GPL http://www.linuxinfusion.com/taxonomy/term/36/atom/feed 2007-01-18T22:32:29-08:00 Final Draft of GPLv3 Announced http://www.linuxinfusion.com/final-draft-gplv3-announced 2007-05-31T21:42:34-07:00 2007-05-31T21:42:34-07:00 Moparx The final draft for Version 3 of The GNU General Public License is now available for viewing.
Changes in this draft include:

  1. GPLv3 is now compatible with version 2.0 of the Apache License.
  2. Distributors who make discriminatory patent deals after March 28 may not convey software under GPLv3. Novell is not prohibited from distributing this software because the patent protection they arranged with Microsoft last November can be turned against Microsoft to the community's benefit.
  3. Terms have been added clarifying how you can contract for private modification of free software, or for a data center to run it for you.
  4. A reference to a US consumer protection statute has been replaced by explicit criteria, for greater clarity outside the US.

Here are some links:
Read the final draft of GPLv3
Why Upgrade to GPL Version 3 (by Richard Stallman)
Official Announcement

]]> The Broadcom Driver Dispute http://www.linuxinfusion.com/broadcom-driver-dispute 2007-04-07T10:13:11-07:00 2007-04-07T10:13:11-07:00 Moparx I was reading the fiasco that erupted out of the recent Broadcom driver dispute and couldn't help but shake my head in disbelief.
It was discovered that source code originating from the bcm43xx driver (licensed under the GPL) had been copied verbatim and committed into OpenBSD's own bcw driver.
Michael Buesch, the lead developer of the bcm43xx project, sent a message regarding the GPL license violation in which he outlined some examples and even expressed some interest in cooperating with OpenBSD so that their own driver would be free of the before mentioned violations.
However, things didn't go as smoothly as he had hoped. Theo De Raadt decided to focus on the fact that the issue was brought up on a public mailing list rather than the actual issues at hand.

]]> Cisco's iPhone violates the GPL http://www.linuxinfusion.com/ciscos-iphone-violates-gpl 2007-01-18T20:07:37-08:00 2007-01-18T22:32:29-08:00 Moparx In a twist of irony, it seems that while Cisco and Apple battle each other over the iPhone trademark, a new detail has emerged. Cisco has been accused of violating the GPL within the same product.
According to Armijn Hemel, a member of the GPL Violations Project, Cisco has failed to release the source code for components within the GNU/Linux powered WIP300 iPhone.
Things just keep getting more and more interesting.

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