I'm very confused on how to check if a program is GPLv3 or GPLv3+.
Looking at gnu.org website it seems (to me) that there's no difference between the two: there's only one license text (http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.txt) and the declaration to insert in source headers says "either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version" (http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-howto.en.html)
So how to distinguish between the two?
On Thu, Dec 10, 2015 at 3:30 PM, Mattia Verga mattia.verga@tiscali.it wrote:
I'm very confused on how to check if a program is GPLv3 or GPLv3+.
Looking at gnu.org website it seems (to me) that there's no difference between the two: there's only one license text (http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.txt) and the declaration to insert in source headers says "either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version" (http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-howto.en.html)
So how to distinguish between the two?
I am not a lawyer, this is not legal advice.
Exactly the "or (at your option) any later version" text. If that is present, the code is GPLv3+ because it grants rights to use a later version of the GPL. If that text is not present, it is GPLv3. There is only one instance of each version of the GPL license itself and the "+" moniker simply reflects the fact that the author of the code may have granted use of future versions of the GPL via that statement in the copyright/licensing text.
josh
Il 10/12/2015 21:41, Josh Boyer ha scritto:
On Thu, Dec 10, 2015 at 3:30 PM, Mattia Verga mattia.verga@tiscali.it wrote:
I'm very confused on how to check if a program is GPLv3 or GPLv3+.
Looking at gnu.org website it seems (to me) that there's no difference between the two: there's only one license text (http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.txt) and the declaration to insert in source headers says "either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version" (http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-howto.en.html)
So how to distinguish between the two?
I am not a lawyer, this is not legal advice.
Exactly the "or (at your option) any later version" text. If that is present, the code is GPLv3+ because it grants rights to use a later version of the GPL. If that text is not present, it is GPLv3. There is only one instance of each version of the GPL license itself and the "+" moniker simply reflects the fact that the author of the code may have granted use of future versions of the GPL via that statement in the copyright/licensing text.
josh
Thanks, this is what I thought. But what about if the package carries a Copyright.txt file which says "license: GPL-3"? Does it wins over source headers? I'm asking because I'm in this situation while packaging "Indistarter" in Fedora. I'm now waiting for a clarification about the software author, but I would like to know what to say him for fixing this situation. Does he have to change source headers if he want to ship as GPLv3 only? There's no such case on gnu.org as it seems that the only option complied is GPLv3+.
Mattia
On Fri, Dec 11, 2015 at 06:47:47AM +0100, Mattia Verga wrote:
But what about if the package carries a Copyright.txt file which says "license: GPL-3"? Does it wins over source headers?
It really depends on the circumstances, but if all the source file notices say "GPLv3 or later" I would probably assume that the entire program is GPLv3-or-later even if this is not explicit in the global copyright file.
I'm asking because I'm in this situation while packaging "Indistarter" in Fedora. I'm now waiting for a clarification about the software author, but I would like to know what to say him for fixing this situation. Does he have to change source headers if he want to ship as GPLv3 only? There's no such case on gnu.org as it seems that the only option complied is GPLv3+.
I took a look myself (if this is the 'indistarter' project hosted on SourceForge) and I would conclude it's GPLv3-or-later since the source files bearing the project maintainer's copyright and license notices all use "or later" (bare 'GPLv3' only appears in files with license metadata), and there's nothing I could see that suggested there was 'GPLv3 only' code.
Richard
Il 11/12/2015 14:57, Richard Fontana ha scritto:
On Fri, Dec 11, 2015 at 06:47:47AM +0100, Mattia Verga wrote:
But what about if the package carries a Copyright.txt file which says "license: GPL-3"? Does it wins over source headers?
It really depends on the circumstances, but if all the source file notices say "GPLv3 or later" I would probably assume that the entire program is GPLv3-or-later even if this is not explicit in the global copyright file.
I'm asking because I'm in this situation while packaging "Indistarter" in Fedora. I'm now waiting for a clarification about the software author, but I would like to know what to say him for fixing this situation. Does he have to change source headers if he want to ship as GPLv3 only? There's no such case on gnu.org as it seems that the only option complied is GPLv3+.
I took a look myself (if this is the 'indistarter' project hosted on SourceForge) and I would conclude it's GPLv3-or-later since the source files bearing the project maintainer's copyright and license notices all use "or later" (bare 'GPLv3' only appears in files with license metadata), and there's nothing I could see that suggested there was 'GPLv3 only' code.
Richard
I did a check also with folks at gnu.org and they confirmed your opinion. Here it is their response:
Thank you for your question. If the headers state that the source is under GPLv3+, then that controls. The license file for all projects will just be the plain GPLv3; the copyright holder indicates whether the work is GPLv3-only or GPLv3+ in the license headers.
I will ask Indistarter developer to set all files to GPLv3+ to avoid future confusion. Thanks for the help.