
having"'form'orpermanence"andnotedthat"theinfringingworkmustincorporateaportionofthe
copyrightedworkinsomeform",[65]buttherehavebeennoclearcourtdecisionstoresolvethis
particularconflict.
Pointofview:linkingisirrelevant
AccordingtoanarticleintheLinuxJournal,LawrenceRosen(OSIgeneralcounsel)arguesthatthe
methodoflinkingismostlyirrelevanttothequestionaboutwhetherapieceofsoftwareisaderivative
workmoreimportantisthequestionaboutwhetherthesoftwarewasintendedtointerfacewithclient
softwareand/orlibraries.[66]Hestates,"Theprimaryindicationofwhetheranewprogramisaderivative
workiswhetherthesourcecodeoftheoriginalprogramwasused[inacopypastesense],modified,
translatedorotherwisechangedinanywaytocreatethenewprogram.Ifnot,thenIwouldarguethatit
isnotaderivativework,"[66]andlistsnumerousotherpointsregardingintent,bundling,andlinkage
mechanism.Hefurtherarguesonhisfirm'swebsite[67]thatsuch"marketbased"factorsaremore
importantthanthelinkingtechnique.
Thereisalsothespecificissueofwhetherapluginormodule(suchastheNVidiaorATIgraphicscard
kernelmodules)mustalsobeGPL,ifitcouldreasonablybeconsidereditsownwork.Thispointofview
suggeststhatreasonablyseparateplugins,orpluginsforsoftwaredesignedtouseplugins,couldbe
licensedunderanarbitrarylicenseiftheworkisGPLv2.OfparticularinterestistheGPLv2paragraph:
YoumaymodifyyourcopyorcopiesoftheProgramoranyportionofit,thusforminga
workbasedontheProgram,andcopyanddistributesuchmodificationsorworkunderthe
termsofSection1above,providedthatyoualsomeetalloftheseconditions:
...
b)Youmustcauseanyworkthatyoudistributeorpublish,thatinwholeorinpartcontains
orisderivedfromtheProgramoranypartthereof,tobelicensedasawholeatnochargeto
allthirdpartiesunderthetermsofthisLicense.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_General_Public_License

9/23

2/5/2015

GNUGeneralPublicLicenseWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

...
Theserequirementsapplytothemodifiedworkasawhole.Ifidentifiablesectionsofthat
workarenotderivedfromtheProgram,andcanbereasonablyconsideredindependentand
separateworksinthemselves,thenthisLicense,anditsterms,donotapplytothosesections
whenyoudistributethemasseparateworks.Butwhenyoudistributethesamesectionsas
partofawholewhichisaworkbasedontheProgram,thedistributionofthewholemustbe
onthetermsofthisLicense,whosepermissionsforotherlicenseesextendtotheentire
whole,andthustoeachandeverypartregardlessofwhowroteit.
ItshouldbenotedthattheGPLv3hasadifferentclause:
YoumayconveyaworkbasedontheProgram,orthemodificationstoproduceitfromthe
Program,intheformofsourcecodeunderthetermsofSection4,providedthatyoualso
meetalloftheseconditions:c)Youmustlicensetheentirework,asawhole,underthis
Licensetoanyonewhocomesintopossessionofacopy.ThisLicensewillthereforeapply,
alongwithanyapplicableSection7additionalterms,tothewholeofthework,andallits
parts,regardlessofhowtheyarepackaged.ThisLicensegivesnopermissiontolicensethe
workinanyotherway,butitdoesnotinvalidatesuchpermissionifyouhaveseparately
receivedit.
...
Acompilationofacoveredworkwithotherseparateandindependentworks,whicharenot
bytheirnatureextensionsofthecoveredwork,andwhicharenotcombinedwithitsuchas
toformalargerprogram,inoronavolumeofastorageordistributionmedium,iscalledan
"aggregate"ifthecompilationanditsresultingcopyrightarenotusedtolimittheaccessor
legalrightsofthecompilation'susersbeyondwhattheindividualworkspermit.Inclusionof
acoveredworkinanaggregatedoesnotcausethisLicensetoapplytotheotherpartsofthe
aggregate.
Asacasestudy,somesupposedlyproprietarypluginsandthemes/skinsforGPLv2CMSsoftwaresuch
asDrupalandWordPresshavecomeunderfire,withbothsidesoftheargumenttaken.[68][69]
TheFSFdifferentiatesonhowthepluginisbeinginvoked.IfthePluginisinvokedthroughdynamic
linkageanditperformsfunctioncallstotheGPLprogramthenitismostlikelyaderivativework.[70]

CommunicatingandbundlingwithnonGPLprograms
Themereactofcommunicatingwithotherprogramsdoesnot,byitself,requireallsoftwaretobeGPL
nordoesdistributingGPLsoftwarewithnonGPLsoftware.However,minorconditionsmustbe
followedthatensurestherightsofGPLsoftwareisnotrestricted.Thefollowingisaquotefromthe
gnu.orgGPLFAQ,whichdescribestowhatextentsoftwareisallowedtocommunicatewithandbe
bundledwithGPLprograms:
'Whatisthedifferencebetweenan"aggregate"andotherkindsof"modifiedversions"?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_General_Public_License

10/23

2/5/2015

GNUGeneralPublicLicenseWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

An"aggregate"consistsofanumberofseparateprograms,distributedtogetheronthesame
CDROMorothermedia.TheGPLpermitsyoutocreateanddistributeanaggregate,even
whenthelicensesoftheothersoftwarearenonfreeorGPLincompatible.Theonly
conditionisthatyoucannotreleasetheaggregateunderalicensethatprohibitsusersfrom
exercisingrightsthateachprogram'sindividuallicensewouldgrantthem.
Where'sthelinebetweentwoseparateprograms,andoneprogramwithtwoparts?Thisisa
legalquestion,whichultimatelyjudgeswilldecide.Webelievethatapropercriterion
dependsbothonthemechanismofcommunication(exec,pipes,rpc,functioncallswithina
sharedaddressspace,etc.)andthesemanticsofthecommunication(whatkindsof
informationareinterchanged).
Ifthemodulesareincludedinthesameexecutablefile,theyaredefinitelycombinedinone
program.Ifmodulesaredesignedtorunlinkedtogetherinasharedaddressspace,that
almostsurelymeanscombiningthemintooneprogram.
Bycontrast,pipes,socketsandcommandlineargumentsarecommunicationmechanisms
normallyusedbetweentwoseparateprograms.Sowhentheyareusedforcommunication,
themodulesnormallyareseparateprograms.Butifthesemanticsofthecommunicationare
intimateenough,exchangingcomplexinternaldatastructures,thattoocouldbeabasisto
considerthetwopartsascombinedintoalargerprogram.
TheFSFthusdrawsthelinebetween"library"and"otherprogram"via1)"complexity"and"intimacy"
ofinformationexchange,and2)mechanism(ratherthansemantics),butresignsthatthequestionisnot
clearcutandthatincomplexsituations,caselawwillneedtodecide.

