Re: Dual-Licensing Linux Kernel with GPL V2 and GPL V3

Linus Torvalds
2007-06-15T00:36:20Z

On Fri, 15 Jun 2007, Carlo Wood wrote:
>
> But then the paragraph from COPYING kicks in, reading:

Read the COPYING file more closely, and realize that "the Program" has
always specified a version number of this license.

It used to include it just by virtue of having the COPYING file *itself*
be included (and that's v2), but since some people felt that was unclear,
the COPYING file has this language pretty visibly at the top:

Also note that the only valid version of the GPL as far as the kernel
is concerned is _this_ particular version of the license (ie v2, not
v2.2 or v3.x or whatever), unless explicitly otherwise stated.

> Any, 'any version' probably includes version 3 as well.

Not for the kernel. Exactly because the kernel _does_ specify the version.
So the sequence you quoted is a non-issue.

In other words: any file that does not *explicitly* say that it's "v2 or
later" is v2 only.

Linus