4b1bdbd4d3
The README.md originally stated that the FSF's "meta-license" for the GNU GPL text would also be the license for patches to GPL.next. I later realized that this won't make sense for the typical patch.
54 lines
2.6 KiB
Markdown
54 lines
2.6 KiB
Markdown
GPL.next
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========
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GPL.next is a fork of the GNU General Public License, version 3,
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initiated by Richard Fontana. Contributions of patches, ideas, and
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criticism are welcome. Forks in the GitHub sense are encouraged. The
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goal of this effort is to develop an improved strong copyleft free
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software license.
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This is *not* an effort endorsed by the Free Software Foundation or
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the GNU project. This is also *not* an effort associated in any way
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with Red Hat (Richard Fontana's employer).
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The FSF has asserted copyright in the text of the GNU GPLv3. However,
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the FSF has expressly authorized (though discouraged) modified
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versions of the GNU GPL, subject to certain conditions:
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http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html#ModifyGPL
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As requested by the FSF in the aforementioned FAQ, I (Richard Fontana)
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have thought twice and have decided to proceed with this fork. Note
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that every effort shall be made to make this fork compatible with all
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existing versions of the GNU GPL.
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The meta-license from the FSF stated in its FAQ shall be the license
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of all versions of the GPL.next license text (to the extent that such
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versions retain any copyrightable material from versions of the GNU
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GPL in which the FSF has asserted copyright). Restated here by me,
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that meta-license is as follows:
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* Everyone has permission to use terms from any version of the GNU GPL
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(with or without modifications) in creating a new license text,
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without any restriction, other than these requirements: (1) the
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license must be "call[ed] ... by another name"; (2) no existing
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version of a GNU license Preamble may be included; and (3) if the
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instructions-for-use at the end of the GNU GPL are copied or
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adapted, they must be modified "enough to make it clearly different
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in wording and not mention GNU".
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I consider the name "GPL.next" to be "another name" in the sense meant
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in this meta-license. (I would consider it a violation of the
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meta-license to use the "GNU" name, of course.) Contrary to what some
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believe, the "G" in "GPL" does not stand for "GNU", but "General";
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"GPL" means "license to (or for) the general public". As such, the
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name "GPL" strikes me as having been conceived as generic. Indeed, the
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common use of "public license" in free software license names without
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the word "general" probably represents a historical failure to parse
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"GPL" correctly.
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All copyrightable materials included in this project, other than any
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copied or adapted portions of GNU license texts and except where
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otherwise indicated, are dedicated to the public domain to the maximum
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extent permissible under applicable law, pursuant to the Creative
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Commons CC0 Universal Public Domain Dedication 1.0 (see the file CC0
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for details).
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