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Bradley M. Kuhn b476b9553f Rework indenting on this slide.
2014-03-24 05:58:30 -04:00

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% Brief Introduction to the GNU General Public License % Bradley M. Kuhn % Monday 24 March 2014

Audience Polls

  • My goal here is to move faster or slower based on audience knowledge.

  • There are folks in this audience who have worked with this stuff for years, and those who are completely new.

  • We want these presentations to be valuable to all of you.

  • Please, don't be embarrassed:

    • Ever GPL expert in the world, including me, started as a student who knew none of this.

IANAL

IANAL

My Affiliations

  • Formerly had John's job, Executive Director of FSF, years ago.

  • Currently: on Board of Directors of FSF.

  • President of Software Freedom Conservancy.

How These Orgs Relate to GPL?

  • FSF

    • Invented copyleft.
    • Authors & stewards of the GPL.
    • Holder of copyrights on many key GNU programs …
    • … and therefore enforcers of those copyrights.

  • Software Freedom Conservancy

    • Adviser on legal issues of copyright, etc. to Free Software projects.
    • Holder of some copyrights on its member projects.
    • Enforcer of GPL on behalf of many copyright holders in:
    • BusyBox, Samba, Mercurial, and the kernel named Linux.

How this Hour Will Go?

  • Materials presented will mix the simple & complex.

  • We cannot possibly cover the entire GPL in one hour.

  • Discuss: motivations, origins, then a few of GPL's sections.

  • I understand the mix of backgrounds in the audience.

A Restaurant's Lawyer?

  • Considering why you want to learn this.

  • What if your client was a restaurant?

  • What would you want to need to know?

Restaurant Lawyer: What'd You Study?

  • If you were a restaurant's lawyer:

  • Probably three areas of law you'd focus on:

    • building codes.
    • health and safety regulations.
    • tax regulations.

  • Who would want to hear from?

Restaurant Lawyer: What'd You Study?

  • Figure out the motivations behind the building code: + What parts are arcane and less important to inspectors? + How do inspections work? + What are the penalties?

  • Figure out the same for health & safety: + Who inspects, and when? + What's the health code say, and what checklist do inspectors use?

  • Likely Questions: + Who's in charge of all this? + What's purpose and intent of these regulations? + Can I meet the inspectors?

Why Listen To Us?

  • FSF: Understanding the purpose and intent of the GPL.

  • Conservancy & FSF:

    • both enforce the GPL.
    • if your client violates, you will hear from one of us.

  • Such access to drafters, interpreters, enforcers is highly unique.

  • Someday, we may (or already have) sit across the table from you.

  • Our transparency does make your job easier.

The Mindset of GPL

  • GPL protects software freedom.

  • Ultimate goal: make sure every user has the four freedoms.

    • Freedom to run the software.
    • Freedom to study and modify the software.
    • Freedom to share the software.
    • Freedom to distribute modified versions.

  • Every clause in GPL was designed to uphold one of these freedoms.

    • Or, it's a compromise of drafting in adoption vs. freedom debate.

Using Copyright

  • GPL is primarily a copyright license. + Software is copyrighted. + License grants key freedoms. + Requirement prohibit activities that take away freedoms.

  • General concept: copyleft.

  • Specific implementation: GPL.

an original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression … from which they can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device

— 17 USC \S~102

Conditional Permissions

  • A copyleft license grants copyright permissions, conditionally.

  • Think of the phrase: “provided that”

  • “provided that”: appears (in some form) only

  • 4 times in GPLv2

  • 9 times in GPLv3.

Compare To Proprietary Licenses

  • Yes, the GPL has its requirements.

  • But none of these activities are ever permitted under proprietary licenses.

  • If you don't like what the GPL requires you to do, then just tell your client to use the proprietary software instead.

  • That way, they know the answer to every question is “no&;rdquo,

  • rather than: “yes, but only as long as you …”

The Technical Gap

  • Understanding GPL well requires a some software expertise & legal expertise.

  • You don't have to be a professional on either side to grok it.

    • but you're best off if you're a professional in one & an amateur in the other.

  • Most important technical concepts you need:

    • source code, binaries, methods of distribution.