Re: GPL version 3

[Stefan Reinauer <stepan@coresystems.de>]

* Jeroen Dekkers <jeroen@vrijschrift.org> [070704 23:10]:
> Are you sure about this? Given that we've assigned copyright to the
> FSF, the FSF can decide under which free software license to license
> that code. So I don't really see why we can't release the same code
> under GPLv2 or later in GRUB Legacy and under GPLv3 or later in GRUB2.

Oh the "v2 or later" and "v3 or later" clauses are more than critical
from a lawyers view. How can you have a contract partner and the FSF
decide upon the license / contract that applies on your code without
that contract existing yet. If, at some point in the future the FSF
would decide to add a clause to GPLv4 "The author of this software pays
a monthly fee of US$100 to the FSF" and the user of this software
decides to apply GPLv4 to the software because the author allowed it,
you would have to pay. The GPL is clearly designed to be a license that
protects the _user_ not the _author_ of a given piece of software.
No, of course I do not believe that the FSF will ever do something like
the above. But law is not about beliefs.

Stefan

-- 
coresystems GmbH • Brahmsstr. 16 • D-79104 Freiburg i. Br.
      Tel.: +49 761 7668825 • Fax: +49 761 7664613
Email: info@coresystems.de  • http://www.coresystems.de/