Legalstatus
ThefirstknownviolationoftheGPLwasin1989whenNeXTextendedtheGCCcompilertosupport
ObjectiveC,butdidnotpubliclyreleasethechanges.[71]Afteraninquirytheycreatedapublicpatch.
Therewasnolawsuitfiledforthisviolation.
In2002,MySQLABsuedProgressNuSphereforcopyrightandtrademarkinfringementinUnited
Statesdistrictcourt.NuSpherehadallegedlyviolatedMySQL'scopyrightbylinkingMySQL'sGPL'ed
codewithNuSphereGeminitablewithoutbeingincompliancewiththelicense.Afterapreliminary
hearingbeforeJudgePattiSarison27February2002,thepartiesenteredsettlementtalksandeventually
settled.[72]Afterthehearing,FSFcommentedthat"JudgeSarismadeclearthatsheseestheGNUGPL
tobeanenforceableandbindinglicense."[73]
InAugust2003,theSCOGroupstatedthattheybelievedtheGPLtohavenolegalvalidity,andthat
theyintendedtopursuelawsuitsoversectionsofcodesupposedlycopiedfromSCOUnixintotheLinux
kernel.Thiswasaproblematicstandforthem,astheyhaddistributedLinuxandotherGPL'edcodein
theirCalderaOpenLinuxdistribution,andthereislittleevidencethattheyhadanylegalrighttodoso
exceptunderthetermsoftheGPL.Formoreinformation,seeSCOLinuxcontroversiesandSCOv.
IBM.
InApril2004,thenetfilter/iptablesprojectwasgrantedapreliminaryinjunctionagainstSitecom
GermanybyMunichDistrictCourtafterSitecomrefusedtodesistfromdistributingNetfilter'sGPL'ed
softwareinviolationofthetermsoftheGPL.HaraldWelte,ofNetfilter,wasrepresentedbyifrOSSco
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_General_Public_License

11/23

2/5/2015

GNUGeneralPublicLicenseWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

founderTillJaeger.OnJuly2004,theGermancourtconfirmedthisinjunctionasafinalrulingagainst
Sitecom.[74]Thecourt'sjustificationwasthat:
Defendanthasinfringedonthecopyrightofplaintiffbyofferingthesoftware'netfilter/iptables'for
downloadandbyadvertisingitsdistribution,withoutadheringtothelicenseconditionsofthe
GPL.Saidactionswouldonlybepermissibleifdefendanthadalicensegrant...Thisis
independentofthequestionswhetherthelicensingconditionsoftheGPLhavebeeneffectively
agreeduponbetweenplaintiffanddefendantornot.IftheGPLwerenotagreeduponbythe
parties,defendantwouldnotwithstandinglackthenecessaryrightstocopy,distribute,andmake
thesoftware'netfilter/iptables'publiclyavailable.
ThisexactlymirroredthepredictionsgivenpreviouslybytheFSF'sEbenMoglen.Thisrulingwas
importantbecauseitwasthefirsttimethatacourthadconfirmedthatviolatingtermsoftheGPLcould
beacopyrightviolationandestablishedcaselawovertheenforceabilityoftheGPLversion2under
Germanlaw.[75]
InMay2005,DanielWallacefiledsuitagainsttheFreeSoftwareFoundationintheSouthernDistrictof
Indiana,contendingthattheGPLisanillegalattempttofixprices(atzero).Thesuitwasdismissedin
March2006,onthegroundsthatWallacehadfailedtostateavalidantitrustclaimthecourtnotedthat
"theGPLencourages,ratherthandiscourages,freecompetitionandthedistributionofcomputer
operatingsystems,thebenefitsofwhichdirectlypasstoconsumers".[76]Wallacewasdeniedthe
possibilityoffurtheramendinghiscomplaint,andwasorderedtopaytheFSF'slegalexpenses.
On8September2005,theSeoulCentralDistrictCourtruledthattheGPLwasnotmaterialtoacase
dealingwithtradesecretsderivedfromGPLlicensedwork.[77]Defendantsarguedthatsinceitis
impossibletomaintaintradesecretswhilebeingcompliantwithGPLanddistributingthework,theyare
notinbreachoftradesecrets.Thisargumentwasconsideredwithoutground.
On6September2006,thegplviolations.orgprojectprevailedincourtlitigationagainstDLink
GermanyGmbHregardingDLink'scopyrightinfringinguseofpartsoftheLinuxKernelinstorage
devicestheydistributed.[78]ThejudgmentprovidedlegalprecedentthattheGPLisvalid,legally
binding,andstandsinGermancourt.[79]
Inlate2007,theBusyBoxdevelopersandtheSoftwareFreedomLawCenterembarkeduponaprogram
togainGPLcompliancefromdistributorsofBusyBoxinembeddedsystems,suingthosewhowouldnot
comply.ThesewereclaimedtobethefirstUSusesofcourtsforenforcementofGPLobligations.See
BusyBoxGPLlawsuits.
On11December2008,theFreeSoftwareFoundationsuedCiscoSystems,Inc.forcopyrightviolations
byitsLinksysdivision,oftheFSF'sGPLlicensedcoreutils,readline,Parted,Wget,GNUCompiler
Collection,binutils,andGNUDebuggersoftwarepackages,whichLinksysdistributesintheLinux
firmware[80]ofitsWRT54Gwirelessrouters,aswellasnumerousotherdevicesincludingDSLand
Cablemodems,NetworkAttachedStoragedevices,VoiceOverIPgateways,VirtualPrivateNetwork
devicesandahometheater/mediaplayerdevice.[81]
AftersixyearsofrepeatedcomplaintstoCiscobytheFSF,claimsbyCiscothattheywouldcorrect,or
werecorrecting,theircomplianceproblems(notprovidingcompletecopiesofallsourcecodeandtheir
modifications),ofrepeatednewviolationsbeingdiscoveredandreportedwithmoreproducts,andlack
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_General_Public_License

12/23

2/5/2015

GNUGeneralPublicLicenseWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

ofactionbyLinksys(aprocessdescribedontheFSFblogasa"fiveyearsrunninggameofWhacka
Mole"[81])theFSFtookthemtocourt.
Ciscosettledthecasesixmonthslaterbyagreeing"toappointaFreeSoftwareDirectorforLinksys"to
ensurecompliance,"tonotifypreviousrecipientsofLinksysproductscontainingFSFprogramsoftheir
rightsundertheGPL,"tomakesourcecodeofFSFprogramsfreelyavailableonitswebsite,andto
makeamonetarycontributiontotheFSF.[82]

