rosen commentary on gpl v3
With the final draft of gpl v3 having been announced, commentary will inevitably trickle out. The first I’ve seen worth noting is from Larry Rosen.
He hits on most of the important improvements: more explicit and comprehensive language (perhaps in places at the expense of clarity for hackers, unfortunately); compatibility with the APL; and more clarity about what sorts of aggregations (linking, putting on a CD, etc.) are and are not permitted.
He also talks about the patent language. He doesn’t appear to think that the language itself is flawed (as some have argued), but primarily that its mere existence might prevent people from using an otherwise superior license. I have mixed feelings about that. He is right that this is a risk that it will drive away some of our corporate partners, but given the diligence that has gone into consulting those partners during the drafting process, and the alternative of continuing to open ourselves up to patent risk, it seems a risk worth taking. We will see soon, at any rate.