[U-Boot] U-book and GPLv3?

Wolfgang Denk
2009-07-09T20:04:23Z

Dear Kumar,

In message <CCBA64F3-2821-475E-8895-4C976032EDBE@kernel.crashing.org> you wrote:
>
> > Medium term goal:
> >
> > Analyze which parts of U-Boot are implemented by GPLv2-only
> > code, and evaluate options to convert these into GPLv2+later.
> >
> > Long term goal:
> >
> > Move U-Boot to GPLv3.
>
> Its not clear if you've decided that u-boot will move to GPLv3 or
> not. If you haven't how will that decision be made? Will we vote as
> a community with some bias given to how much one has contributed?
> Will you just decide?

As far as I'm concerned, the decision is clear. It is my long term
goal to move U-Boot to GPLv3. Note that this is a goal, a landmark at
the horizon. I cannot tell what time or whet efforts it will take to
rech this goal, or if it will ever be reached at all. This depends on
a lot of things, last but not least on how many developers actively
support (or make a stand against) such activities.

I tend to be a sequential type: to one step after another. Let's get
the current, serious licensing issues in U-Boot fixed first. When
this has been done (and I guess it may easily extend into next year),
we can try and to the next step - having a closer look at what needs
to be done to got forward to GPLv3

> I ask because its my understanding from internal Freescale discussions
> (from the PPC group) that its Freescale's preference to stick with
> GPLv2. What Freescale will decide to do if the decision is to move to
> GPLv3 is not clear at this point.

I am pretty sure that such positions will shift over time. I've seen
this so many times before. In any way, if you have any specific
contacts or names of people within Freescale who are concerned about
goind GPLv3 please feel free to tell them to contact me directly.
I'll be happy to dicuss details with them - maybe I can then at least
understand what their actual problem with GPLv3 is.

May of the concerns raised about GPLv3 are eventually based on mis-
understandings either of the current legal situation (GPLv2), or the
legal consequences of going GPLv3, or most likely both.

Best regards,

Wolfgang Denk

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