Technology Industry Leaders Join Forces to Increase Predictability in Open Source Licensing
November 27 2017 - 9:00AM
Business Wire
Red Hat, Facebook, Google and IBM commit to
providing a fair cure period to correct license compliance issues
for GPLv2 software
Red Hat, Inc. (NYSE: RHT), Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB), Google
(NASDAQ: GOOGL) and IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced efforts to
promote additional predictability in open source licensing, by
committing to extend additional rights to cure open source license
compliance errors and mistakes.
The GNU General Public License (GPL) and GNU Lesser General
Public License (LGPL) are among the most widely-used open source
software licenses, covering, among other software, critical parts
of the Linux ecosystem. When GPL version 3 (GPLv3) was released, it
introduced an express termination approach that offered users
opportunities to cure errors in license compliance. This
termination policy in GPLv3 provided a more reasonable approach to
errors and mistakes, which are often inadvertent. This approach
allows for enforcement of license compliance that is consistent
with community norms.
To provide greater predictability to users of open source
software, Red Hat, Facebook, Google and IBM today each committed to
extending the GPLv3 approach for license compliance errors to the
software code that each licenses under GPLv2 and LGPLv2.1 and
v2.
Common Cure Rights CommitmentThe common commitment
language adopted by each company is:
Before filing or continuing to prosecute any
legal proceeding or claim (other than a Defensive Action) arising
from termination of a Covered License, [Company] commits to extend
to the person or entity (“you”) accused of violating the Covered
License the following provisions regarding cure and reinstatement,
taken from GPL version 3. As used here, the term ‘this License’
refers to the specific Covered License being enforced.
However, if you cease all violation of this
License, then your license from a particular copyright holder is
reinstated (a) provisionally, unless and until the copyright holder
explicitly and finally terminates your license, and (b)
permanently, if the copyright holder fails to notify you of the
violation by some reasonable means prior to 60 days after the
cessation.
Moreover, your license from a particular
copyright holder is reinstated permanently if the copyright holder
notifies you of the violation by some reasonable means, this is the
first time you have received notice of violation of this License
(for any work) from that copyright holder, and you cure the
violation prior to 30 days after your receipt of the notice.
[Company] intends this Commitment to be
irrevocable, and binding and enforceable against [Company] and
assignees of or successors to [Company]’s copyrights.
[Company] may modify this Commitment by
publishing a new edition on this page or a successor location.
Read the commitment, associated definitions, an FAQ and
additional perspective:
- Red Hat:
https://www.redhat.com/en/about/gplv3-enforcement-statement and
https://www.redhat.com/en/blog/fostering-greater-open-source-development
- Google:
https://opensource.google.com/gpl-enforcement/
- IBM:
https://developer.ibm.com/code/open/
Supporting QuotesMichael Cunningham, executive vice
president and general counsel, Red Hat“We believe in promoting
greater fairness and predictability in license enforcement and the
growth of participation in the open source community. We encourage
other GPLv2 copyright holders to follow our lead.”
Allen Lo, vice president and deputy general counsel,
Facebook“Open source accelerates the pace of innovation in the
world. Extending the good-faith opportunity for developers to
correct errors in license compliance has the potential to help move
the industry forward and allow engineers to focus on building great
things.”
Mark Ringes, assistant general counsel, IBM“For many years,
General Public License v2 and V3 have guided the development of the
world’s largest shared code base, Linux. Extending GPLv3’s
non-compliance cure provision to GPLv2 will enable the continued
adoption and robust growth of Linux for decades to come. IBM has
long been a leading supporter of Linux and open source and assists
in the development of the Linux kernel. Deepening our commitment
with this assertion is a natural evolution of that support.”
About Red Hat, Inc.Red Hat is the world's leading
provider of open source software solutions, using a
community-powered approach to provide reliable and high-performing
cloud, Linux, middleware, storage and virtualization technologies.
Red Hat also offers award-winning support, training, and consulting
services. As a connective hub in a global network of enterprises,
partners, and open source communities, Red Hat helps create
relevant, innovative technologies that liberate resources for
growth and prepare customers for the future of IT. Learn more at
http://www.redhat.com.
Linux® is the registered trademark of Linus
Torvalds in the U.S. and other countries.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171127005221/en/
Media:Red Hat, Inc.Stephanie Wonderlick, +1
571-421-8169swonderl@redhat.com
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