[GRASS-user] GNU GPL version 3 and Grass code

[Hamish]

> Eric Patton wrote:
> With the GNU GPL version 3 scheduled to be released tomorrow,
> are there are plans on adopting this license for Grass?

my 2c:
Sit on it for 6 months - a year (or two!) after release and see how the
dust settles before seriously raising the issue. Do not accept GPL2-
incompatible code until such time as that decision is made.
(aka don't be the guinea pig; keep the licensing terms clear & crisp)


Eric:
> > Is copyright on GRASS code held by individual authors?

Markus:
> In general yes.
> 
> > Or is the copyright transferred to the GRASS project itself
> > when code is submitted?
> 
> No. We don't have copyright transfer. This was discussed a lot
> last year in terms of an OSGeo contribution agreement.

It is suggested that co-copyright be granted to "The GRASS Development
Team", but as Frank pointed out that only exists as a moral entity, not
a legal one, so the issue is still open. Joining OSGeo means that
forming a legal non-profit GRASS Foundation (or OGCv2) for that is
mostly a redundant exercise, but there are reservations with handing GDT
copyright over to OSGeo wholesale (ie in the hands of folks who are
outside of the grass community [if only slightly]).

 
> > Or, to put it another way, does adopting a different liscence
> > require the concent of every single contributor, or merely
> > a decision by the project steering committee?
> 
> As far as I understand it, it requires the concent of every
> single contributor *if* the new license is not compliant
> with GPL. Note that most (all?) code contains GPL >= V2.

And that GPL3 is not retroactive to already released versions.


Hamish