Compatibilityandmultilicensing
Codelicensedunderseveralotherlicenses
canbecombinedwithaprogramunderthe
GPLwithoutconflict,aslongasthe
combinationofrestrictionsontheworkasa
wholedoesnotputanyadditional
restrictionsbeyondwhatGPLallows.[83]In
additiontotheregulartermsoftheGPL,
thereareadditionalrestrictionsand
permissionsonecanapply:
1. Ifauserwantstocombinecode
licensedunderdifferentversionsof
GPL,thenthisisonlyallowedifthe
codewiththeolderGPLversion
includesan"anylaterversion"
statement.[84]Forinstance,theGPLv3
licensedGNULibreDWGlibrarycan't
beusedanymorebyLibreCADand
FreeCADwhohaveGPLv2only
dependencies.[85][86]

QuickGuideoflicensecompatibilitywithGPL

2. CodelicensedunderLGPLis
permittedtobelinkedwithanyothercodenomatterwhatlicensethatcodehas,[87]thoughthe
LGPLdoesaddadditionalrequirementsforthecombinedwork.LGPLv3andGPLv2onlycan
thuscommonlynotbelinked,asthecombinedCodeworkwouldaddadditionalLGPLv3
requirementsontopoftheGPLv2onlylicensedsoftware.CodelicensedunderLGPLv2.xwithout
the"anylaterversion"statementcanberelicensedifthewholecombinedworkislicensedto
GPLv2orGPLv3.[88]
FSFmaintainsalist[89]ofGPLcompatiblefreesoftwarelicenses[90][91]withmanyofthemostcommon
freesoftwarelicenses,suchastheoriginalMIT/Xlicense,theBSDlicense(initscurrent3clauseform)
andtheArtisticLicense2.0.[92]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_General_Public_License

13/23

2/5/2015

GNUGeneralPublicLicenseWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

DavidA.Wheelerhasadvocatedthatfree/opensourcesoftwaredevelopersuseonlyGPLcompatible
licenses,becausedoingotherwisemakesitdifficultforotherstoparticipateandcontributecode.[93]Asa
specificexampleoflicenseincompatibility,SunMicrosystems'ZFScannotbeincludedintheGPL
licensedLinuxkernel,becauseitislicensedundertheGPLincompatibleCDDL.Furthermore,ZFSis
protectedbypatents,sodistributinganindependentlydevelopedGPLedimplementationwouldstill
requireOracle'spermission.[94]
AnumberofbusinessesusemultilicensingtodistributeaGPLversionandsellaproprietarylicenseto
companieswishingtocombinethepackagewithproprietarycode,usingdynamiclinkingornot.
ExamplesofsuchcompaniesincludeMySQLAB,DigiaPLC(Qtframework,before2011fromNokia),
RedHat(Cygwin)andRiverbankComputing(PyQt).Othercompanies,liketheMozillaFoundation
(productsincludeMozillaApplicationSuite,MozillaThunderbirdandMozillaFirefox),usedmulti
licensingtodistributeversionsundertheGPLandsomeotheropensourcelicenses.

Usefortextandothermedia
ItispossibletousetheGPLfortextdocumentsinsteadofcomputerprograms,ormoregenerallyforall
kindsofmedia,ifitisclearwhatconstitutesthesourcecode(definedas"thepreferredformofthework
formakingchangesinit").[95]Formanualsandtextbooks,though,theFSFrecommendstheGNUFree
DocumentationLicense(GFDL)instead,whichitcreatedforthispurpose.[96]Nevertheless,theDebian
developersrecommended(inaresolutionadoptedin2006)tolicensedocumentationfortheirproject
undertheGPL,becauseoftheincompatibilityoftheGFDLwiththeGPL(textlicensedundertheGFDL
cannotbeincorporatedintoGPLsoftware).[97]Also,theFLOSSManualsfoundation,anorganization
devotedtocreatingmanualsforfreesoftware,decidedtoeschewtheGFDLinfavoroftheGPLforits
textsin2007.[98]
IftheGPLisusedforfonts,anydocumentsorimagesmadewithsuchfontsmightalsohavetobe
distributedunderthetermsoftheGPL.ThisisnotthecaseincountriesliketheUSandCanadawhere
copyrightlawisinapplicabletotheappearanceoffonts,thoughprogramcodeinsideafontfilemaystill
becoveredwhichcancomplicatefontembedding(sincethedocumentcouldbeconsidered'linked'tothe
font).FSFprovidesanexceptionforcaseswherethisisnotdesired.[99][100]

Reception
Legalbarriertoappstores
TheGPLLicenseisincompatiblewithmanyapplicationdistributionsystems,liketheMacAppStore,
andcertainothersoftwaredistributionplatforms(onsmartphonesaswellasPCs).Theproblemliesin
theright"Tomakeacopyforyourneighbour",asthisrightisviolatedbytheintegratedDRMSystems
madetopreventcopyingofpaidsoftware.EveniftheapplicationisfreeasinbeerintheAppStorein
question,itmightresultinaviolationofthatappstore'sterms.[101]
NotethatthereisadistinctionbetweenanappstorewhichsellsDRMrestrictedsoftwareunder
proprietarylicenses,andthemoregeneralconceptofdigitaldistributionviasomeformofonline
softwarerepository:variousUNIXlikedistributionsprovideapprepositories,includingFedora,RHEL,
CentOS,Ubuntu,Debian,FreeBSD,OpenBSDandsoon.ThesespecificappreposallcontainGPL
licensedsoftwareapps,insomecasesevenwhenthecoreprojectdoesnotpermitGPLlicensedcodein
thebasesystem(forinstanceOpenBSD[102]).Inothercases,suchastheUbuntuAppStore,proprietary
commercialsoftwareapplicationsandGPLlicensedapplicationsarebothavailableviathesamesystem
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_General_Public_License

14/23

2/5/2015

GNUGeneralPublicLicenseWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

thereasonthattheMacAppStore(andsimilarprojects)isincompatiblewithGPLlicensedappsisnot
inherentintheconceptofanappstore,butisratherspecificallyduetoApple'stermsofuse
requirement[101]thatallappsinthestoreutilizeAppleDRMrestrictions.Ubuntu'sappstoredoesnot
demandanysuchrequirement:"Thesetermsdonotlimitorrestrictyourrightsunderanyapplicable
opensourcesoftwarelicenses."[103]

