[Home page](/) [Latest blog](../) # On the GPLv3 This section is part of [something like a blog](../). To contact me or comment on this, [see my email page](/email.html). ![photo](/mjr2002.jpg) * * * ## Draft: Thoughts on the GPLv3 draft [Mako's notes on the GPL](http://www.newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=06/01/27/1432248&tid=31) (via [copyrighteous](http://mako.cc/copyrighteous/freesoftware/20060129-00.html), which had a [dumb comment image lockout](http://mjr.towers.org.uk/blog/2006/blogmoves#commentimg) last I checked). [DRM and GPLv3 [FSFE]](http://fsfeurope.org/projects/gplv3/drm-and- gplv3) and [Patents and GPLv3 [FSFE]](http://fsfeurope.org/projects/gplv3 /patents-and-gplv3). * * * ## The GPLv3 Process So far, there's been one conference. In the USA. Fortunately, there's a [GPLv3 launch conference transcript](http://www.ifso.ie/documents/gplv3-launch-2006-01-16.html) from Irish Free Software Org. Others are also being excluded, as seen in [this post from a Busybox maintainer](http://yro.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=176577&cid=14661471). April: There are now transcripts of talks [ at the Australian National University](http://linuxhelp.blogspot.com/2006/04/unabridged-selective- transcript-of.html) and [ in Turin, Italy](http://www.fsfeurope.org/projects/gplv3/torino-rms-transcript.en.html) available online. [ Ciaran O'Riordon](http://ciaran.compsoc.com/) will speak at [ a British Computer Society meeting in London on Friday 7 April 2006.](http://ossg.bcs.org/organisation/website/news/patentscopyright070406) GPLv3 will probably also be discussed at [a multinational free software conference](http://www.fsfe.org/en/fellows/sp/free_software_blog/multi_national_free_software_conference) in/near southern Austria. June: From info-gplv3: [ The 3rd International GPLv3 Conference ](http://fsfeurope.org/projects/gplv3/europe-gplv3-conference) was held in Barcelona, Spain on June 22nd and 23rd, 2006, at [ the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona (CCCB) ](http://www.cccb.org/cat/info/llog.htm). [Some recordings and transcripts of this conference are now online](http://fsfeurope.org/projects/gplv3/europe-gplv3-conference.en.html). The schedule included presentations by Richard Stallman, Eben Moglen, and Georg Greve, as well as panels addressing the key issues of DRM, software patents, and license internationalization. Of course, I couldn't find any way to get there for those dates because of the relatively late announcement and prior commitments, but that seems to be a recurring theme with GPLv3 consultation. Some discussions are being slowed by a problem at lists.gnu.org, as [explained by Savannah Hackers](https://savannah.gnu.org/forum/forum.php?forum_id=4322). * * * ## All-party Parliamentary Internet Group and DRM This item moved to [Copyright page](cc#apig-drm) * * * ## Gowers Review This item moved to [Copyright page](cc#gowers) * * * ## Linus won't use GPLv3 as it stands Not really a shock that the kernel as a whole won't be changing (tracking down all the v2-only contributors would be tricky) but an interesting Linus quote that echoes something I've raised before: > "I think it's insane to require people to make their private signing keys available, for example. I wouldn't do it. So I don't think the GPL v3 conversion is going to happen for the kernel, since I personally don't want to convert any of my code." \- [Linus Torvalds, _GPL V3 and Linux_, 25 Jan 2006](http://www.ussg.iu.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/0601.3/0559.html) <p class="silly">I wonder if he'll consider [GPLv4](http://www.gplv4.org/) instead?</p> ### Updates 1. [Steve Purkiss's commentary on the same incident](http://www.ecademy.com/node.php?id=63058) * * * ## First comments So the GPLv3 is out. Somehow, I can't motivate myself to wade through pages of legalese and make sensible comments until I feel happy that this won't be a repeat of the FDL "keep them in chains, hoping for freedom" discussion farce, or the WGIG "divide and conquer" that the process seems to be modelled on. I posted two to [the GPLv3 wiki](http://gplv3.fsf.org/wiki/index.php/Process) as a starter: * Who are the mysterious committees A, B, C, D and E at present? * Why has the GPLv3 Process been modelled on the terrible processes of the WGIG, instead of harnessing the free-software-friendly organisations already existing around the world? While doing so, I noticed a cute trick: the FSF considers any posts to the GPLv3 Wiki as being released under the GPL-incompatible FDL 1.2. I muttered "Sod that!" and added a note granting more freedom. * * * * [Free Software supporter on UK TV](http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/fsfe-uk/2006-04/msg00041.html) \- Update: It did go out at noon. Summary/discussion on mailing list. Probable repeats at 3pm, 7:30pm and 11pm BST - Shane wrote: "Legal TV, a TV channel broadcasting on Sky 885, will have a show at noon tomorrow (Friday) about copyright and the Internet. DRM will also be addressed." Legal TV is on eurobird at 28e 11224 V 27.5Ms/s, and is visible over much of Europe free-to-air [link to mailing list post] (Updated 2006-04-28T11:53:00Z) * [My early concerns about the GPLv3 process](http://mail.fsfeurope.org/pipermail/gplv3/2005-December/000010.html) * [GPLv3 Process: On the first day of Christmas month...](../2005-3.html#gplv3fr) [To index](../). This is copyright 2006 MJ Ray. See fuller notice on [front page](/).