GPLv3 Released

After many drafts and intense scrutiny, GPLv3 has finally been released. AGPLv3, FDLv2 and SFDL are still in revision. The GPL license is one of the most popular and important software licenses in the open source community. Literally protecting more software than any other license, GPL is the flagship of the Free Software Foundation.

GPLv3 has caused some controversy in the software world as of late due to Novel's deal with Microsoft. The Novel/Microsoft deal spurred a slurry of criticism in the Linux community as a whole by signing an agreement that protects Novel from Microsoft's supposed software patents. This type of deal is specifically undermined as exclusive in GPLv3.

Sections 11 subparagraph 6 states:

"If, pursuant to or in connection with a single transaction or arrangement, you convey, or propagate by procuring conveyance of, a covered work, and grant a patent license to some of the parties receiving the covered work authorizing them to use, propagate, modify or convey a specific copy of the covered work, then the patent license you grant is automatically extended to all recipients of the covered work and works based on it."

What this states is that if Microsoft grants a license to a company to continue distributing a GPLv3 covered work, that license is automatically extended to all parties receiving that work from the company receiving the license.

Sections 12 states:

"If conditions are imposed on you (whether by court order, agreement or otherwise) that contradict the conditions of this License, they do not excuse you from the conditions of this License. If you cannot convey a covered work so as to satisfy simultaneously your obligations under this License and any other pertinent obligations, then as a consequence you may not convey it at all. For example, if you agree to terms that obligate you to collect a royalty for further conveying from those to whom you convey the Program, the only way you could satisfy both those terms and this License would be to refrain entirely from conveying the Program."

What this means in simple terms is, if you cannot satisfy the terms of the GPLv3 you may not distribute any work protected by it. This specifically prevents exclusive deals like the Novel / Microsoft agreement. If such an agreement is made on GPLv3 protected work it automatically extends to all other parties, regardless of any court order or binding legal contract.

So, what does this mean for agreements like the Novel / Microsoft patent deal? It may actually take weeks or even months to convert or create software that would impede that deal, look in the months ahead for the real battle to begin.