Microsoft
In2001,MicrosoftCEOSteveBallmerreferredtoLinuxas"acancerthatattachesitselfinan
intellectualpropertysensetoeverythingittouches".[104][105]InresponsetoMicrosoft'sattacksonthe
GPL,severalprominentFreeSoftwaredevelopersandadvocatesreleasedajointstatementsupporting
thelicense.[106]MicrosofthasreleasedMicrosoftWindowsServicesforUNIXwhichcontainsGPL
licensedcode.InJuly2009,Microsoftitselfreleasedabodyofaround20,000linesofLinuxdrivercode
undertheGPL.[107]TheHyperVcodethatispartofthesubmittedcodeusedopensourcecomponents
licensedundertheGPLandwasoriginallystaticallylinkedtoproprietarybinaryparts,thelatterbeing
inadmissibleinGPLlicensedsoftware.[108]
"Viral"nature
CraigMundie,MicrosoftSeniorVicePresidenthasdescribedtheGPLasbeing"viral"in2001.[109]
MundiearguesthattheGPLhasa"viral"effectinthatitonlyallowstheconveyanceofwholeprograms,
whichmeansprogramsthatlinktoGPLlibrariesmustthemselvesbeunderaGPLcompatiblelicense,
elsetheycannotbecombinedanddistributed.
IntheviewsofRichardStallman,Mundie'smetaphorofa"virus"iswrongassoftwareundertheGPL
doesnot"attack"or"infect"othersoftware.StallmanbelievesthatcomparingtheGPLtoavirusisan
extremelyunfriendlythingtosay,andthatabettermetaphorforsoftwareundertheGPLwouldbea
spiderplant:Ifonetakesapieceofitandputsitsomewhereelse,itgrowstheretoo.[110][111][112]

Barriertocommercialization
TheFreeBSDprojecthasstatedthat"alesspublicizedandunintendeduseoftheGPListhatitisvery
favorabletolargecompaniesthatwanttoundercutsoftwarecompanies.Inotherwords,theGPLiswell
suitedforuseasamarketingweapon,potentiallyreducingoveralleconomicbenefitandcontributingto
monopolisticbehavior"andthattheGPLcan"presentarealproblemforthosewishingtocommercialize
andprofitfromsoftware".[113]
RichardStallmanwroteaboutthepracticeofsellinglicenseexceptionstofreesoftwarelicensesasan
exampleofethicallyacceptablecommercializationpractice.Sellingexceptionsheremeansthatthe
copyrightholderofagivensoftwarereleasesit(alongwiththecorrespondingsourcecode)tothepublic
underafreesoftwarelicense,"thenletscustomerspayforpermissiontousethesamecodeunder
differentterms,forinstanceallowingitsinclusioninproprietaryapplications".Stallmanconsidered
sellingexceptions"acceptablesincethe1990s,andonoccasionI'vesuggestedittocompanies.
Sometimesthisapproachhasmadeitpossibleforimportantprogramstobecomefreesoftware".Despite
thattheFSFdoesn'tpracticesellingexceptions,acomparisonwiththeX11license(whichisa
noncopyleftfreesoftwarelicense)isproposedforsuggestingthatthiscommercializationtechnique
shouldberegardedasethicallyacceptable.Releasingagivenprogramunderanoncopyleftfreesoftware
licensewouldpermitembeddingthecodeinproprietarysoftware.Stallmancommentsthat"eitherwe
havetoconcludethatit'swrongtoreleaseanythingundertheX11licenseaconclusionIfind
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_General_Public_License

15/23

2/5/2015

GNUGeneralPublicLicenseWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

unacceptablyextremeorrejectthisimplication.Usinganoncopyleftlicenseisweak,andusuallyan
inferiorchoice,butit'snotwrong.Inotherwords,sellingexceptionspermitssomeembeddingin
proprietarysoftware,andtheX11licensepermitsevenmoreembedding.Ifthisdoesn'tmaketheX11
licenseunacceptable,itdoesn'tmakesellingexceptionsunacceptable".[114]

GPLv3separatescommunityfurther
Somejournalists[45][115][116]andToyboxdeveloperRobLandley[39]criticizedthatwiththeintroduction
oftheGPLv3thesplitbetweentheopensourceandfreesoftwarecommunityiswiderthanever.Asthe
significantlyextendedGPLv3isessentiallyincompatiblewiththeGPLv2,[84]compatibilitybetween
bothisonlygivenundertheoptional"orlater"clauseoftheGPL,whichwasnottakenforinstanceby
theLinuxkernel.[12]BruceByfieldnotedthatbeforethereleaseoftheGPLv3,theGPLv2wasa
unifyingelementbetweentheopensourceandthefreesoftwarecommunity.[45]
LawrenceRosen,attorneyandcomputerspecialist,praisedhowthecommunityusingtheApachelicense
werenowabletoworktogetherwiththeGPLcommunityinacompatiblemanner,astheproblemsof
GPLv2compatibilitywithApachelicensedsoftwarewereresolvedwiththeGPLv3.Hesaid,"Ipredict
thatoneofthebiggestsuccessstoriesofGPLv3willbetherealizationthattheentireuniverseoffree
andopensourcesoftwarecanthusbecombinedintocomprehensiveopensourcesolutionsforcustomers
worldwide."[117]

Seealso
Anticopyright
Duallicensing
EuropeanUnionPublicLicence(EUPL)
GPLfontexception
Listofsoftwarelicenses
Permissiveandcopyleftlicenses

References
1. ^"DebianLicenseinformation"(http://www.debian.org/legal/licenses/).SoftwareinthePublicInterest,Inc.
Retrieved10December2009.
2. ^ab"LicensesFreeSoftwareFoundation"
(http://www.fsf.org/licensing/licenses/index_html#GPLCompatibleLicenses).FreeSoftwareFoundation.
Retrieved10December2009.
3. ^"LicensesbyName"(http://opensource.org/licenses/alphabetical).OpenSourceInitiative.Retrieved
10December2009.
4. ^"Copyleft:PragmaticIdealismFreeSoftwareFoundation"
(http://www.fsf.org/licensing/essays/pragmatic.html).FreeSoftwareFoundation.Retrieved10December
2009.
5. ^"Top20OpenSourceLicenses"(http://www.blackducksoftware.com/resources/data/top20opensource
licenses).BlackDuckSoftware.Retrieved19March2014.
6. ^GPLFAQ:DoesusingtheGPLforaprogrammakeitGNUSoftware?(https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl
faq.html#DoesUsingTheGPLForAProgramMakeItGNUSoftware)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_General_Public_License

16/23

2/5/2015

GNUGeneralPublicLicenseWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

faq.html#DoesUsingTheGPLForAProgramMakeItGNUSoftware)
7. ^"Freecode'sstatisticspage"(http://Freecode.com/stats/).
8. ^"SourceForge.net:SoftwareMap"(http://www.dwheeler.com/frozen/sourceforgestats20031110.html).
Dwheeler.com.Retrieved17November2008.
9. ^DavidA.Wheeler."EstimatingLinux'sSize"(http://www.dwheeler.com/sloc/redhat62
v1/redhat62sloc.html).
10. ^DavidA.Wheeler."MakeYourOpenSourceSoftwareGPLCompatible.OrElse"
(http://www.dwheeler.com/essays/gplcompatible.html).
11. ^"WhytheGPLrocketedLinuxtosuccess"(http://www.dwheeler.com/blog/2006/09/01/#gplbsd)."Sowhile
theBSDshavelostenergyeverytimeacompanygetsinvolved,theGPL'edprogramsgaineverytimea
companygetsinvolved."
12. ^abcTorvalds,Linus."COPYING"(http://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux
stable.git/tree/COPYING).kernel.org.Retrieved13August2013."Alsonotethattheonlyvalidversionofthe
GPLasfarasthekernelisconcernedis_this_particularversionofthelicense(iev2,notv2.2orv3.xor
whatever),unlessexplicitlyotherwisestated."
13. ^"TheHistoryoftheGPL"(http://www.freesoft.org/gpl_history/).Retrieved24November2011.
14. ^abStallman,Richard(21April2006)."PresentationatthesecondinternationalGPLv3conference,heldin
PortoAlegre"(http://fsfeurope.org/projects/gplv3/fislrmstranscript.en.html#beforegnugpl).
15. ^"WhyUpgradetoGPLVersion3GPLv3"(http://gplv3.fsf.org/rmswhy.html).Fsf.org.Retrieved
17March2011.
16. ^"FSFreleasestheGNUGeneralPublicLicense,version3FreeSoftwareFoundationworkingtogether
forfreesoftware"(http://www.fsf.org/news/gplv3_launched).Fsf.org.Retrieved15January2011.
17. ^"GNUGeneralPublicLicense,version1"(https://www.gnu.org/licenses/oldlicenses/gpl1.0.html).
18. ^"NewGeneralPublicLicense"(http://groups.google.com/group/gnu.announce/msg/bf254a45c6f512f3).
19. ^ForthereasoningseeTheGNUproject(https://www.gnu.org/gnu/thegnuproject.html).
20. ^abStallman,Richard(25February2006)."PresentationinBrussels,Belgiumthefirstdayofthatyear's
FOSDEMconference."(http://www.ifso.ie/documents/rmsgplv320060225.html).
21. ^InterviewwithRichardStallman
(http://www.freesoftwaremagazine.com/articles/interview_with_richard_stallman),FreeSoftwareMagazine,
23January2008.
22. ^"AQuickGuidetoGPLv3GNUProjectFreeSoftwareFoundation(FSF)"
(https://www.gnu.org/licenses/quickguidegplv3.html#neutralizinglawsthatprohibitfreesoftwarebutnot
forbiddingdrm).FreeSoftwareFoundation.
23. ^"GPLv3:Draftingversion3oftheGNUGeneralPublicLicense"(http://fsfeurope.org/projects/gplv3/).Free
SoftwareFoundationEurope.
24. ^"gplv3.fsf.orgcommentsfordiscussiondraft4"(http://gplv3.fsf.org/comments/gplv3draft4.html).
25. ^"gplv3.fsf.orgcommentsfordraft1"(http://gplv3.fsf.org/comments/gplv3draft1)."Showingcommentsin
file'gplv3draft1'[...]found962"
26. ^"gplv3.fsf.orgcommentsfordraft2"(http://gplv3.fsf.org/comments/gplv3draft2.html)."Showing
commentsinfile'gplv3draft1'[...]found727"
27. ^"gplv3.fsf.orgcommentsfordraft3"(http://gplv3.fsf.org/comments/gplv3draft3)."Showingcommentsin
file'gplv3draft3'[...]found649"
28. ^"gplv3.fsf.orgcommentsfordraft4"(http://gplv3.fsf.org/comments/gplv3draft4.html)."Showing
commentsinfile'gplv3draft4'[...]found298"
29. ^"GuidetothethirddraftofGPLv3"(http://gplv3.fsf.org/gpl3dd3guide).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_General_Public_License

17/23

2/5/2015

GNUGeneralPublicLicenseWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

29. ^"GuidetothethirddraftofGPLv3"(http://gplv3.fsf.org/gpl3dd3guide).

30. ^"FinalDiscussionDraft"(http://gplv3.fsf.org/gpldraft20070531.html).Retrieved4June2007.
31. ^"GPLversion3FAQ"(http://gplv3.fsf.org/dd3faq).Retrieved4June2007.
32. ^"FourthDiscussionDraftRationale"(http://gplv3.fsf.org/gpl3dd4rationale.pdf).Retrieved4June2007.
33. ^Tiemann,Michael(7June2007)."GNUAfferoGPLversion3andthe"ASPloophole" "
(http://opensource.org/node/152).OSI.Retrieved19August2013.
34. ^ListoffreesoftwarelicencesontheFSFwebsite(http://www.fsf.org/licensing/licenses/index.html):We
recommendthatdevelopersconsiderusingtheGNUAGPLforanysoftwarewhichwillcommonlyberunover
anetwork.
35. ^WhydidyoudecidetowritetheGNUAfferoGPLv3asaseparatelicense?
(https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gplfaq.html#SeparateAffero)ongnu.org
36. ^"Kerneldevelopers'positiononGPLv3"(http://lwn.net/Articles/200422/).LWN.net.Retrieved4June
2007.
37. ^"GPL3Overview"(http://www.techlawforum.net/post.cfm/gpl3overview).TechLawForum.29June
2007.Retrieved2September2013.
38. ^"AQuickGuidetoGPLv3GNUProjectFreeSoftwareFoundation(FSF)"
(https://www.gnu.org/licenses/quickguidegplv3.html#newcompatiblelicenses).FreeSoftwareFoundation.
39. ^abLandley,Rob."CELF2013Toyboxtalkhttp://landley.net/talks/celf2013.txt"
(http://landley.net/talks/celf2013.txt).landley.net.Retrieved21August2013."GPLv3broke"the"GPLinto
incompatibleforksthatcan'tsharecode.[...]FSFexpecteduniversalcompliance,buthijackedlifeboatclause
whenboatwasn'tsinking.[...]"
40. ^"GNUGeneralPublicLicense"(https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html).Retrieved15June2012.
41. ^"Top20licenses"(http://www.blackducksoftware.com/resources/data/top20licenses).BlackDuck
Software.23August2013.Retrieved23August2013."1.GNUGeneralPublicLicense(GPL)2.033%,2.
ApacheLicense13%,3.GNUGeneralPublicLicense(GPL)3.012%"
42. ^Proffitt,Brian(16December2011)."GPL,copyleftusedecliningfasterthaneverDatasuggestsasharper
rateofdecline,whichraisesthequestion:why?"(http://www.itworld.com/itmanagementstrategy/233753/gpl
copyleftusedecliningfasterever).ITworld.Retrieved23August2013.
43. ^"GPLuseinDebianontherise:study"(http://www.itwire.com/businessitnews/opensource/52838gpl
useindebianontherisestudy).Itwire.com.Retrieved2September2013.
44. ^"Surveyingopensourcelicenses"(https://lwn.net/Articles/547400/).Lwn.net.Retrieved2September2013.
45. ^abcByfield,Bruce(22November2011)."7ReasonsWhyFreeSoftwareIsLosingInfluence:Page2"
(http://www.datamation.com/opensource/7reasonswhyfreesoftwareislosinginfluence_2.html).
Datamation.com.Retrieved23August2013."Atthetime,thedecisionseemedsensibleinthefaceofa
deadlock.Butnow,GPLv2isusedfor42.5%offreesoftware,andGPLv3forlessthan6.5%,accordingto
BlackDuckSoftware."
46. ^Asay,Matt(23July2009)."GPLv3hits50percentadoption|TheOpenRoadCNETNews"
(http://news.cnet.com/830113505_31029445216.html).News.cnet.com.Retrieved2September2013.
47. ^ab"SellingFreeSoftware"(https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/selling.html).FreeSoftwareFoundation.
48. ^GPLFAQ:UseGPLToolstodevelopnonfreeprograms(https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl
faq.html#CanIUseGPLToolsForNF)
49. ^GPLFAQ:GPLrequiresourcepostedtopublic(https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl
faq.html#GPLRequireSourcePostedPublic),Unreleasedmodifications(https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl
faq.html#UnreleasedMods),InternalDistribution(https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl
faq.html#InternalDistribution)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_General_Public_License

18/23

2/5/2015

faq.html#InternalDistribution)

GNUGeneralPublicLicenseWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

50. ^abGPLFAQ:PortprogramtoGNU/Linux(https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gplfaq.html#PortProgramToGL)
51. ^example:ifonlyGNULesserGeneralPublicLicense(LGPL)libraries,LGPLsoftwarecomponentsand
componentswithpermissivefreesoftwarelicensesareused(thusnotGPLitself),thenonlythesourcecode
ofLGPLpartshastobemadeavailableforthedeveloper'sownselfdevelopedsoftwarecomponentsthisis
notrequired(evenwhentheunderlyingoperatingsystemusedislicensedunderGPL,asisthecasewith
Linux).
52. ^AcounterexampleistheGPL'edGNUBison:theparsersitoutputsdocontainpartsofitselfandare
thereforederivativeswhichwouldfallundertheGPL,ifitwerenotforaspecialexceptiongrantedbyGNU
Bison:"ConditionsforUsingBison"
(https://www.gnu.org/software/bison/manual/html_node/Conditions.html).Retrieved11December2008.
53. ^"Reasoningbehindthe"preferredform"languageintheGPL"(http://lwn.net/Articles/431651/).LWN.net.
7March2011.
54. ^"EssaybyStallmanexplainingwhyalicenseismoresuitablethanacontract"
(https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/noipethos.html).
55. ^"EbenMoglenexplainingwhytheGPLisalicenseandwhyitmatters"
(http://fsfeurope.org/projects/gplv3/barcelonamoglentranscript.en.html#q7acontract).
56. ^GuadamuzGonzalez,Andres(2004)."Viralcontractsorunenforceabledocuments?Contractualvalidityof
copyleftlicenses"(http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=569101).EuropeanIntellectual
PropertyReview26(8):331339.
57. ^AllisonRandal(14May2007)."GPLv3,ClarityandSimplicity"
(http://web.archive.org/web/20081015194558/http://radar.oreilly.com/archives/2007/05/gplv3_clarity_a.html).
Archivedfromtheoriginal(http://radar.oreilly.com/archives/2007/05/gplv3_clarity_a.html)on15October
2008.
58. ^"GPLFAQ:CanImodifytheGPLandmakeamodifiedlicense?"
(http://www.fsf.org/licensing/licenses/gplfaq.html#ModifyGPL).
59. ^"TheGNUGeneralPublicLicenseVersion3"(https://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html).FreeSoftware
Foundation.29June2007.Retrieved21July2009.
60. ^"GPLFAQ:DoestheGPLrequirethatsourcecodeofmodifiedversionsbepostedtothepublic?"
(https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gplfaq.html#GPLRequireSourcePostedPublic).
61. ^"FrequentlyAskedQuestionsabouttheGNULicensesGNUProjectFreeSoftwareFoundation(FSF)"
(https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gplfaq.html).FSF.Retrieved15March2011.
62. ^"Whyyoushouldn'tusetheLesserGPLforyournextlibraryGNUProjectFreeSoftwareFoundation
(FSF)"(https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/whynotlgpl.html).Gnu.org.Retrieved15January2011.
63. ^LinusTorvalds,GPLonlymodules(https://lkml.org/lkml/2006/12/17/79),linuxkernelmailinglist(17
December2006).
64. ^MattAsay,TheGPL:UnderstandingtheLicensethatGovernsLinux
(http://www.novell.com/coolsolutions/feature/1532.html),NovellCoolSolutionsFeature(16Jan2004).
65. ^LewisGaloobToys,Inc.v.NintendoofAmerica,Inc.,964F.2d965
(http://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellatecourts/F2/964/965/341457/),10(9thCir.21May1992).
66. ^abLawrenceRosen,DerivativeWorks(http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/6366),LinuxJournal(1
January2003).
67. ^LawrenceRosen,DerivativeWorks(http://www.rosenlaw.com/lj19.htm),rosenlaw.com(25May2004)
68. ^"WhyTheyreWrong:WordPressPluginsShouldntHavetobeGPL"(http://www.webmaster
source.com/2009/01/29/whytheyrewrongwordpresspluginsshouldnthavetobegpl/).Webmaster
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_General_Public_License

19/23

2/5/2015

GNUGeneralPublicLicenseWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

source.com.29January2009.Retrieved15January2011.
69. ^"LicensingFAQ"(http://drupal.org/licensing/faq#q7).Drupal.org.Retrieved15January2011.
70. ^"FrequentlyAskedQuestionsabouttheGNULicensesGNUProjectFreeSoftwareFoundation(FSF)"
(https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gplfaq.html#GPLPluginsInNF).Gnu.org.Retrieved15January2011.
71. ^12YearsofGPLCompliance:AHistoricalPerspective(http://ebb.org/bkuhn/talks/LinuxTag
2011/compliance.html),Slide10
72. ^SeeProgressSoftwareCorporationv.MySQLAB,195F.Supp.2d328(D.Mass.2002),ondefendant's
motionforpreliminaryinjunction.
73. ^"JudgeSarisdefersGNUGPLQuestionsforTrialinMySQLvs.ProgressSoftware"
(https://www.gnu.org/press/20020301piMySQL.html).gnu.org.Retrieved24March2011.
74. ^HaraldWeltevs.Sitecom,finalorder,translatedfromGermanbyJensMaurer
(http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20040725150736471)
75. ^Bird&Bird,AReviewofGermanCaseLawontheGNUGeneralPublicLicense
(http://www.twobirds.com/English/News/Articles/Pages/2007/Review_German_GNU_General_Public_Licens
e.aspx),17December2007,retrieved1March2012
76. ^Dismissal(http://www.groklaw.net/pdf/WallaceFSFGrantingDismiss.pdf)ofWallacev.FSF.Fromthis
article(http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20060320201540127)onGroklaw.
77. ^SeoulCentralDistrictCourtruling(?)(inKorean)
(https://web.archive.org/web/20071018211119/http://korea.gnu.org/gv/sentence.html)
78. ^gplviolations.orgprojectprevailsincourtcaseonGPLviolationbyDLink(http://gpl
violations.org/news/20060922dlinkjudgement_frankfurt.html)
79. ^DLinkJudgment(Englishtranslation)(http://www.jbb.de/judgment_dc_frankfurt_gpl.pdf)(English) D
LinkJudgement(http://www.jbb.de/fileadmin/download/urteil_lg_muenchen_gpl.pdf)(German)
80. ^Ewing,James(1August2004)."LinuxonLinksysWiFiRouters"
(http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/7322).LinuxJournal.Retrieved23January2012.
81. ^ab"FreeSoftwareFoundationFilesSuitAgainstCiscoForGPLViolations"
(https://www.fsf.org/news/200812ciscosuit)(Pressrelease).FreeSoftwareFoundation.11December2008.
Retrieved22August2011.
82. ^"FSFSettlesSuitAgainstCisco"(https://www.fsf.org/news/200905ciscosettlement.html)(Pressrelease).
FreeSoftwareFoundation.20May2009.Retrieved22August2011.
83. ^"TheGNUGeneralPublicLicensev3.0GNUProjectFreeSoftwareFoundation(FSF)"
(https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html).fsf.org.Retrieved24March2010.
84. ^ab"FrequentlyAskedQuestionsabouttheGNULicensesIsGPLv3compatiblewithGPLv2?"
(https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gplfaq.html#v2v3Compatibility).gnu.org.Retrieved3June2014."No.Some
oftherequirementsinGPLv3,suchastherequirementtoprovideInstallationInformation,donotexistin
GPLv2.Asaresult,thelicensesarenotcompatible:ifyoutriedtocombinecodereleasedunderboththese
licenses,youwouldviolatesection6ofGPLv2.However,ifcodeisreleasedunderGPLversion2orlater,
thatiscompatiblewithGPLv3becauseGPLv3isoneoftheoptionsitpermits."
85. ^Larabel,Michael(24January2013)."FSFWastesAwayAnother"HighPriority"Project"
(http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=MTI4Mjc).Phoronix.Retrieved22August2013.
"BothLibreCADandFreeCADbothwanttouseLibreDWGandhavepatchesavailableforsupportingthe
DWGfileformatlibrary,butcan'tintegratethem.TheprogramshavedependenciesonthepopularGPLv2
licensewhiletheFreeSoftwareFoundationwillonlyletLibreDWGbelicensedforGPLv3use,notGPLv2."
86. ^Prokoudine,Alexandre(27December2012)."LibreDWGdrama:theendorthenewbeginning?"
(http://libregraphicsworld.org/blog/entry/libredwgdramatheendorthenewbeginning).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_General_Public_License

20/23

2/5/2015

GNUGeneralPublicLicenseWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

(http://libregraphicsworld.org/blog/entry/libredwgdramatheendorthenewbeginning).
libregraphicsworld.org.Retrieved23August2013."[...]theunfortunatesituationwithsupportforDWGfiles
infreeCADsoftwareviaLibreDWG.Wefeel,bynowitoughttobeclosed.Wehavethefinalanswerfrom
FSF.[...]"Wearenotgoingtochangethelicense.""
87. ^"GNULesserGeneralPublicLicensev2.1GNUProjectFreeSoftwareFoundation(FSF)"
(https://www.gnu.org/licenses/oldlicenses/lgpl2.1.html#SEC2).fsf.org.Retrieved26April2011.
88. ^"FrequentlyAskedQuestionsabouttheGNULicensesHowarethevariousGNUlicensescompatiblewith
eachother?"(https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gplfaq.html#AllCompatibility).Theofficialsite.Retrieved
13April2011.
89. ^"VariouslicenseswithcommentsGPLCompatibleFreeSoftwareLicenses"
(https://www.gnu.org/licenses/licenselist.html#GPLCompatibleLicenses).FSF.Retrieved20April2012.
90. ^"FrequentlyAskedQuestionsabouttheGNULicensesWhatdoesitmeantosaythattwolicensesare
"compatible"?"(https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gplfaq.html#WhatIsCompatible).FSF.Retrieved14April
2011.
91. ^"FrequentlyAskedQuestionsabouttheGNULicensesWhatdoesitmeantosayalicenseis"compatible
withtheGPL?" "(https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gplfaq.html#WhatDoesCompatMean).FSF.Retrieved
14April2011.
92. ^"BlackDuckOpenSourceResourceCenter"(http://www.blackducksoftware.com/oss/licenses/).
blackducksoftware.com.Retrieved26April2011.
93. ^"MakeYourOpenSourceSoftwareGPLCompatible.OrElse."(http://www.dwheeler.com/essays/gpl
compatible.html).DavidA.Wheeler.Retrieved26April2011.
94. ^Linux:ZFS,LicensesandPatents|KernelTrap(http://kerneltrap.org/node/8066)
95. ^FreeSoftwareFoundation:FrequentlyAskedQuestionsabouttheGNULicenses:CanIusetheGPLfor
somethingotherthansoftware?(https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gplfaq.html#GPLOtherThanSoftware).
Retrieved20June2009.
96. ^GNUproject:FrequentlyAskedQuestionsabouttheGNULicenses:Whydon'tyouusetheGPLfor
manuals?(https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gplfaq.html#WhyNotGPLForManuals).Retrieved20June2009.
97. ^DebianProject:Resolution:WhytheGNUFreeDocumentationLicenseisnotsuitableforDebian
(http://www.debian.org/vote/2006/vote_001.en.html#amendmenttexta).VotedFebruaryMarch2006..
Retrieved20June2009.
98. ^FLOSSManualsfoundation:LicenseChange(http://en.flossmanuals.net/bin/view/Blog/LicenseChange)6
June2007..Retrieved20June2009.
99. ^"FontLicensing"(http://www.fsf.org/blogs/licensing/20050425novalis).
100. ^"HowdoestheGPLapplytofonts?"(https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gplfaq.html#FontException).
101. ^ab"TheGPL,theAppStoreandYou(http://www.tuaw.com/2011/01/09/thegpltheappstoreandyou/)"
102. ^"CopyrightPolicy"(http://www.openbsd.org/policy.html),OpenBSD
103. ^"UbuntuOne:TermsandConditions"(https://one.ubuntu.com/terms).One.ubuntu.com.29August2013.
Retrieved25September2013.
104. ^Newbart,Dave(1June2001)."MicrosoftCEOtakeslaunchbreakwiththeSunTimes"
(http://web.archive.org/web/20010615205548/http://suntimes.com/output/tech/cstfinmicro01.html).Chicago
SunTimes.Archivedfromtheoriginal(http://suntimes.com/output/tech/cstfinmicro01.html)on15June
2001.(Internetarchivelink)
105. ^textofGPLv1withreferencetosourcecodedownloadsiteatmicrosoft.com
(http://www.dwheeler.com/frozen/microsoftinterixgpl.txt)
106. ^ FreeSoftwareLeadersStandTogether.Wikisource.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_General_Public_License

21/23

2/5/2015

GNUGeneralPublicLicenseWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

107. ^Clarke,Gavin(20July2009)."MicrosoftembracesLinuxcancertosellWindowsservers"
(http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/07/20/microsoft_windows_drivers_linux/).TheRegister.
108. ^Clarke,Gavin(23July2009)."MicrosoftopenedLinuxdrivercodeafter'violating'GPL"
(http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/07/23/microsoft_hyperv_gpl_violation/).TheRegister.
109. ^"SpeechTranscriptCraigMundie,TheNewYorkUniversitySternSchoolofBusiness
(http://news.microsoft.com/speeches/speechtranscriptcraigmundiethenewyorkuniversitysternschoolof
business/)",PreparedTextofRemarksbyCraigMundie,MicrosoftSeniorVicePresident,TheCommercial
SoftwareModelTheNewYorkUniversitySternSchoolofBusiness3May2001
110. ^Poynder,Richard(21March2006)."TheBasementInterviews:FreeingtheCode"
(http://www.archive.org/stream/The_Basement_Interviews/Richard_Stallman_Interview_djvu.txt).Retrieved
5February2010.
111. ^Chopra,SamirDexter,Scott(14August2007).Decodingliberation:thepromiseoffreeandopensource
software(http://books.google.com/?id=c7ppFih2mSwC&lpg=PT74).Routledge.p.56.ISBN0415978939.
112. ^Williams,Sam(March2002).FreeasinFreedom:RichardStallman'sCrusadeforFreeSoftware
(http://oreilly.com/openbook/freedom/ch02.html).O'ReillyMedia.ISBN0596002874.
113. ^GPLAdvantagesandDisadvantages(http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO88591/articles/bsdl
gpl/article.html#GPLADVANTAGES),FreeBSD:doc/en_US.ISO88591/articles/bsdlgpl/article.sgml,v1.5
2006/10/1612:35:23keramidaExp
114. ^RichardStallman(2010).OnSellingExceptionstotheGNUGPL(http://www.fsf.org/blogs/rms/selling
exceptions).FreeSoftwareFoundation.
115. ^LinuxCreatorCallsGPLv3Authors'Hypocrites'AsOpenSourceDebateTurnsNasty
(https://web.archive.org/web/20080413091038/http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2007/07/l
inux_creator_c.html)[...]thelatestsignofagrowingschismintheopensourcecommunitybetweenbusiness
mindeddeveloperslikeTorvaldsandfreesoftwarepurists.
116. ^TorvaldsStillKeenOnGPLv2(http://www.internetnews.com/dev
news/article.php/3720371/Torvalds+Still+Keen+On+GPLv2.htm)"Insomeways,Linuxwastheprojectthat
reallymadethesplitclearbetweenwhattheFSFispushingwhichisverydifferentfromwhatopensource
andLinuxhasalwaysbeenabout,whichismoreofatechnicalsuperiorityinsteadofathisreligiousbelief
infreedom,"TorvaldstoldZemlin.So,theGPLVersion3reflectstheFSF'sgoalsandtheGPLVersion2
prettycloselymatcheswhatIthinkalicenseshoulddoandsorightnow,Version2iswherethekernelis."
117. ^"CommentsonGPLv3"(http://www.rosenlaw.com/GPLv3Comments.htm).Rosenlaw.com.2007.
Retrieved22August2014.

Externallinks
GNUGeneralPublicLicense
(https://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html)(version3)
HistoryoftheGPL(http://www.freesoft.org/gpl_history/)

Wikibookshasabookon
thetopicof:FOSS
Licensing

GNUGeneralPublicLicensev1.0(https://gnu.org/licenses/oldlicenses/gpl1.0.txt)Thisversion
isdeprecatedbytheFSF.
GNUGeneralPublicLicensev2.0(https://gnu.org/licenses/oldlicenses/gpl2.0.txt)Thisversion
isdeprecatedbytheFSFbutisstillusedbymanysoftwareprojects,includingLinuxandGNU
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_General_Public_License

22/23

2/5/2015

GNUGeneralPublicLicenseWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

packages
TheEmacsGeneralPublicLicense(http://www.freesoft.org/gpl_history/emacs_gpl.html),a
February1988version,adirectpredecessoroftheGNUGPL
APracticalGuidetoGPLCompliance(https://softwarefreedom.org/resources/2008/compliance
guide.html)(CoversGPLv2andv3)fromtheSoftwareFreedomLawCenter
ApaperonenforcingtheGPL(http://sapnakumar.org/Publications_files/EnfGPL.pdf)
FrequentlyAskedQuestionsabouttheGPL(https://gnu.org/licenses/gplfaq.html)
GPL,BSD,andNetBSDwhytheGPLrocketedLinuxtosuccess
(http://www.dwheeler.com/blog/2006/09/01/#gplbsd)byDavidA.Wheeler
GNUGeneralPublicLicenseandCommentaries(http://www.rattlesnake.com/softwarelaw/GNU
GPLandCommentaries.html),editedbyRobertChassell
ListofpresentationtranscriptsabouttheGPLandfreesoftwarelicenses
(https://wiki.fsfe.org/Transcripts#Licences_and_the_GNU_GPL)
MakeYourOpenSourceSoftwareGPLCompatible.OrElse.
(http://www.dwheeler.com/essays/gplcompatible.html)(DavidA.Wheeler,7April2004)why
aGPLcompatiblelicenseisimportanttothehealthofaproject
TheLabyrinthofSoftwareFreedom
(http://www.softpanorama.org/Copyright/License_classification/index.shtml)(BSDvsGPLand
socialaspectsoffreelicensingdebate),byDr.NikolaiBezroukov
Retrievedfrom"http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?
title=GNU_General_Public_License&oldid=644898690"
Categories: Computerlaw Freeandopensourcesoftwarelicenses GNUProject Copyleft
Thispagewaslastmodifiedon30January2015,at21:30.
TextisavailableundertheCreativeCommonsAttributionShareAlikeLicenseadditionalterms
mayapply.Byusingthissite,youagreetotheTermsofUseandPrivacyPolicy.Wikipediaisa
registeredtrademarkoftheWikimediaFoundation,Inc.,anonprofitorganization.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_General_Public_License

23/23